Homeschooling in the UK is officially called Elective Home Education (EHE). As per UK law, EHE is legal and an increasing number of parents are choosing this form of education for their children.
From 2019 - 2021, there's been a 35% increase in the number of homeschooled children.
However, many parents are still asking questions like 'Can I homeschool in the UK?' and 'How do I notify my Local Authority (LA) about my intention to home educate'.
We are now in to our 4th year of homeschooling in the UK and so, I have experience with the LA and a good understanding of the law. In fact, a prospective homeschooler I recently spoke to, asked if I am a lawyer by profession ha!
Using my experience and knowledge, I aim to clarify the law regarding homeschooling in the UK. In this article, I also make suggestions on how to deal with your Local Authority.
I’m ready to start homeschooling in the UK – what do I need to do?
There are a variety of different scenarios people may be in when they decide to start homeschooling.
Given below are all the common scenarios.
Select which category you fall under and then have a read of the guidance.
1. How to start homeschooling or home education if your child attends nursery
In case your child is under the statutory school age, their nursery is not legally required to notify the LA (you live in) that your child is leaving.
Although children are admitted into reception the September after their fourth birthday, compulsory school age in the UK is 5 years.
Gov.uk says, ‘your child must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first. If your child's fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach compulsory school age on that date.’
Once your child has reached compulsory school age, their nursery will be legally obliged to inform your LA.
Please note, they do not inform the LA the nursery is situated in rather, the LA you fall under.
Your child's nursery will inform your LA that your child is leaving, alongside details of their destination school or your intention to homeschool.
2. How to start homeschooling or home education if your child attends a state school
Each LA implements the law differently and they all have their own policies.
You should be able to find the protocol your LA follows and what they require from you, by searching:
‘protocol for schools in (insert) Council to identify children missing in education’
Having said that, almost all LAs require you to write a letter to the school’s Head Teacher, notifying them of your intention to deregister your child effective [a given date].
I recommended sending this letter via recorded and signed for post so that you have proof of receipt.
‘The school must accept if you’re taking your child out completely.’ (gov.uk)
Schools cannot lawfully deny your request to deregister your child.
Exceptions to the standard state school deregistering process
- If your child attends a special school, you need to contact your LA for permission to homeschool in the UK
- If your child has a school attendance order, you must get permission from your LA before you can homeschool in the UK
- If your child attends a state school in Scotland, you must seek consent from your LA before withdrawing your child from school unless:
- you do not or, you no longer live in the same LA as the school
- your child has just completed primary school and will not be joining a secondary school
- your child’s school has closed.
Do I need to notify school of my intention to homeschool?
In the UK, it is not a legal requirement for you to provide your child’s school with a reason for wanting to deregister.
Gov.uk says ‘if your child is currently on the roll of a school you are not obliged to inform the school that he or she is being withdrawn for home education or gain consent for this. However, it is sensible to do so, in order to avoid subsequent misunderstandings as to how you intend to fulfil your parental responsibility for your child’s education. The school is obliged to inform the local authority of children removed from its admission register and will give home education as the reason, if notified of this by the parent. Parents of children withdrawn from school for home education are not legally obliged to inform the local authority themselves - but again it is sensible to do so, either directly or using any local registration scheme which exists, to facilitate access to advice and support.’
3. How to start homeschooling or home education if your child attends an independent school
Independent schools across the UK will have their own policies. However, just like state schools, independent schools are also legally obliged to notify a child’s LA when they are withdrawn from the school.
As mentioned above, if your child attends a Scotland state school, you must sought the LA's permission to remove your child from school. If however your child attends an independent school in Scotland, you do not need your LA's permission to remove them from school.
4. How to start homeschooling or home education if your child has never attended an educational establishment
‘If your child has never been enrolled at a school, you are under no legal obligation to inform the local authority that he or she is being home educated, or gain consent for this.’ (gov.uk)
Important: Sometimes educational establishments forget to notify your LA and your child ‘slips through the net’. If this is the case, legally you are under no obligation to make contact with your LA. Neither do you need to let them know that your child is no longer at school and nor do you need to tell them you are homeschooling or home educating.
What to expect when your lA contacts you about homeschooling in the uK
Depending on what your situation was before you decided to home educate, your LA may contact you. The reason being, they need to know that your child is, or will be receiving an efficient, full-time and suitable education.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the protocol followed by each LA varies.
My LA contacted me twice in the first year and since then, it has been annually.
Every LA has their own policies relating to Elective Home Education (EHE). You can find these on their website, and it is advisable to familiarise yourself with these documents.
Sometimes LAs may also ask for face-to-face meetings at your home or via video conference. The purpose of these meetings is (but not limited to):
- Wanting to assess your home as a suitable place for your child to receive his/her homeschooling or home education
- To judge your suitability as the person responsible for providing your child with an education at home
- To assess your child’s literacy and numeracy skills
‘As parents, you are under no legal obligation from education law to agree to such a meeting … or to produce specific evidence but you should consider carefully the reasons for not doing so, what is in the best interests of your child, and what is the most sensible approach. If you do not do enough to satisfy the local authority about the education being provided at home it may have no option but to conclude that the education does not meet the s.7 requirement.’ (gov.uk)
The best way to deal with your LA as a UK homeschooling parent
From my own experience and that of other homeschooling families I know, the LA are not ‘out to get you’. They do however expect you to co-operate with them to a certain extent.
A lot of people will tell you horror stories about their interaction with the LA. In such cases, it is important to remember that everyone’s situation and circumstances are unique. In addition to this, we never quite know someone's full story.
If you do have LA related anxiety, I suggest you avoid Facebook groups where people share their negative experiences. As mentioned above, everyone's situation is different and reading a one sided version of events will not be helpful for you.
Knowing the law, and knowing your rights are KEY to alleviating any LA related anxiety!
I have always:
- Agreed to telephone conversations with my LA,
- Provided detailed reports about our homeschooling including sample work to evidence the home education, and
- Declined video calls, home visits and any form of contact or assessment with or of my child.
I also know of families who prefer to have no telephone contact with their LA. In this case, they ask for all communication to be in writing only, which is 100% lawful and acceptable.
Thank you for this post, Mariam! So detailed and concise, I’m sure it will be a help for anyone who is interested in home educating. I have started recommending it to people, too. 🙂
Javeria, thank you so much for your comment and for always supporting my work. I hope to continue creating homeschooling content that will serve as a guide to both those who would like to enter this space, and those who are already there. Thank you again