The Governing and Pitfalls of Home Schooling

Home schooling is something that – although not as popular in the United Kingdom as in some other countries in the European Union – does take place and in order for it to take place falls under certain criteria.

For the most part Home Schooling can take place if the child has a disability that does not allow them to attend a mainstream school or a special needs school. Although the Government are now making moves to ensure that all children with disabilities can be taught within a schooling environment to maximise their learning potential and also their ability to interact with other children.

How Home Schooling Works

Home schooling is something that any parent can decide to do for their child and as such they do not have to be qualified as a teacher to embark on a course of Home Schooling. You can teach your child at home or in any other residence without keeping school hours or indeed teaching the National Curriculum. That said however the government recommends that anyone wishing to teach their child from home do so with the understanding that they should receive an effective level of education that will enable sufficient aptitude in later years.

If you child is already in full time education within the confines of a school you do not have to inform your Local Education Authority of your intent to teach your child from home but it is wise to do so. Your LEA need to be satisfied that your child is receiving a satisfactory standard of education in the home and may ask to visit you at home to oversee how – and indeed what – you are teaching your child in relation to what they would expect to be a reasonable level of teaching.

Overseeing Home Schooling

As mentioned above, the LEA of the district you live in will visit you at home to oversee how you are teaching your child. This does not mean that they will pick fault with what you are doing but will seek to satisfy them that your child is receiving an education that is balanced and in line with that of the National Curriculum.

If it is not then the LEA can take steps to ensure that your child is returned to full time education within the confines of a school environment. At any meeting held between you as the parent and the LEA, a timetable of further meetings and level of contact should be agreed.

Of course you do not have to allow the LEA access to your home, you can choose to provide them with examples of your child’s work at home or choose to meet with them at another venue, for example their offices. It is worth pointing out that the LEA not only has a duty of care to the children within its boundaries but also their parents as well.

If Home Schooling does not Work

If – for any reason – the LEA considers that you as a parent are not providing a sufficient education for your child from home then they will seek to have your child returned to full time education within a school in their district. This is normally done initially by the LEA issuing a notice on the parent, which requires them to prove beyond any doubt that their child is being taught to an acceptable standard.

If you as the parent fail to reply to this notice or indeed cannot prove that you are providing your child with a sufficient level of teaching then the LEA can move to issue what is known as a ‘School Attendance Order’ (SAO). This SAO is a legally binding requirement by law that your child should return to full time education as soon as is possible and ensure that they receive a National Curriculum-level education.

It is also worth noting that if you should decide to teach your child from home there are no means of financial assistance offered by Central Government or your Local Education Authority. Should you decide to teach your child at home the impetus is on you to make sure they have all the textbooks, materials and resources they need.

Most LEAs however do provide support and guidance on how to go about embarking on a course of home schooling but it is worth pointing out that this guidance and support is limited to the level of resources available locally and is not necessary representative of the schooling system as a whole.