Guidance for parents who choose to educate their children at home
Parents have a legal right to chose to educate their children other than by school.
Duty of parents
The Education Act 1996 S.7 states that:
- The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him/her to receive a full-time education suitable to his/her age, ability and aptitude and suitable to any special educational needs he/she may have either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
There are no legal requirements to take formal examinations or to follow the National Curriculum. If your child has a Statement of Educational Need and/or is attending a special school you should contact the Special Education Service at the LA (Local Authority) to seek further advice regarding how your child’s special needs will be met and to arrange to change their Statement of Educational Need accordingly.
Duty of Local Authority
The LA may make enquiries of parents who are educating their children at home to establish that a suitable education is being provided.
When a Head teacher has received written notification from a parent that a child is receiving home education, any pupil of compulsory school age shall be deleted from the school’s admissions register. If a child has never attended school, there is no requirement to register with the LA. However, once such a child of compulsory school age comes to the notice of the LA, the LA must satisfy itself that the child is receiving an appropriate education, instigating School Attendance Order proceedings where either the provision is unsatisfactory or no provision is being made.
The Education Welfare Service (EWS) will seek to undertake a home visit to provide information and advice to the parent and to possibly obtain a programme of education from the parent. Irrespective of whether the parent has met with an Education Welfare Officer, an Education Inspector from the City Council’s Learning Services Division will arrange to meet the parent to assess the education and to offer advice and guidance. The EWS and the parent/s will be informed in writing of the outcome of the Inspector’s involvement.
It should be noted, however, that if the provision is deemed to be unacceptable having been given some time to resolve any issues, you may be required to return your child to a school or other suitable education provision, or place them on a school roll for the first time if they have never previously been in the state education system.
Examples of reasons for parents electing to educate children otherwise than at school:
- The desire to give children individual attention or a curriculum which meets individual needs
- Unhappiness with the mainstream school
- The competitive atmosphere in some schools
- More individual attention
It is important that parents understand the implications of choosing home education:
- There is no financial support from the LA – the cost of materials, joining organisations etc becomes the parent’s responsibility and if the child was previously on a school roll, the school would not play any further part in the child’s education (ie they would not mark work and they would not routinely enter the child for exams)
- If undertaking GCSEs, where a syllabus includes coursework, the student should be attached to a qualified tutor who can mark the work and authenticate any work that needs to be submitted to the examination board for moderation. (There may be associated cost implications.)
- Re-entry to a preferred school may not be straightforward
- Some older children may lack the motivation to work on their own
- There is a commitment of time and money on the part of the parent/carer
If you would like more information please contact:
Leicester City Council Education Welfare Service
Collegiate House
College Street
Leicester
LE2 0JX
or
use our online enquiry form
Additional information and useful links can be found by clicking here, alternatively visit the DCSF website Parentscentre.gov.uk