Home Education
Some Questions Answered

I have been a teacher since 1987 but I've also been a home educating parent since 1991.

Here is my answers to the questions that come up regularly in conversations about home education.

I hope you find them useful.

Nick

Is It Legal?

Short Answer - Yes

Legally it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that your children receive an education. You are in control. We have more freedom than many other countries. Thank the rich people who wanted to use tutors, governesses and private schools.

Parents of children in SEN schools will need the local authorities permission but everyone else can just do it.

Legally Local Authorities have a responsibility to ensure that children in their area are receiving an adequate full time education. Normally this is by having the school system in place but it's not the only way.

Here's the government's website:
https://www.gov.uk/home-education

How to start?

Honestly, It's Simple

If your child is under school age then just carry on. Don't put their name down for school. If anyone asks where they're going, you can be vague. Then the Local Authority wont know you exist and should leave you alone.

If your child has started school then you will need to deregister them. It's a simple letter stating you are withdrawing your child. At this point your contact with the school has ended. You don't have to interact with them even if they try (and they probably will). Bear in mind that school systems can be slow. You may still get emails about homework etc. So long as they've acknowledged your deregistration letter then you can ignore them.

If your child is at a special school with an EHCP or you're in Scotland then you will have to ask permission.

However the school will contact the Local Authority and the LA have a legal responsibility to check on your child. More on this below.

Here's a link to a blog with a deregistration letter template:

https://adventuretravelfamily.co.uk/2022/04/21/how-to-deregister-your-child-from-school-free-template-letters/

The Local Authority

A Possible Pain In The Neck

Home Educating parents can have a difficult relationship with the Local Authority and there are a variety of ways that this can be handled.

If the Local Authority know about your child then they must check that they are receiving a suitable full time education. If they are not satisfied then they can go to court and force your child into school.

You must supply evidence when asked. However the Authority have no legal right to enter your home or speak to your child. You can simply send a report.

Problems arise because there is no definition of either how much time counts as full time education nor what constitutes a suitable education.

Many parents feel it's best interact as little as possible. Others are grateful for the help the Local Authority provide.

My opinion is to teach your child the way you feel is best (more on that below) but treat your interaction with the Local Authority as a separate job which is to make them happy that you are doing a good job. So study the National Curriculum, get familiar with education terminology, make records (eg photos) of ANYTHING that feels like its educational, ask people to check your report for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. And blind them with sheer quantity. Remember they are just people. People who are overworked and, probably, underpaid.

Starting HE

It's A Big Change For Your Child

And For You

Small children love learning. Most learn to walk, talk, dress themselves and toilet training with very little effort. Home educated children continue to love learning. It becomes a life long thing. And there's no stigma in becoming a 'swot' ie concentrating hard on a topic because they find it fun, interesting and exciting. My daughter carried The Hobbit around as an incentive to learn to read. My son loves language so he took up Latin lessons as it's the basis of so many modern languages.

Very often school takes away the joy of learning. A S Neill started Summerhill School where children do not have to attend lessons. He found that when children from traditional schools arrived they didn't go to lessons and this could continue for a year. However eventually they became 'deschooled' and wanted to go to lessons and began to enjoy their learning in their own way. So if your child has been to school, they may be resistant to learning. Don't worry. Give them time to find their feet again. Offer them activities that aid learning (more below) and eventually they will find their own way with your help.

And you are starting a journey as well. It's now your sole responsibility to ensure your child is educated. That can lie heavy on you. For some people it's not something they can deal with. However I believe all parents are capable of teaching their child certainly at primary level and most to GCSE. But it will take effort on your part. Nobody will hand it to you on a plate. I don't know of any resource that will teach your child fully - you will need to pick and choose, learn for yourself and put in the 'legwork'. The home educating community will give some help but don't expect anyone else to teach your child. They're too busy teaching their own. And if you pay people to teach your child then it's going to be expensive.

The best parents enjoy being with their child and interacting with them. They realise that they are part of the learning journey and are learning things themselves. They live a life that puts education at the centre - eg holidays are not relaxing on a beach but finding interesting places to visit and learn about. For our family we joined our children in choirs, fencing, St John's Ambulance, Woodcraft Folk and more. Our holidays were Tudor historical reenactments.

Day To Day Learning

What Do You Do?

Most parents start by trying to replicate school. And all of them quickly realise that it's not necessary, possible or desirable. Every family ends up doing it a different way that suits them and their child.

You can have a child-led, free learning environment where the child decides their own learning experience. Or you can replicate the teacher/pupil school environment. Or something in the middle.

We made some decisions early on. Some skills are vital so we would teach them. We would offer a variety of experiences and run with those that our children enjoyed. And we would try and listen to our children both about what they did and how they did it. Basically we made it up as we went along.

