Home schooling in the UK

First, the myths: Home schooling isn’t illegal in the UK (though it is in some other countries such as Germany). Nor is it deviant or something undertaken only by weirdos whose extreme religious or dietary views put them at odds with society. You’ll definitely encounter a few distinctly quirky perspectives among home educating parents, but probably no more so than in any other community defending strongly held views that set it apart from the mainstream.

That said, home education has a pretty dismal public profile. As many parents will testify, announcing that you don’t plan to send your child to school is to lay yourself open to uninvited comment, not just from strangers but from close friends and family members who should know better.

Yes, some children who have been removed from school under the guise of home education go on to be educated in illegal and unregistered schools (something that Ofsted is currently meant to be tackling) or end up neglected, or worse. However, the vast majority of home educators (at least the ones that we’ve encountered) are sane, thoughtful people who only want what’s right for their child and feel that educating them at home is the best way of supporting them.

They are also growing in number. In 2023, the Department for Education found there were an estimated 86,200 home educated pupils known to local authorities, a rise from 80,900 less than a year before.

Why home school your child?

Some parents are home educators through choice, others have it thrust upon them.

The Good Schools Guide Education Consultants regularly hears from families who opt for home schooling because they feel the emphasis on targets and formal learning in schools makes learning a negative, stressful experience, particularly for very young children.

Others home educate while waiting for a place at their preferred school, including those who would rather opt out altogether than accept the place they’ve been offered. Then there are those who are concerned about bullying or worry that class sizes, particularly in state schools, make for a ‘one size fits all’ education that squashes individuality. There are also families with children whose needs aren’t being adequately supported in mainstream schools, including children who have become too anxious to attend.

Parents of gifted children sometimes opt for home schooling, either because their child finds school stressful or unchallenging, or they just need more hours of, say, music, acting or sports practice than can be comfortably accommodated in a conventional school day.

Most recently, there has been a raft of children who took to home schooling during Covid – many found it hard to settle back into a physical school after the pandemic, or they didn’t bother going back at all.

Having an Education, Health and Care Plan is no bar to home educating, although the rules are different if the child currently attends a special school. edyourself.org/articles/newcode.php and www.he-special.org.uk/content/joinhere.php are good sources of information on this specialist area.

Home schooling: the pros and cons

What's good about home schooling?

• It’s liberating. Freed from the constraints of state-imposed curricula, home schooling gives you the freedom to educate your child as you wish. The government leaves it completely up to parents as to how, when, where and what they teach. Learning can be completely personalised. If particular subjects don’t appeal (and that includes the core areas of maths and English) you can leave them out altogether or come back to them later.
• … up to a point. If you take your child out of school, your details will be passed on to your local authority. What happens next depends greatly on where you live, in terms of being asked for 'evidence' of the education you are providing, or of having someone you can turn to for advice and support.
• It’s individual. ‘Some home educators are autonomous, some follow the UK curriculum. Some feel home education must follow a school timetable. Others leave it to the kids to do their own thing. They can end up very resourceful, good with their hands and at exploring ways of learning. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different. Children are naturally curious,’ says a home schooling parent.
• Anywhere can become a classroom. Opportunities for learning never stop. Museums and libraries make excellent ad hoc classrooms – but so do supermarkets and garden centres. A child can learn about geology at the seaside, chemistry in the kitchen and biology at a wildlife centre.
• Children are involved in their own learning. There’s even a movement – ‘unschooling’ – that formalises the process, letting children take the lead in their own education with the support of parents. It sounds like a recipe for non-stop time wasting but that’s not necessarily the case. Many (now adult) unschooled children have gone on to higher education. And as to later life success, look no further than newspaper columnist and best-selling novelist Caitlin Moran.
• The parent doesn’t have to be the teacher. The rise in online schools means that the full curriculum, delivered by trained teachers, is now possible from home. Some, such as Net School, enable you to dip in and out of certain subjects, while others, such as Minerva’s Virtual Academy, deliver the kind of structured day that a physical school would – complete with live lessons, assemblies, extracurricular etc. 

What's bad about home schooling?

• Children can miss out academically if you change your mind… All that freedom can come with a price. ‘One bright prospective pupil [who has been home schooled] has some academic gaps that are likely to impede his admission to university,’ says a GSG insider who works as part of a school admissions team. ‘If parents plan for their children to reintegrate into traditional schools, they need to consider how they can ensure students meet the criteria for admission through external exams, assessments, or references from tutors.’ This, however, is less likely to be a problem with online schooling.
• …and socially if you don’t. Schools offer more than just education. There’s lots of emphasis on collaboration and group work, and these are facilities that can’t easily be provided at home – although, again, some online schools do a great job of providing eg virtual common rooms, clubs, break-out rooms – and even real life trips. Still, however good the online resources, they can’t fill a garden with real people for an impromptu kick about. So it’s essential to have back up in the form of local friendships and local groups who meet up regularly.
• You’ll need plenty of time, commitment and/or money. From swimming lessons to school lunches, school orchestra practice to sports fixtures, schools pack an awful lot into the day. Opt for home education, and you’ll be taking up the slack – even with structured online schools. It helps if one parent can be home-based for at least some of the time to check that the education your child is receiving is fulfilling, enjoyable and a demonstrable improvement on anything they would be receiving at school. And this should still be the case even if you plan to outsource the coordination and tuition to a team of tutors.

Is there help for parents who home school?

Flexi education

If you don’t want to break completely with traditional, school-based education, this could be just the ticket. Flexi education involves a combination of home schooling and part time attendance at school. Before Covid, it was largely frowned upon by physical schools, but some are now catching on to the fact that it can be better for some children, especially those that simply can’t cope with full-time school.

Some schools, such as Portland Place School, now offer a formalised hybrid option where your child goes in for eg art, music, sport, science practicals and general socialising, then attends online lessons from home the rest of the week.

Online schools

Online schools are one of the most promising developments in recent years, these schools have really taken off since Covid and offer a range of options to suit your child’s needs eg live lessons that are recorded so you can go back to them if they’re missed, optional cameras for more anxious children etc. And they can be more sociable than you might think eg King’s InterHigh offers over 100 clubs, plus in-person meetings and events to create a sense of community.

Online home study options

Several companies specialise in what used to be called correspondence courses or distance learning – enabling the student to learn at their own pace. Their courses are normally linked to formal qualifications (GCSEs and A levels). You pay per subject/level and receive all the online and paper resources you need, together with a dedicated tutor who marks your assignments (including feedback), as well as speaking to you regularly online or by phone for support. Some, such as Wolsey Hall Oxford, go further still, offering pastoral support. You’ll have to arrange to sit exams yourself, but the school will often offer guidance around this.

Tutors

Many of the tutor firms reviewed by The Good Schools Guide are experienced in supporting children who are being home educated. Some now even have their own home schooling team who can eg compile the entire timetable with different tutors for each subject, or provide full time, live-in tutors who are companions and mentors as in addition to their formal teaching role. 

Parent-organised resources

Most UK areas have groups of home educators, many on Facebook, mostly invitation only (sensibly, they vet every new member). They organise get-togethers and educational trips and swap tips on local classes and activities. You should find them an invaluable source of friendship and help. There are also reputable national online groups for parents of children with special needs or those who are preparing for exams.

Home education organisations

Home Education Advisory Service - www.heas.org.uk