Guernsey

The law relating to Home Education is broadly similar to that of England and Wales. The Education (Guernsey) Law of 1970 is equivalent to Section 7(a) of the Education Act 1996, and the Education (Amendment)(Guernsey) Law of 1987 adds the words 'to any special educational needs he may have' as found in Section 7(b) of the Education Act 1996. (See Summary of the Law in England and Wales).

It has not been possible to find either of these Laws on the internet but for anyone wishing to obtain a copy, they are available for a nominal sum from The Greffe located at the Royal Court in Guernsey.

The main differences are:

• LEAs in Guernsey are called the State Education departments.
• To deregister your child, you would need to write to the Head of the School stating that you are educating your child otherwise than at school.
• If your child is in a Special School, you need permission from the States Education Department to deregister the child.
• If your child has special needs, there are caveats in the law which allow the State Education Department to call in the Medical Officer to determine whether or not the home education is in the best interests of the child. However, if the decision from the authorities was that the child was better off in school, the same procedure as English law applies and a School Attendance Order would be issued. Parents have the right of appeal to the decision.
• Compulsory School Age is from 5-15 in Guernsey but this is due to change to 5-16 in the academic year 2008/2009.
• There is no such thing as a Statement of Special Educational Needs on Guernsey so the problems that sometimes occur with Statemented Children in England and Wales do not arise.
• There is a draft policy on home education on Guernsey which actually states that home visits are required twice a year, but this draft policy has not been implemented and there is no set date for this at this time.
• Flexi schooling is not recognised on the island, but it has been known for individual schools to accommodate a child in special circumstances.
• Schools on Guernsey are not bound by law to follow the national curriculum but have voted that they wish to do so. Therefore, if you are only temporarily home educating, as with English and Welsh home education, it may be advisable to consider the contents of the national curriculum.

Jersey

Jersey Education law is set out in EDUCATION (JERSEY) LAW 1999 and uses exactly the same wording as English law in that:

A parent of a child of compulsory school age shall ensure that he receives full-time education appropriate to his age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at a school at which he is a pupil or otherwise, in accordance with Article 13.

For the purposes of this Law, a child is of compulsory school age throughout the period beginning on the first day of the school term in which his fifth birthday falls and ending on the thirtieth day of June in the school year in which he attains the age of sixteen years.

Article 13 states that: