Is it expensive to Home Educate?

Our answer to whether Home Education costs a lot is yes and no. Yeah we know that’s not helpful, let us explain.

It really comes down to your family situation, your style of Home Ed, your child’s needs and if you’re good at sourcing things.

It is possible to have a day out for free, museums usually have free entry, take a picnic, and explore a local park for lunch and you’ve a free day out. If you are going to a venue that has an entrance cost you can phone them before hand to ask if they offer a Home Education discount. Sometimes discounts are only available if prebooked or as groups. So do check. And make sure you’ve found your local Home Education group on Facebook.

There are thousands of resources out there, with many being free, some we list here RESOURCES. Google and YouTube are every Home Educator’s friend, books can be found second hand on EBAY or in libraries etc. Often Home Educators pass on things they no longer use. Many educational websites are free or have Home Ed discounts. Have you joined our resources and discounts group?

Costly curriculums and online schools are the opposite end of the scale. And whilst they do have their place for some families, they are definitely not a requirement. These tend to have a real person at the other end of email/website, which for some is great, but it is possible to manage without. Before buying one we recommend asking others for their thoughts. And checking exactly what is included, some claim to be an ‘all inclusive GCSE’ but don’t actually include the exam costs, nor are they always suitable to Home Educators who sit exams as external candidates. Get to grips with exams here.

Some families choose somewhere between very frugal and very expensive, sometimes signing up to a website the child really enjoys, one that really suits the child’s style of learning. Or employing a tutor on the run up to exams to top up the knowledge. What ever your budget and ethos there are ways to make it work.

Make sure you are getting everything you’re entitled to. Child Benefit is paid until the child ends education, Home Education is included in that. We explain more HERE. Tax credis and Universal credit will continue in the same way. None of which need to be told you are Home Educating, until the child is 16. We discuss this more HERE.

If your child has a disability or illness you may be entitled to DLA and carer’s allowance. You can explain that school can not provide what the child needs so you now have to Home Educate, if worded correctly it can help your DLA claim.

In a small number of cases when a child has an EHCP it is possible to get funding, but this is on a case by case basis and usually only if the LA accepts there are no suitable school places available.

WARNING!
DO NOT SPEND ANYTHING in the first few weeks. You will be wasting your money. Take time to deschool and settle in before spending anything.