Okay, so you’re thinking about home education. In case you were wondering, YES it is LEGAL to home educate your child in the UK. So long as you follow some very simple rules, you can start on your home school journey today!!

UK: If you go onto the Gov site they walk you through what needs doing first.

1. You must write a letter to your child’s head teacher, explaining that you are removing your child from the school roll (deregistration). You do not have to explain yourself. But you do need to inform them that your child will not be returning to the school. (You cannot send your child to school some of the time. He/she will be removed permanently).
2. The school will then inform the council. The council  will then contact you at some future point for an informal discussion regarding your child’s educational needs and what you are planning to do, or have been doing with him/her. You do not need to follow the national curriculum or enrol into a Home School school. All you need to provide is a reasonable education plan. However, if the officer feels that your child is not being given a substantial education, then he/she can serve a ‘school attendance order‘ and insist your child returns to school. This can include prosecution and/ fines.
3. If your child has special educational needs, all you need to tell the council is that him/her has special education needs and that you want to educate him/her at home. You only need to tell them if your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan
4. To find out what the council in your area can help you with in terms of home education, click this link, enter your post code and follow your local council’s directions.

More reading:

1. Home Education FAQ – this is a super website packed with some awesome information so it worth your while taking a look. Some of the links don’t work, but I think all the information is up to date.
2. Elective Home Education Guidelines – This is the Gov.UK site’s info for local authorities. The Revised Funding Guidance For Home Educated Children may be interesting to some!! Families home educating children with special needs may be eligible for funding! And some local authorities may be able to provide financial support for examination fees!! (No 9 in the guide).
3. School Science for all ages – this is a super site!! Packed with science based activities you’ve got to include in your home school curriculum. Brought to you by the Association for Science Education.
4. BBC Learning – which includes Bitesize. Bitesize has comprehensive primary and secondary revision pages for all subjects. This was one of our favourites when my daughter was doing her IGCSE revision.
5. Education Otherwise – This is a site that provides support and guidance for those considering home education or those in home education already. They have some handy sample letters which you can use for de-registering your child, as well as some other ones which you may find useful. They don’t have resource downloads that I could see, but do have an Amazon link to buy products for home education.
6. Home Education Advisory Service HEAS – this is a website with lots of information for new home schoolers, but they do ask for a £16 annual subscription fee. However, there is still some reassuring information available on their site which you can access for free.
7. Free Poster  – promote home education in the uk! Download and print off this free poster provided by Home-Education.Org.

Well, I hope I have given you some valuable information and reassurance that HOME EDUCATION is an alternative to main stream school and shouldn’t be anything to be scared or nervous of.

If you would like more information about deregistering your child, or just general information about home education in the UK, please feel free to contact me and I will try and assist you where I can!!

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