Home Education in the UK

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 places the duty on parents — not the state — to ensure their child receives an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, ability, and aptitude, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. The word "otherwise" is the legal basis for home education.

There is no requirement in law to:

• Follow the National Curriculum
• Teach a set number of hours per day
• Have any teaching qualifications
• Register with the local authority (in England — Wales has different rules)
• Allow local authority inspectors into your home

What the law does require is that the education you provide is "efficient" and "full-time" and suitable for the child. The interpretation of these terms is broad, and home education can take many forms.

If your child is currently enrolled at a school and you wish to home educate, you must formally de-register them. The process is:

1. Write a letter to the headteacher stating that you are withdrawing your child to home educate. You do not need to give reasons or gain the school's permission.
2. The school must remove your child from the register and notify the local authority of the withdrawal.
3. You do not need to provide a curriculum plan or evidence of your approach at the point of de-registration.

Important exception: If your child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHCP and attends a school named in that document, you cannot simply de-register without the local authority's agreement. The EHCP must be amended before the child can be home educated (though parents can request this). The local authority retains its EHCP duties even if a child is home educated.

Once you are home educating, your local authority may contact you to ask for information about the education being provided. You are not legally required to allow home visits or to respond to every enquiry, but:

• If the LA has reasonable cause to believe that a suitable education is not being provided, it must serve a School Attendance Order (SAO), giving you 15 days to demonstrate the education is suitable.
• If you cannot demonstrate this, the SAO will require you to enrol your child at a specific school.
• Failure to comply with an SAO is a criminal offence.

Most home educating families find it helpful to maintain a portfolio of their child's work to demonstrate what they are doing, even if they choose not to share it with the LA proactively. Home education networks and organisations such as Education Otherwise can provide support and advice.

Home educated children are not automatically entered for GCSEs or other qualifications — parents must arrange and pay for these independently. Options include:

• Entering exams as a private candidate at an exam centre — many schools and further education colleges will accommodate private candidates (fees typically £50–£150 per exam).
• Distance learning providers (e.g., Interhigh, Wolsey Hall Oxford) which can prepare children for qualifications.
• Some home educated families choose vocational qualifications, apprenticeships, or other routes rather than traditional GCSEs.

From age 16, young people in England are required to remain in some form of education or training until age 18 (the Raising of the Participation Age), but this does not have to be in a school or college — part-time education or training combined with work counts.