What are the Rules for Homeschooling?

When we started out deciding whether or not we want to home educate our own children, we had no idea about what the actual 'rules' were, so I decided to summarise them here.

Remember this is just a rough summary of the main points in my own words, so if you need further clarification, check out the gov.uk website for more details.

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 provides that:
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive
efficient full-time education suitable -
(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and
(b) to any special educational needs he may have,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

Compulsory school age is defined from the first of the following dates:

• (31 August, 31 December or 31 March) which occurs after they become five years old (or if the fifth birthday falls on one of those dates, on that day)
• This continues until the last Friday of June in the academic year in which they turn sixteen
  

You can of course, start earlier if you wish.

If your child is already at school, and you wish to take them out of school completely in order to pursue homeschooling, then you need to inform the school. The school cannot stop you from doing this, however they are within their right to refuse 'flexi-schooling' or part-time schooling, and are under no obligation to provide any special circumstances for your child should you choose to home educate.

The only caveat is that if your child is attending school as a result of a school attendance order, in which case you will need to obtain permission from your local council to home educate.

If your child has special educational needs (SEN)

If your child has special educational needs, you don't need to do anything differently if they're at a conventional school. However if your child has SEN and is attending a specific school for this, then you’ll need to the council’s permission to homeschool them instead. This includes if they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan in place.

Following a curriculum

The national curriculum is the government-mandated material that all registered, local-authority-maintained schools have to teach.

It has four key stages, ranging from ages 5 to 16.

The subjects that a primary school are required to teach are:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Design and Technology
• History
• Geography
• Art
• Music
• Physical Dducation (PE), including swimming
• Computing
• Ancient and modern foreign languages (at key stage 2)

Primary schools also have to provide

• relationships and health education
• religious education (RE) - but parents can ask for their children to be taken out of the lesson if they wish

Some schools also teach:

• Citizenship
• Modern foreign languages (at key stage 1)
• Sex education - again parents can ask for their children to be taken out of the lesson if they wish

What about homeschooling?

The government want to know that any children being homeschooled are receiving an adequate education, but they don't require a specific curriculum to be followed or satisfied.

Their requirements are that a child receives a 'full time education' from the age of five years old.

The local council can choose to make an informal enquiry to check that a child is receiving enough education at home, and can issue a school attendance order if they think a child needs to go to school in order to be educated properly.

Summary of the guidelines

• You can make use of tutors and private teachers to assist in your child's education, but there is no specific requirement to do so
• It doesn't have to be at 'home' - you can educate where and when you wish
• 'Flexi-schooling' or part time attendance at school may be possible, however schools are not obliged to provide this
• While 'full-time' traditional schooling adds up to around five hours a day for 190 days of the year, over about 38 weeks, homeschooling does not have to follow this pattern
• You don't have to have a specific timetable, working pattern or set hours, but for the sake of your sanity, it's helpful to have some structure!
• There is no requirement legally for your child to learn specific subjects or complete specific qualifications, however you need to demonstrate a 'minimum' standard of education, which usually involves maths and literacy
• You don't have to tell anyone if you're homeschooling, however it's a good idea to notify your local authority, as they can provide access to support and advice
• Your local authority doesn't have any formal power to monitor the education you are providing your children, but it does have a statutory duty (section 436A of the Education Act 1996) to identify children that are not receiving a suitable education
• Home-schooling groups are great, but just be aware that if you set up a group that provides full-time equivalent education for five or more children, then it needs to be officially registered as an independent school

Questions to ask yourself before homeschooling

• What are your reasons for homeschooling?
• What is your child's opinion?
• Do you have the financial and time capacity to teach your child at home?
• Is your home environment suitable?
• What support do you have in the form of family, friends and other sources of childcare?
• How will you manage if you get ill?
• How long do you plan to home educate - until secondary school or beyond?

Official government guidance for parents (Freely available at gov.uk)

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