Resources

Things To Do

Most people start reaching for the workbooks - good old CGP for example. They can form a part of your arsenal but possibly only a small part.

There is a wealth of free or cheap educational activities :

Museums and art galleries obviously. Remember museums offer great workshops - we've done animation, pottery and many other things
Free lectures at universities and the Royal Academy (where the Christmas lectures are held).
Businesses offer free workshops - Apple do some good ones.
There's church choirs, St John's Ambulance, Scouts (or my favourite Woodcraft Folk) etc.
Classes in ballet, copoeira, art, music, archery, horse riding, coding and on and on.

Clearly the internet has tons of free activities. Again businesses offer free resources but there's plenty of other things.

You will need to sift out things that work and things that don't. I spent many evenings trying out online activities and noting those that looked good. I bookmarked the best on my children's devices so they could find them. I searched for activities in my area and booked those that looked useful.

Hopefully you will find a home education community local to you. They may offer activities - small group classes, theatre trips, membership to scrap schemes etc. But remember they do this to help their own family so don't expect them to start teaching your child.

You can spend many weeks with stimulating educational activities without touching a workbook. But remember to record things if you have to give the LA a report.

How Much?

How Many Hours A Day?

It depends on your child but I did some rough maths on this.

The government say 5 hours a day in a school setting. But they have 30 weeks a year at school and a 5 day week. So that’s 150 days a year.

You can work all year round with some breaks so let’s say 300 days a year which means 2 and a half hours a day.

But one to one lessons are more effective than a class of 30. Maybe twice as effective - so you can do in 30 mins what a class takes an hour.

Therefore just over an hour a day should be fine.

Finally you don’t have to cover everything. My daughter wasn’t interested in languages so didn’t do them. Also have you factored PE and games into your calculation? It’s part of the 5 hours. As is art and music. And silent reading time, tests and colouring in charts because everyone else has finished and the teacher needs to keep you busy.

So I think the take away from this is that most parents do sufficient but they don’t feel it. Relax. Try and do a bit each day for routine and it will be fine.

The Biggest Mistake

That Parents Make

Resist comparing your child to other children. All children are different and learn at different rates. Some things they find easy and others more difficult. School tries to iron this out by teaching kids the same things at the same time. It's not natural.

Home educated children are never behind or ahead. If they've been exposed to learning then they'll be where they are. Some children start reading at 4, some at 9. Some of the most intelligent children are delayed at walking and reading. They may stutter because their brains are working faster than their mouths. When children are ready to learn then they will learn.

Also there's no right time to take exams. Wait until your child is ready then go for it. It doesn't matter if it's before or after school children.

GCSE Exams

And How To Take Them

Eventually you are going to start thinking about qualifications.

There are a set of common misconceptions:

You need lots of GCSEs. Five is fine for most post-16 places. And places can be found with less. Post-16 colleges get their funding from students so they are keen to take as many a they can.
You must have GCSEs. Actually there are alternatives. Functional Skills for maths and English are the most common ones.
You must take your GCSEs in one sitting. This used to be true but not any more. Many home ed students will take some at 15, 16 and 17 to get a full quota.

And one non-misconception:

Having a maths and English GCSE equivalent qualification is necessary. It's not necessary but it makes life easier post-16. If you don't have them then the college will make you study them.

There's so much to say so I will list the most important things:

You have to find centres that will allow your child to sit their exams. It can be difficult and expensive.
iGCSEs (international GCSE) is the usual choice because there is no coursework component.
Some exams like Art can be difficult to arrange.

Other than that, it's best if I point you to the the Home Ed Exam Wiki. Put together by parents who have gone through the system.

https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/HE_Exams_Wiki

Mental Health

And Additional Needs

My son is autistic and this comes with anxiety issues. I notice many parents are choosing home education because of issues like this. I'm not sure I can say much as it's a huge issue. Just four things:

If school isn't working then there is nothing to lose trying home education. There is nothing stopping them going back to school in the future. And you may find it's the perfect solution.
You know your child better than any other. You are more likely to know what works and what doesn't work. You care more than any other person to make sure things work out. Why would a teacher be able to do a better job than you.
Take it slowly. Don't expect big changes overnight. Look for the small positives.
Many people worry about socialisation. But the problem in school may be over socialisation. My boy was often overwhelmed by too many things happening and too many misunderstandings in friendship groups. Let your youngster take a step back and then ease them into socialisation.

Socialisation

Why You Shouldn't Worry

It is not a problem in home education. There are plenty of opportunities to meet people. They may be different ages to your child but, actually, that can be a good thing. Who said 30 children and an adult in a room is the best way to socialise. Home educated children socialise with relatives, other home ed families, in sports, craft and art groups, in cafes. Basically in real life.

There's an argument that people over socialise. That many people can be overwhelmed by the number of interactions they have in a day.

Home Education Some Questions Answered