Planning for Elective Home Education (EHE)

Removing your child from school

Before starting Elective Home Education (EHE), you may want to consider:

educational philosophy and goals
- what are your reasons for choosing EHE?
- what kind of learning environment do you want to create?
- are you comfortable designing or sourcing a curriculum?
time and commitment
- can you commit the time needed to plan, teach, and support your child's learning?
- are you prepared for the long-term responsibility of overseeing their education?
financial implications - (home education is not state-funded) are you able to cover costs for:
- learning materials
- educational visits
- exams (for example: GCSEs)
- tutors (if needed)
teaching confidence
- do you feel confident teaching or facilitating learning?
- are you open to using online resources, tutors, or learning groups?
socialisation and peer interaction
- how will your child interact with peers?
- are there local home education groups, clubs, or activities you can join?
legal and administrative responsibilities
- are you aware of your legal duties under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996?
- do you understand how to deregister your child from school?
- are you prepared to respond to local authority enquiries about the suitability of education?
special educational needs (if applicable)
- can you meet your child's SEND without the support of a school?
- have you considered how to access therapies or specialist input?
future pathways
- how will your child access qualifications (for example: GCSEs, A-levels)?
- are you aware of routes into college, apprenticeships, or employment?

Before deciding to remove a child from school for elective home education, we advise parents to request a meeting with the headteacher to discuss any potential issues. The school will be able to provide you with academic progress and advice on education. If you believe that you are being pressured to electively home educate your child instead of sending them to school, our EHE Officer can offer guidance.

We highly recommend that you confirm to the school, in writing, that you wish to home education, assume responsibility for the education of your child, and to remove them from the school roll. According to the 2006 Pupil Registration Regulations, the school is not allowed to remove a student from enrolment unless the parents give written notice of their choice to get their education elsewhere other than at school.

The school must then notify the local authority of your decision.

When parents have notified the school of their EHE decision, we always recommend that the school offers you a meeting to see if there is any support that can be offered. The EHE Officer will be invited to this meeting and available for you to ask any questions.

If your child has an EHCP

If your child has an EHCP and attends mainstream provision, the SEN team will be notified by the school, but it is advisable to discuss this change of placement with them prior to making the decision.

Where a child has an EHCP and attends a Special School then the local authority must give permission to withdraw to EHE. An early annual review will be called to discuss the change of placement and assess the plan for provision. Please contact the school and SEN department if you consider this

If you are or are not registered at a school

If your child has never been registered at a school, there is currently no requirement to inform us of a decision to home educate, although it would be helpful if you did. We hope to work collaboratively with you and offer support. We have a duty to ensure all pupils are in receipt of effective and suitable education.

If your child is enrolled in school, choosing to EHE may not be the best course of action to resolve a conflict with the institution or overcome attendance issues. With the schools' governors or headteacher, you might be able to work out a solution for these problems.

Costs of EHE

There is no funding available to help with the costs of EHE. Local authorities have no legal responsibility to fund parents who choose to home educate.

You will need to look at the potential costs of EHE before you make your decision. These could include the cost of IT or other equipment, textbooks, exam fees and professional tuition.

Qualifications to educate your children

When home educating, you don't need to have formal qualifications or employ a qualified teacher. The way that your child learns is up to you, as long as the education is efficient, suitable and full-time.

EHE does not need to be identical to school education. You don't have to follow the national curriculum and there is no specific EHE curriculum. However, if you would like your child to go on to further education, or to take public exams (such as GCSEs), we recommend that you follow the relevant curriculum. You can research the curriculum and exams before you begin studies, so that you can decide which examination board and syllabus to follow. When the time comes, you will also need to arrange for your child to sit the exams at a registered examination centre.

Commonly used examination boards include:

AQA
Edexcel
Pearson
OCR

Using private tuition

If you are considering hiring a tutor for home education, think about the following:

1. Legal responsibility remains with the parent

Even if you hire a tutor, the legal duty to ensure a child receives a suitable education still remains with the parent. Under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, parents must ensure the education is:

efficient
full-time
suitable to the child's age, ability, aptitude, and any special educational needs

2. Vetting and safeguarding

You should take reasonable steps to make sure that any tutor you hire is safe and appropriate to work with children. This includes:

checking references and qualifications
requesting a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check
making sure the tutor understands safeguarding principles
check the tutor's identity
check their qualifications
ask for appropriate references

While not legally required, these steps are considered best practice to protect children.

3. Curriculum and educational approach

There is no legal requirement for tutors to follow the national curriculum. However, parents should make sure that the tutor's approach aligns with their educational goals and supports the child's learning needs. Education can be flexible and tailored, but it must still be suitable and effective.

4. Financial responsibility

Parents are responsible for all costs associated with hiring a tutor, including:

hourly fees
learning materials
travel (if applicable)

Local authorities do not fund private tuition for home-educated children.

5. Monitoring progress

Parents should regularly monitor the child's progress and the effectiveness of the tutoring. This might include:

reviewing work samples
discussing learning outcomes with the tutor
adjusting the educational plan if needed

If the local authority makes enquiries about the suitability of education, parents may use tutoring records and samples of work to demonstrate compliance.

Returning to school

Some parents may decide at a later date that their child should attend school. If you want your child to return to school, you will need to apply for a place at your preferred school. You can do this at any time. You may not be able to get a place at your child's previous school, even if you are in the catchment area for it. Legally, a school cannot hold a place for your child.

If you choose to end EHE, it is your responsibility as the parent to apply for a place in a school through the admissions department, who will support you. The local authority will act on the parents' request for local authority provision once you have made your wishes clear. This will be dated and recorded by the relevant team, for example EHE or SEN.

See our school admissions and places webpages.

We, as the local authority, will support the family in looking for and accessing a school place. If the family does not willingly engage with a suitable offer, the local authority will draw upon the legal processes in place to challenge - this may include a referral to the Children Missing Education Officer.

Help after compulsory school age (18)

The law requires all young people in England to continue in education or training until at least their 18th birthday (in practice, however, most young people continue until the end of the academic year in which they turn 18). (See government guidance on school leaving age),

However, this does not mean young people must stay in school. They can choose one of the following options after 16:

full-time education, for example: school, college or home education
an apprenticeship
part-time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering full-time (20 hours or more per week)

Young people who have been home educated may want to take further education, but many courses will require specific qualifications to apply (for example: GCSEs).