These sites and services can help support you with your child’s home education. Parents and carers have recommended these services and sites.
Home education
- GOV.UK: Home education - provides some information for all aspects of education, including a section dedicated to elective home education
- Curriculum Information - contains information on both primary and secondary curriculum subjects
- Home Education Advisory Service - PO Box 98, Welwyn Garden City, Herts. AL8 6AN, Telephone: 01707 371854, Email: enquiries@heas.org.uk
- Home education in the UK - lots of information and guidance for new and continuing Home Education Families including exams, blogs, de-schooling
- Home-Education - contains links to free resources and information for parents and carers around Home Education
- EdYourself - information regarding exams whilst home educating
- He-exams - information regarding exams whilst home educating
- A Home Education - articles on every question you could think of surrounding issues impacting your child's home education - AHome Education was created to provide you with an accurate reference point where you will be able to read advice and information that you can trust
- Education Everywhere - this is an information sharing service staffed by a highly experienced team of volunteers - they help anyone with a query about alternative approaches to education other than going to school. Telephone: 01942 897779.
- Educational Freedom - a non-profit organisation with the primary purpose of ensuring all Home Educators have access to free information and support
- Home Educating Families’ Festival - Home Education Festivals is a non-profit organisation which runs home education events in the UK, most notably they organise and run the Home Education Families’ Festival every summer and more recently the WinterHEFF event
- Cambridge iGCSE information - a wealth of information about home schooling
- Kids on the Net – invites children to submit their own writing, plus lots more to explore
- Topmarks Education - teaching resources, interactive resources, worksheets, homework, exam and revision help
- Writing Fun - helping kids with how to write using text organizers - an interactive writing resource
Useful website for learning
KS 1 and 2 (Ages 4 to 11) & KS 3&4 (Age 11 to 16)
- Teachit - English Key Stage 3,4 and 5 (membership required)
- Home Schooling Ideas - whether you're just about to start home-schooling, or you're ready for a change - there ARE ways to organize exciting home school schedules and regain happy, motivated children
- The Khan Academy - a free personalized learning resource for all ages
- Open University, Open Learn - free online courses available through the Open University’s Open Learn website, including languages, maths, the sciences and the social sciences
- Maths Key Stage 1-4, Emaths - providing free resources for mathematics teachers and students since 2004
- MyMaths - MyMaths is a fully interactive, online mathematics learning solution for children of all ages and abilities (subscription required)
- School History - KS3, GCSE, IGCSE & A-Level History Revision Resources, History lessons, resources and online history revision courses for KS3, GCSE, IGCSE, IB and A- level curriculums
- BBC Bitesize - learn and revise all subjects Key Stages 1-4
- Ed Place, Helping Children Succeed - subscription site covering English, maths and science
- Sparkle Box - free online primary school teaching resources.
