FAQs
Watch our Watch Education Otherwise's video "School is Not Compulsory" video on the EO Youtube channel to find out more.
Note: This page contains information about the law in England. The information does not apply to Scotland, where the law is different from England. Home educators in Wales should double check any differences between English and Welsh guidelines.
Questions:Is it legal?
How do other families home educate?
How many children are home educated?
Is the law going to be changed?
Who do parents have to tell if they are beginning home education?
What do I have to do if I want to take my child out of school?
Do I have to be a qualified teacher?
What are the main ways of educating children at home?
Do I have to follow the National Curriculum?
How can I find out what is being taught in schools?
How does the local authority deal with home education?
Will the local authority monitor what we are doing?
Do I have to let the local authority into my home/Do I have to agree to a meeting with the local authority?
Do I have to wait for my home education to be approved before I am allowed to start?
Do I have to provide information to the local authority on an annual basis?
What are School Attendance Orders?
Is there any funding for home education?
What is the position with Child Benefit and home education?
Can lone parents on benefits home educate?
How do I find home educators in my local area?
What about exams?
What about socialisation?
Is it possible to home educate children with special educational needs?
Is the school leaving age going to be raised and what will this mean for home educators?
A. The law in England states that education is compulsory but school is not. Read our page on the law here.
Q. How do other families home educate?
A. Read more from home educators here and here. See our page on local groups to make contact with home educators near you. Watch the EO YouTube videos about home education here.
Q. How many children are home educated?
A. Local authorities in England and Wales know of around 20,000 home educated children. It is estimated that around the same number are currently not officially known to the authorities, making a total of 40,000 home educated children in England and Wales.
Q. Is the law going to be changed?
A. No. Please see our campaign website for the latest news. Government plans to change the law for England were not successful. Read more from the Education Otherwise Press Release here.
Q. Who do parents have to tell if they are beginning home education?
A. If a child has never been in school, there is no legal duty for the parent to inform anyone in authority about home education once the child reaches the age of 5.
Q. What do I have to do if I want to take my child out of school?
A. For children who are registered pupils at a state school, in cases where the parents wish to home educate, the law requires the parent to send a written request to the proprietor to remove the child's name from the school roll. Read more about the deregistration procedure here.
Q. Do I have to be a qualified teacher?
A. You do not have to have any formal qualifications in order to be able to educate your child at home. As a parent, you have been educating your child from day one.
Q. What are the main ways of educating children at home?
A. Read our page on [Educational Philosophies for more information. Also see what home educators say here and here. Watch the EO YouTube videos here.
Q. Do I have to follow the National Curriculum?
A. Home educated children do not have to follow the National Curriculum.
Q. How can I find out what is being taught in schools?
A. See our page on the National Curriculum here.
Q. How does the Local Authority deal with home education?
A. Read our page on The Law and the Local Authority here.
Q. Will the Local Authority monitor what we are doing?
A. It is likely the local authority will want to know what educational provision is being made for your child. Local authorities have no legal duty to monitor and supervise your home education, but they do have a duty to identify children not receiving education.
If you receive a request for more information about how you are home educating, you can legally respond in a number of ways for example by filling in a form or writing a report or by talking to someone from the local authority. Read more about local authority procedures here.
A. The local authority has no automatic right of access to your home or to your children simply because you are home educating.
Read more about the law and home education here.
Q. Do I have to wait for my home education to be approved before I am allowed to start?
A. No. In England and Wales you do NOT have to have your home education approved. Please read our page on deregistering a child from school here. However, parents of children with special needs should read our SEN pages, since the local authority will have to give consent to removing a child from a special school.
Q. Do I have to provide information to the local authority on an annual basis?
A. There is nothing in English law which says that the parent is required to provide information on an annual basis, though the Welsh Guidelines recommend that the LA contacts the family annually with a request for updated information. The practice throughout England and Wales is extremely variable. However, many local authorities will wish to make annual visits to the family home or will ask the parents for a written report. See our legal pages here.
There is nothing in the law which mandates annual contact but nor is it expressly disallowed by law. Please read our pages on Children Missing Education and School Attendance Orders for more background information on the local authority's duties in law.
Q. What are School Attendance Orders
A. Read our page on School Attendance Orders here.
Q. Is there any funding for home education?
A. Read our page on funding here.
Q. What is the position with Child Benefit and home education?
A. Read our page on Child Benefit here.
Q. Can lone parents on benefits home educate?
A. Our page on Welfare Reform here (includes information about Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and self-employment.)
Q. How do I find home educators in my local area?
A. See our home education map here. Membership of Education Otherwise will also provide you in most cases with a local contact in your area. Read more here about the benefits of joining Education Otherwise.
A. Please see our page about exams.
A. The word socialisation, contrary to the opinion of some, does not mean spending the weekdays competing with 25 human beings one's own age. In a natural community children spend their daily lives with old people, babies, and everyone in between. They do not compete, but learn to search out the needs of others and to help them live and learn. This mixed age group and habit of teaching and helping others, and being helped and taught by people younger or older than oneself, is a natural part of home education.
Watch our short video about home education which was filmed during HESFES home education camp. Click here to find a local home education group near you. Read here about the benefits of joining Education Otherwise.
Q. Is it possible to home educate children with special needs?
A. Yes. Many families successfully home educate children with special needs. Read our SEN page here for more details.
Q. Is the school leaving age going to be raised and what will this mean for home educators?
A. Read our page on the School Leaving Age here.
Different Guidelines and Guidance in England & Wales
England and Wales have slightly different home education guidelines and different regulations concerning deregistration from school.
Children Missing Education statutory Guidance (England) does not apply to Wales, although s.436A of the Education Act 1996 has been enacted in both England and Wales. See our CME page here.
Please double-check any legislation or guidance as it applies to countries other than England. EO Legal pages can be found here.
Membership of Education Otherwise
Membership of Education Otherwise gives you the opportunity to meet other home-educating members, as well as offering a range of information and ideas to enable you to make an informed choice based on the individual circumstances of your family. In the Members Forum you will find a broad spectrum of home educators from all areas of the country and with a variety of different perspectives and experience. Read more about the benefits of joining Education Otherwise here.
