Home Education: A Classroom in the Sitting Room?
by Lorna Smith

About 0.5 percent of school-aged children are currently educated full-time at home and, apparently, the numbers are rising all the time. What is it that encourages parents to believe that their child will get a better start in life at home? This article looks at the pros and cons of home education, some ways in to it, and the legal situation surrounding the issue.

Ways in to Home Education
For those families who do decide to home educate, there is a wealth of support material available. Tap in ‘Home Education’ to any search engine and you will be bombarded with links, from sites offering materials and learning packages, to home-educating-family-run sites showing how they do it. Many sites are American, as Home Schooling (as it is often known there) is also becoming popular, especially amongst strongly Christian families.

As far as suitable resources go, those starting out as home educators often choose to follow a set package, as it provides a ‘safety net’. (Some packages even include a personal tutor in a particular subject.) The World Wide Education Service – originally set up to help overseas missionaries educate their children - offers the British National Curriculum and is useful for top-up education ideas too.

Other resources include CD-ROMs on most academic subjects, text books and general interest books, and on-line learning via sites such as the the wide range of resources at BBC Schools and BBC Learning.

Examinations like GCSEs can be prepared for via correspondence courses (which have the advantage of providing a tutor who can oversee and mark coursework, but can be expensive), by studying at home (and buying in past papers and mark schemes from the chosen exam board) or by enrolling in a local adult education class or college. Some parents choose to enter their child in a school on a part-time arrangement in order to make sitting GCSEs easier.

The Legal Situation
Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act states that parents are responsible for educating their children ‘by regular attendance at school or otherwise.’

Unless your child has Special Educational Needs and attends a Special school, or has a school attendance order, if you live in England or Wales you do not have to get permission from the Local Education Authority to withdraw your child from school – although it would be courteous to inform them of your intentions. Once they receive a letter from you informing them that you are now educating your child at home, it is the responsibility of the school to inform the LEA of the removal of your child’s name from the register, and the head should not try to oppose you - it is your right. Similarly, you do not have to inform the LEA if your child is rising five and you choose to home educate from the outset. (Some families decide to home educate for a few years until they believe their child is more ready for school.) All you need to be able to do is prove that education is taking place: when the LEA contacts you, you can explain your educational philosophy and any other information by letter.

You are not obliged to follow the National Curriculum
You are not obliged to enter your child for GCSEs
You are not obliged to have any qualifications or teaching experience
You are not obliged to have visits from the LEA at home

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the rules are slightly different: visit the Schoolhouse Home Education Association (www.schoolhouse.org.uk) to see the Scottish requirements. Home education in Northern Ireland is still in its infancy, but the legal requirements are the same as those in Scotland.

Child Benefit payments will be unaffected if your child is under 16. It can be slightly harder to continue claiming the benefit for students of 16–18 due to issues concerning part-time jobs or work experience, but in theory you are still eligible.

For further official guidance on the legal situation, visit the DfEE website.