- Twinkl - instant access to a complete range of award-winning teacher-created, engaging and inspiring teaching, planning and assessment materials
- Reading Eggs - Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities
- Planet Science - Planet Science offers young scientists of school age the inspiration and excitement that will support their study of science at school and beyond
- The Royal Institution, Science Lives Here - discover the range of educational activities and resources provided by the RI throughout the year
- Learn Chemistry - learn chemistry has everything for students of chemistry and the chemical sciences from primary to higher education
- Creative Chemistry - gull-colour worksheets and teaching notes for fun activities suitable for a chemistry club, and around three hundred pages of question sheets and practical guides for GCSE and A Level chemistry
- Literacy Planet - comprehensive and engaging online programme to develop literacy skills
- iXL - IXL is an immersive learning experience that provides comprehensive, curriculum-aligned maths and English content for reception to year 13
- Steiner Home Education - offering a wonderful and unique home education system delivered right to your door - Waldorf inspired home schooling takes a personal approach to educating your child by offering teaching plans balancing head, heart and hands based on the Waldorf/Steiner Curriculum
- Duolingo - learn languages for free
- Oxford Owl - Oxford Owl is packed with expert advice, top tips and activity ideas so you can help your child with reading and maths
- Exemplar Education - maths and English tuition (a subscription is required)
- Get My Grades - online learning platform covering KS3/4 maths, English, biology, chemistry, and physics (subscription required)
- Corbettmaths - free resources for primary to GCSE
- Sumdog - maths and English free resources, KS1/2/3
- White Rose Maths – maths planning and resources linked to the National Curriculum (EYFS – KS3)
- Numerise - structured maths learning (subscription required)
- Tagtiv8 Active Learning Approaches Teach Maths and English – physically active learning
- The Literacy Shed - inspiration for creative writing tasks
- Mathsframe maths games for KS2: designed by a teacher for teachers – online maths games and resources for KS2
- Scratch - For Parents (mit.edu) - free online programming resource for KS2 upwards for those interested in computer programming at a younger age
Websites offering GCSEs and iGCSEs
- Interhigh Virtual Schooling - InterHigh School delivers a fully interactive, accredited British education to the comfort of your home or wherever you may be
- National Extension College - NEC is an award-winning online distance learning college covering GCSEs and A-Levels
- Online Learning College - The Online Learning College offers a range of home study courses to students in the UK and overseas
- Cambridge Assessment International Education - the four stages lead seamlessly from primary to secondary and pre-university years: each stage – Cambridge primary, Cambridge lower secondary, Cambridge upper secondary and Cambridge advanced – builds on the learners’ development from the previous one, but can also be offered separately
- ECHO (Educating Children at Home and Otherwise) iGCSEs - Key Stage 3 and IGCSE Courses and tutoring - for home educators, by home educators
- Cloud Learn – GCSE and A-Level distance learning specialists
- Open Study College - a range of GCSE courses open to adult learners and to school age pupils who would do better outside of a traditional school environment - these courses can be completed entirely from home at a learner's convenience and come with learning materials and dedicated personal tutor support
Books
- CGP revision guides and practice papers - English, Maths, Science, History
- WH Smith Challenge English/Maths/Science series
- Letts KS2/3/4 Study guides
- Letts Monstrous maths series; stupendous spelling, Success in Maths/English/Science at KS2
- Letts Premier ICT at KS2
- Hodder: English Gold KS3
- Atlas of exploration (+ CD-ROM)
- Collins: Practice with basic skills KS2/3
- Collins: Complete Woodworkers’ Manual
- Dorling-Kindersley: covering a wide range of subjects. e.g. Dinosaurs, Eyewitness Shakespeare, etc.
Examination Boards
- OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations) - Tel: 01223 553998
- Edexcel - Tel: 08456 180440
- AQA - Tel: 08001977162 Email: eos@aqa.org.uk
- City and Guilds - Tel: 08445 430033
- Pearsons
If parents would like to purchase copies of past national curriculum test papers:-
QCA Order line - PO Box 29, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 1GN
Tel: 08700 606015
Email: orderline@qca.org.uk
QCA Publications - PO Box 99, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 6SN
Tel: 01787 884444
The BBC also sells past national curriculum test papers. These are available from some bookshops and stationers.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
- Education Otherwise - home schooling of children with disabilities
- HE-Special - a group of families who home educate children with Special Educational Needs and disabilities
- Dyslexics website - information about dyslexia
- Homes Schools Aspergers - information about Aspergers syndrome
- National Autistic Society - the UK's leading charity for people on the autism spectrum and their families - Tel: 08088 004104
Other helpful websites
- Bully On line - the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice contains pages on workplace violence, domestic abuse, suicide, child bullying, bullying in schools, stalking, and more
- Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP) - guidance if you are worried about how someone has been communicating online
- North Yorkshire Safeguarding Partnership - multi-agency safeguarding arrangements for North Yorkshire
- Young Minds – Young Minds exists so that young people have the strongest possible voice in improving their mental health