About HE

If you are new to home education, or thinking about home education, please read our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Home education (HE) is an alternative to school; any family can choose this option for their children - parents choose to keep primary responsibility for the education of their children as is their right in law, instead of delegating it to a school.

Local authorities in England and Wales know of around 20,000 home educated children. These children are primarily known because they have been in the school system. If a parent wishes to take a child out of school in order to home educate, there is a legal process which must be followed and which culminates in the school notifying the local authority.

Since there is no legal duty for parents to notify the authorities if the child has never been to school, there will also be a number of home educated children who are not officially known to the authority. Official estimates vary but the number of unknown children in England and Wales is not likely to be more than 20,000 in total.

The most common reasons for home education are

to provide a more personalised and adaptable learning environment for the child;
because the parents object to the National Curriculum and teaching to the test in schools;
because young children are felt not to be ready for formal academic instruction;
in order for the family to spend more time together;
as an expression of the family's philosophical or religious convictions; or
in reaction to negative events in school such as bullying

In addition, a number of children with special educational needs are home educated when school cannot meet the child's needs.

Books

You can find these and many more books about home education in our Amazon Store.

Learning without School: Home Education By Ross Mountney

Alan Thomas and Harriet Pattison How Children Learn at Home

Videos

In 2009 Education Otherwise commissioned a short film about home education which could be seen on YouTube. The popular annual home education camp, Hesfes, provides the backdrop to many of the interview clips.

From the initial film came a number of separate features, including interviews with the author and academic Alan Thomas and with Lord Lucas, who took an interest in the Government trying to change the law on home education.

The EO YouTube channel can be found here.

Articles

Author Ross Mountney who contributes a regular feature to the Education Otherwise newsletter has written a useful introductory article about home education. Read more here.

Finding Out More About Home Education

Most people choose to send their children to a school to be educated, but contrary to popular belief it is both legal and reasonable to educate your child at home. If you think that you may not be sufficiently resourceful to home-educate, bear in mind that thousands of families in the UK, and millions in the English-speaking world, are now practising home-education.

The majority of home educators are not qualified teachers. Once you start "home" educating, you will find that you can work on just what you want, when you want, that it isn't expensive, that the children don't get lonely, that it is possible for exams to be taken if you wish, and that it is possible to educate children with special needs.

Educational Philosophies

Look at our FAQ page on Educational Philosophies for more information about different types of home education.

Media Inquiries

Background information for journalists can be found here. Education Otherwise Press Releases can be found here.