Elective Home Education

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 provides that the parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs (in England) or additional learning needs (in Wales) he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. The 'or otherwise' limb is the statutory basis for elective home education: the duty falls on parents, not the state, and there is no requirement that home education follow the National Curriculum or a school timetable, provided it is efficient, full-time, and suitable to the individual child.

The Department for Education publishes separate guidance for parents and for local authorities, most recently updated in 2019 (parents) and August 2024 (local authorities), which explains local authorities' role in monitoring — though local authorities have no automatic right of entry or of testing a home-educated child, their statutory duty is to make arrangements to establish, so far as possible, the identities of children in their area who are not receiving a suitable education. The guidance also relates to Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights and covers home schooling funding for local authorities.