Parental rights and responsibilities
Parents have a right to educate their children at home (Section 7 of the Education Act 1996).
Parents may elect to home educate at any stage up to the end of compulsory school age. This is a personal decision that schools should not be influencing or suggesting.
Parents are not required to register or seek approval from the local authority to educate their children at home (except children on roll of a special school), however, they are required to give written notification of their intention to home educate to the school so their child can be deleted from the school roll. If a child is registered at a school as a result of a school attendance order the parents must get the order revoked by the local authority by providing evidence of a suitable education before the child can be de-registered.
Parents must be prepared to assume full financial responsibility. Parents must also ensure their child receives suitable full-time education for as long as they are being educated at home.
Providing a full-time education
There is no legal definition of full-time education. There is no expectation for home education to cover the same hours as a school day. The type of educational activity can be varied and flexible. For example, parents are not required to teach the national curriculum or sit public examinations.
Local authority responsibility
Local authorities have no statutory duties in relation to monitoring the quality of home education on a routine basis. However, a local authority is required to intervene if it appears that parents are not providing a suitable education.
A local authority has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, however, it does not have the power to enter the homes of, or otherwise see, children for the purposes of monitoring the provision of home education.
If you have any concerns as to the suitability of the educational provision or with respect to safeguarding, please contact the EHE Team.