How to Start Home Education in the UK

Parent starting home education journey with child in the UK learning at home

Child learning at home as part of home education in the UK

Quick Answer

Home education in the UK is legal and does not require formal permission in most cases. Parents are responsible for providing a suitable full time education, and there is both flexibility and choice in how the parent decides that their child’s education is delivered. It might feel very overwhelming to think about coming out of the school system, especially if you don’t know anyone else that home educates. In reality, there are many thousands of us that home educate, If your child is not thriving in school, then home education might be the best option and can be rewarding and successful for you and your child!

Introduction

When you first start home education or you are considering home education, it is important to understand both the practical steps and the level of flexibility available to families.

In the UK, home education is not a single defined system. Families take a wide range of approaches depending on their child, their circumstances, and their preferences. Depending on where you live, there will be different things to consider, so it is important that you research home education in the area that you live.

This page outlines the key starting points. The links on the right of the page will take you to short specific articles that you can use to help you to work out the right approach to home education for your family.

Is Home Education Legal in the UK?

Home education is legal across the UK.

Parents are responsible for ensuring their child receives a suitable full time education, but this does not mean replicating school structures or following a fixed curriculum.

You are not required to:

– follow the National Curriculum
– teach set hours
– use formal lessons
– reach specific age related targets

This flexibility allows families to adapt learning to suit their child.

What Do You Need to Do First?

If your child is currently in school, the first thing that you will usually need to do is to:

– inform the school in writing
– request removal from the school register

After this, responsibility for education transfers to you. The school is responsible for contacting your local council to inform them. Sometimes schools make the process more complicated than this, but from a legal point of view you only have to inform the school in writing and ask to be removed from the register.

Understanding Your Responsibilities

A suitable education means that your child’s education should be:

– appropriate to your child’s age
– suited to their ability
– adapted to any additional needs

There is no single defined format for this, and it may look different from one family to another. It is fairly common to not know exactly what you are going to do and how you are going to do it when you first start. What you do already know, is that you want the best for your child and you believe that they will learn better at home. The rest will unfold and evolve once you make a start.

Choosing an Approach

Families use a range of approaches, including:

– structured learning
– child-led learning
– interest-led learning
– project-based learning
– a combination of approaches

What is important, is that you respond to the needs of your child. Many families adjust their approach over time as they gain experience and see what works best. You can try different approaches and see what works for your child (and what doesn’t work!)

You can explore these approaches in more detail in our guide to Home Education Learning Pathways.

What Does a Typical Day Look Like?

Home education does not need to follow a fixed timetable.

A typical day might include:

– subject-based learning
– creative activities
– outdoor time
– social opportunities
– quiet/reflective time

If it works well for your child, then include it! It is important to remember that learning can take place in many different ways, even when it doesn’t look like formal learning.

You can see examples of how families structure their days in our guide to What a Typical Day of Home Education Looks Like.

Support and Community

If you are worried about your child socialising then try not to. Lots of new to home ed children keep up friendships from school. Obviously this is only the case if your child had healthy friendships at school. It is a good idea to make contact with your local home education community as this will help you and your child feel as if you are not alone.

The new pattern for socialising might involve:

– local groups
– shared activities
– events or outings
– continuing good friendships with school friends if possible

Most areas of the UK have a Facebook group for home education and they tend to be a hub of local knowledge, so if you are a Facebook user, this is a great place to start.

You can explore this further in our guide to Community for Home Educating Families.

How Learn Laugh Play Can Support You

Lots of families choose for their children to do some of their learning with Learn Laugh Play. Typically a family sign up for between 6 and 12 classes a week, although that is totally up to you. Our goal is to ensure that our children have fun learning while their parents have the comfort of knowing that their children are being taught by our qualified and experienced teachers. Our children enjoy learning alongside and making friends with other home educated learners and enjoy the huge range of learning opportunities. One of the things that we are most proud of is how much our learners love attending our classes!

Learn Laugh Play offers:

– live classes (with recordings included in each class membership)
– GCSE learning support
– enrichment learning within all of our lessons
– a wide range of “traditional” and non-school based learning opportunities
– opportunities for children to connect with other home-educated learners and make friends

Our classes can be used alongside any learning that you want to do as a family, depending on what suits your child and your family. Each class ends with our “Optional Extra Learning Activities” which many families use as a way to extend their child’s learning after the lesson. Generally children are motivated to do these activities and keen to share them in the following lesson!

If you are brand new to home education and you would like to find out more, about home education generally and what we do, Learn Laugh Play offers a regular free Q & A session for new to home education and/or new to Learn Laugh Play parents. Come along and meet with Jacqui to find out more about Home Education and how Learn Laugh Play can support you.

Conclusion

Starting home education involves understanding the potential options and choosing an approach that works for your child.

There are many different ways to approach home education, and this guide covers the key starting points. You can explore more detailed guides on specific topics throughout this section by clicking on the links on the right of the page.