- you are free from National Curriculum, so you can determine educational content
- you can weight your subjects according to your children’s strengths and interests
- you can be flexible and spontaneous as you do not need to have a timetable
- your learning can happen anywhere, there is no requirement to create a classroom at home
- you can choose whatever hours work best for you and your family
- you are not required to have any specific qualifications
- you are not required to make detailed plans in advance, you can if you wish
- you are not required to observe school hours, days or terms
- you are not required to give formal lessons or get tutors for your child
- you are not required to mark work done by your child
- you are not required to formally assess progress or set development objectives
- you do not need to reproduce school type peer group socialisation
- you do not need to match school-based, age-specific standards
Ultimate Guide to Home Education in the UK: Responsibilities, Benefits, and How to Get Started
Rachel Evans
Home Education in the UK: so how does it work?
Home education is becoming an increasingly popular option in the UK, and it has been attracting increased media attention. So, here is a bit of information about home education, how it works, what are your responsibilities the benefits and the downsides.
Who is responsible for educating children?
The legal responsibility for the education of children, here in the UK, lies ultimately with parents. Most parents choose to delegate this responsibility to the state, and therefore opt into the schooling system. Some people either never choose to delegate that responsibility or choose to revoke it via a formal deregistration process/letter (depending which country you live in). In these cases, the children are classified as home educated.
But why would you choose to home educate?
The reasons for home educating are varied. Some believe in it philosophically as part of a life style choice, others choose to do it due to unmet Special Educational Needs, bullying, dissatisfaction with school culture, testing regimes and/or National Curriculum standards and/or content.
What are the benefits of home educating?
When you home educate you have the total freedom and flexibility to define what is education and how it happens. You are free to create the perfect learning environment for your children. You can use whatever content, mediums, pace, structure and methods that work best for you.
Under the current Elective Home Education Guidelines, as home educators: