August 2023 Parenta magazine

Did you know that Billie Eilish, Emma
Watson and Nadia Sawalha were all
home schooled? Or that Emma Thompson
took her daughter out of formal education
because she couldn’t fit in to what her
daughter described as the “sausagefactory
style” education? In 2019, it was
estimated that between 90,000 to 130,000
children were home schooled in the UK
and the figure is rising significantly each
year.
What is home
education?
Home education –
what’s it all about?
Home education (or home schooling) is
when a parent chooses to take their child
out of the state-run or independent school
sector and take on the full responsibility
of giving their child an education. This can
work better for some families, particularly
if a child struggles in a mainstream
environment with large class sizes. In the
US, home education is more common
than in the UK with 8-9% of children being
home schooled.
Benefits of home
education
Advocates of home education present
several benefits including:
✏ Personalised education – home
schooling can be individualised to the
particular needs, skills and interests of
each unique child
✏ More choice - there is no stateimposed
curriculum to follow and
parents can decide the subjects
their children study and how this is
done. Children must, however, be
enabled to be literate and numerate,
in accordance with their age, ability,
aptitude and any special needs they
may have
✏ Classrooms can be anywhere -
such as playgrounds, museums,
alternative learning centres and
vocational places, but you can do
maths in the supermarket, chemistry
in the kitchen and biology in the
garden centre if you want to
✏ Freedom – parents can educate their
children in ways that suit their lifestyle
best, and there is no need to follow
a timetable of hours, days, or school
holidays
✏ Children’s engagement – often
children do better with a 1:1 approach
to their learning and if they have some
autonomy over what they study, they
can be more motivated or engaged
✏ Life preparation – home schooling
can provide a wide range of life
skills that might not be taught in an
institutionalised system
✏ Higher education – a large
percentage of home schooled children
do well academically and go on to
higher education
✏ Less negative interactions –
students who are home schooled
may be protected from some of the
problems that larger schools have
such as bullying, child-on-child abuse
or sexual harassment
Disadvantages
Some of the disadvantages presented
against home schooling include:
✏ Changing to/from home schooling
can create ‘gaps in education’ for
the child if they come back into
mainstream after being home
schooled
✏ Some people argue that home
schooled children do less well at
social interactions, although this is not
necessarily borne out by research.
Home schooled students do need
social interactions in the form of
local groups or outside-education
friendships who meet up regularly
✏ It takes time, energy and money
✏ Schools can have a lot of resources
at their disposal such as swimming
pools, gyms, science labs, and
specialised language labs that
parents may not have access to
What are the
legalities?
All children must have a full-time
education from the age of 5 in the UK, but
they are not required to attend a formal
school. Parents can home school their
children at any age, but if a child starts
school, then parents are legally required to
inform their current Headteacher in writing
if they subsequently want to home school
them. The school cannot refuse, however,
if parents request a part-time arrangement
with the school, then the school does
have the right to decline a part-time
arrangement.
It is recommended that parents who are
home schooling their children, register
with their local authority, who can provide
support. The authority may make an
informal enquiry to ensure that the child
is getting a suitable education at home.
If they are concerned, they can serve a
school attendance order requiring the child
be taught at school.
There is no legal requirement to follow
the National Curriculum which is set out
for state-maintained schools, however,
parents will be required to take on the
full financial responsibility for their child’s
education including the cost of any public
examinations. See a list of FAQs about
home schooling here.
What about children
with SEN?
The right for parents to educate their child
at home applies equally for children with
SEN (special educational needs) as for
those without, even if the child has an
education, health and care plan (EHCP).
However, if the child attends a special
school, then the local authority will need
to agree to have the child home schooled
so parents will need to contact their local
authority.
What resources are
out there?
Just because a child is home educated
does not mean that they have to sit in
their parent’s home 24/7. In fact, many
home-educated students have many
more extra-curricular adventures and
activities than their institutionalised peers.
In addition, since the pandemic, there are
many more opportunities for learning from
all areas and many companies, museums
and educational societies have lots of
resources for parents and teachers alike.
Some of the resources available for home
education include:
Online schools – These offer an online
education usually to older students (10+).
Children can choose their classes and
interact with teachers and peers despite
being located in different areas of the
country. Some online schools even offer
opportunities for pupils to meet up at
events and community gatherings.
Correspondence courses - A
correspondence course is also known as
distance learning. They can include GCSEs
and A Levels and can cover a range of
subjects. They usually include all lesson
materials (books, online lessons, videos)
and access to a tutor or teacher who can
give feedback and monitor progress.
Private tutors - These are usually
experienced individuals or qualified
teachers who provide individual tuition to
students. Rates can typically range from
£30 - £60 per hour.
Parent-organised groups and
resources - Many areas of the UK have
groups of home educators on social media
channels who arrange get-togethers,
events and educational trips. They can
socialise and share the load, pooling
resources to better effect. They may have a
vetting system, but most groups welcome
new members and can be a great source
of friendship and advice.
Home education organisations - See
below for 2 of the most well-known.
✏ Home Education Advisory Service -
www.heas.org.uk
✏ Education Otherwise - www.
educationotherwise.org
References and more
information
Good Schools Guide to Home Education
Elective home education - Departmental
guidance for parents from gov.uk
✏ Good Schools Guide to Home
Education
✏ Elective home education
✏ Teachers to your home
✏ Psychology Today
✏ The Week
Resources
✏ Early-education.org.uk - links for early
years and primary home education
✏ Twinkl resources for home schooling
✏ kingsinterhigh.co.uk/onlinehomeschooling
✏ www.edplace.com/
homeschooling-2023
30 August 2023 | parenta.com
parenta.com | August 2023 31