Elective home education
Parents and carers have the legal right to choose to educate their children at home, rather than at school (Section 7 of the Education Act 1996). This is known as elective home education (EHE).
Parents who choose to educate their child at home have to take on full financial responsibility for the cost of doing so, including the cost of any additional assistance, such as tutors, and any examination costs.
Educating a child at home can be a very rewarding, but challenging, task. The decision to home educate should be a positive choice for parents, and not taken as a ‘last resort’. Parents or carers should never be persuaded to pursue home education as a way of avoiding exclusion or because their child has a poor attendance record.
The Council has an obligation to ensure that all children within the borough are safe and receiving a suitable education. We are keen to establish good working relationships with all of our home educating families. EHE link officers are allocated to individual families. The link officer will offer to meet with each family, and this will be an opportunity to offer any advice or information, to update on parents’ plans for their child’s continuing education, and to ensure that no children are missing out on a suitable education.
Please contact us if you are a parent /carer considering home education and would like any further information before making a decision about educating your child at home.
If you are thinking about home education (home schooling), or you are already home educating your child you can find out more information on the GOV.UK blog.