Elective home education - guidance for parents and carers

We would encourage parents to contact us regarding a pre-decision meeting as described on page three in the first instance and before removing a child from the school roll.  If you have decided to home educate, we strongly advise parents/carers to write to the school confirming their intention to educate their children at home and let us know when they have done this. Contact us.

Although parents/carers have no legal duty to notify the school that they are electively home educating their child we strongly recommend you do so. If parents/carers simply remove their child from school without informing them in writing, the school may pursue attendance procedures or have the child logged with us as a Child Missing Education. The school cannot remove a child from roll without receiving written notification about the parents’ decision to provide education otherwise than at school (Pupil Registration Regulations 2006). The school must inform us of the parents/carers decision.

If a child is registered at a school, then a decision to home educate may not be the best way to solve an issue with the school or to overcome difficulties with attendance. Parents/carers may be able to resolve these issues with the head teacher or governors at the school, or through speaking to an EHE Advisor. Our EHE Advisors can provide advice if parents/carers feel that any pressure is being put on them to take their child out of school to home educate.

The simple answer to this question is “No”. Please remember that local authorities have no legal responsibility or obligation to fund parents or carers who choose to home educate. You will need to look at the costs that may be involved.

An elective home education Advisor will meet with you one month after you choose to elective home education to give you the opportunity to share what education is in place for your child and to discuss any queries you may have in relation to home education. Our Local Offer Page lists a range of services your child may be eligible to access, as well as a list of resources that are available which may help you with planning your child’s education. However, as a parent/carer who elective home education you, like a school, are responsible for planning and delivering a suitable full-time education for your child’s age, ability and aptitude.  

If you use a private tutor you remain responsible for the welfare and education of your child. It is recommended that you check the tutor’s identity and qualifications, take up appropriate references and ensure that the tutor has a recent Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) disclosure certificate that you are satisfied with. We advise you to monitor the teaching and learning and the progress your child makes. 

No, you do not need formal qualifications and you do not need to employ a qualified teacher. How your child learns is up to you, as long as the education is efficient, suitable and full-time. There is no one form of education; children learn in different ways, at different times and speeds. 

Elective home education does not need to be identical to school education: no specific curriculum is laid down and you do not have to follow the National Curriculum. If you would like your child to go on to further education, or to take public examinations such as GCSEs or IGCSEs we would recommend that you follow the relevant curriculum to prepare them for that. We have listed some GCSE examination boards in the ‘Useful addresses’ section. We recommend that you research the curriculum and exams before you begin studies so that you can decide which examination board and syllabus you wish to follow. You will also need to arrange for your child to take exams at a registered examination centre. 

No, there is no funding available for parents/carers who EHE their child. Once the child is removed from the school roll parents/carers will need to fund the education which will include paying for exams. 

Some further education (Sixth Form) colleges in Northern England provide a small number of part-time courses for children who are within National Curriculum years 10 and 11. Colleges may have limited spaces for home educated children, but availability and entry requirements vary. Applications for college courses should be made directly to colleges. Colleges can reclaim funding from the government via the Education and Skills Funding Agency. If your child attends a college placement, you must ensure your child receives a suitable full-time education. Please visit full-time enrolment of 14 to 16-year-olds in further education and sixth-form colleges.

What is flexi-schooling? Flexi-schooling is an arrangement where, following a formal request from parents or carers and with the approval of the school, a child spends a part of the week attending school and some time educated at home or at an off-school site. In such arrangements, however, the child will always remain on the school roll. 

What is the legal situation regarding flexi-schooling? Parents and carers are fully entitled to ask schools about possible arrangements for flexi-schooling. There is, however, no parental entitlement to flexi-schooling and the decision to agree it, or not, rests entirely with the Headteacher. If a school decides not to agree such an arrangement, there is no formal appeal process.

Some companies or other organisations make part-time provision for a significant part of the week to assist parents who educate at home but cannot themselves provide a full-time education. If you use the services of such companies, you should ask about matters such as safeguarding and checks on staff.

Some groups of parents who home educate their children come together to support each other and teach their children on a communal basis. There is no reason why this should not take place, but such groups should be aware that if their intended provision will amount to full-time education of five or more children of compulsory school age (or just one if that child has an EHC Plan/statement of SEN, or is ‘looked after’), then it may require registration as an independent school. Enquiries on registering as an independent school may be made to registration.enquiries@education.gov.uk

A small minority of parents send their children to establishments which despite the registration requirement mentioned in the paragraph above are in fact already operating as unregistered independent schools, providing a full-time education. The proprietors of these settings may be committing an offence, and the settings may be inspected by Ofsted and closed down. If you suspect that a setting you are considering for your child falls into this category, you should ask the local authority if it has any relevant information about the setting, or contact Ofsted.

If your child is involved in any of the arrangements described above the local authority will take account of the provision made in assessing whether you as parents are meeting your duty under s.7, and you should ensure that the local authority is aware that you supplement home education through attendance at another setting and that you are able to provide information about your child’s learning in that setting.

If the child has an Education Health and Care Plan, parents /carers still have the right to home educate. Parents/carers should discuss their decision to home educate with their SEN Caseworker as soon as possible so that the SEN Caseworker can explain the implications of this for the EHCP.

The EHCP will need to be reviewed every year as this is a statutory process and progress towards educational outcomes should be monitored in that annual review to determine the ongoing suitability of home education. If at any point the local authority considers that home education is no longer suitable, it must ensure that the special education provision specified in the EHCP is available.

Annual Reviews will continue for children who are EHE whilst the EHCP is maintained. If parents/carers wish to change to a school provision, the parents/carers can call a statutory review which is their right to do at any point in the year. They should contact their SEN Caseworker to enquire about this process.

If a Parent/carer feels their child may need an EHCP due to the level of their child’s special educational needs and/or disability they may contact their EHE Advisor regarding this.

Further information about EHE for children with an EHCP is available in the DfE Guidance for LA Elective home education and the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years, which has a chapter on home education.

Some home educators later decide that their child should return to school. You will need to apply for a place at your preferred school which you can do at any time. It may not always be possible to get a place at your child’s previous school, even if it is your ‘designated’ catchment area school. By law, a school cannot ‘hold’ a place for you if another family wants it. Our admissions team will provide you with information, advice and guidance on applying for a school place, and on the appeals process. Please read our page on guiding you through the admissions process.

The law now requires all young people in England to continue in education or training until at least their 18th birthday, although in practice most young people continue until the end of the academic year in which they turn 18.

The raised participation age (RPA) does not mean young people must stay in school; they can choose one of the following post-16 options:

• full-time education, such as school, college or home education
• an apprenticeship
• part-time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering full-time (which is defined as 20 hours or more per week)

Young people who have been educated at home may want to take further education college courses. It is important to know that many courses have specific entry requirements, such as GCSE passes. Your local further education college will be able to give you more information. 

The Department for Education website has further information.

Complaints or concerns about children’s education or welfare received from members of the public will be given appropriate consideration by North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership on 01609 78078. Please visit the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children's Board.

If you have a concern or complaint about the elective home education service, you may contact us in the first instance. See further information about complaints.