Is Homeschooling Legal in the UK? How to deregister your child from school [Rachael Plant]

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Is homeschooling legal in the UK?

The short answer is yes it is and in this video I explain some of the legal implications and what that means for you as a homeschooler aswell as the process you need to follow in order to deregister your child from school.

So what does the law say about home education?

The Department for Education’s guidance document states;

“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.”

So the responsibility for a child’s education lies with the parents. They can either choose for their child to attend school or they can provide the education themselves.

As a home educator you will be providing education otherwise than in school.

This means -

• You are not required by law to follow the national curriculum. (there are many
different approaches that families take to home education)
• You don’t need to have special equipment or premises to home educate
• The education you provide does not have to match the school day or term times and
you don’t need to have a scheduled timetable.
• There is no requirement to be inspected by Ofsted.

If your child is already in school and you wish to deregister them - you do not need permission from either the school or LEA unless your child is subject to a school attendance order or attends a special school and has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education Health and Care Plan.

You need to write a deregistration letter or email to the school informing them of your intention to do so and the date that will be effective from. Once the school has received written notification from the parent that a pupil is receiving education otherwise than at school, they must delete the child’s name from the school roll.

You are not under any obligation to inform the Local Education Authority that you are home educating although you may hear from them in due course.

LEAs do not have any statutory duties to routinely monitor the quality of home education and you are not obliged to accept home visits although of course you may find them useful. I feel it important to note that the level of support and encouragement for home education can vary between different LEAs and many home educators prefer to find the support they seek at grassroots level from other home educators who have first hand experience of home educating their own children and all that this involves.

However, it is advisable to engage with the LEA and respond to any contact initiated by them as not doing so may flag up cause for concern.

You can request that all correspondence is by email rather than phone or visit which also means there is documented evidence of all communication.

Most home educators that are known to the LEA and who choose not to meet with the Elective Home Education officer will send an annual A4 report of their educational philosophy and a broad overview of the education they have provided for their child(ren).

If your child is approaching school age and you have applied for a school place have now decided to home educate you need to contact the admissions team at the LEA to inform them. If your child is below compulsory school age you are not required to inform them that you are home educating.

What is compulsory school age?

Your child doesn’t become of CSA when the reach the age of 5 but actually at the beginning of the term after they turn 5. So, for example if you child’s 5th birthday is in May they will become of CSA at the beginning of term after 1st September.

Need an income which works around homeschooling?

The VA Academy with Lace Flowers might be a great solution.

Working as a Virtual Assistant is what has suoported me and my daughter through homeschooling for the past 5 years and its worked really well. All you need are a few basic skills and a laptop to get started.

I have done the VA Academy myself and its amazing.

Lace (a fellow homeschooling mum) takes you step by step through everything you need to set up your own business and start earning an income as a VA.

Here's the link https://bit.ly/46A468c

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