The law regarding Compulsory School Age
Why do so many people believe that school is compulsory and that they need to ask permission to home educate? Maybe it has something to do with the inaccurate terminology…
Educational Freedom is a non-profit organisation providing Home Education information and support. Our primary purpose is ensuring all Home Educators have access to FREE information and support. We aim to provide everything you could ever need to know about Home Education.
A great way of ensuring your Home Education journey goes smoothly is to read all of this website. The menu at the top will help you navigate each section.
On each page of our website you will find a video with the audio of that page. (This is a new feature so give us some time to create them all and add them).
Making the decision to Home Educate can be daunting. But be assured that there is plenty of support out there! There are lots of families that have been in your situation, and we have supported tens of thousands of them.
Read through our website to learn all about Home Education. Use the menu to navigate through all of our pages especially the WHAT TO DO FIRST page for your country.
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What is Deschooling? The below is taken from our website where you will find lots of info about home education. Deschooling is not so much a method or philosophy of Home Education as a transition period from school education to Home Education, almost always used for children who have recently left a formal school environment. It is time for the child to adjust to learning without the rigidity and formality of the school system, and for the parents to take the time to try out different methods and styles of Home Education to find the best fit for their family – something which evolves quite naturally once the notion of what you thought education shoulf be is unlearned. How it works. During this time the child is, in essence, rediscovering themselves. In school, their natural curiosity and desire for learning has often been dulled by the limits imposed by the school day and the tasks they are required to complete. For some children, school has had such a negative impact that they do not want to engage in anything that looks like education at all! They will refuse to put to pen to paper, to read, or even to listen to their parents when they begin speaking about something that feels like it might be leading towards a lesson or a question. It is important to remember that this is completely natural, and is vital in the child’s transition from a very formal, one-size-fits-all method to a more relaxed, personalised one. Don’t Panic! Parents may panic at the start of the Deschooling process because they find their children spend the majority of their free time just staring at the TV or playing computer games. Remember – the child has not had control over their time other than the brief period after school each day (slotted in around homework, bath, tea time, and any after school clubs) when they are able to sit and wind down for a short while. At first they may want to nothing other than those activities which they are used to doing during that time. Consider how children are during the summer break. The first week of that holiday period looks nothing like the last, as during that time they are beginning to move away from the lifestyle they are used to. The first week or two you may find your child wants to engage in every activity you suggest, and is willingly up and out of bed by 7am everyday. As the weeks progress, you find that they do not want to do what you suggest, and spend their time watching tv, playing on the computer, and complaining that they’re bored. And often, usually right at the end of the holiday, they have rediscovered the simple pleasures of just being. Of playing in the garden, a walk round the field with the dog, a visit to a grandparent’s home. They will start to come up with their own games and self directed activities. Deschooling is really just another period like this. They need time to move away from being told what to do, where to be, how to play, when to eat, drink, and use the toilet; time to take back control of their own bodies; and time to rekindle their often lost passions for castles, gardening, dinosaurs, baking, painting, music, rock climbing, beachcombing, or whatever it was they loved, and had time to love, before school dominated their lives. Just as it is normal for children to go through this process, it is also normal for parents to find themselves worrying about it! Allow it to take its course, and the child will naturally come back to their inbuilt need for information and their innate desire to learn. How long should you deschool? The time taken for this process is usually linked to the length of time the child was in school. The general rule of thumb is one month for every year of school, but this is not a hard and fast figure. Some children may take longer, some need very little time at all. One factor that can alter the length of the Deschooling period is the child’s experience of school. Some children who leave school to be Home Educated do so because it fits better with their families lifestyle or beliefs, but had few or even no negative experiences in school. These children are often the ones who need little time to adjust. Some children leave because of difficulties such as clashes with teaching staff, lack of help with learning difficulties or other special needs or bullying. Children who have left school after an upsetting or traumatic time can often have very negative views of education, and so it often takes these children longer to recover. Also, older children may need to overcome some of the negative peer pressure, or even bullying they could have encountered in school from children who saw learning as ‘uncool’. This can make the Deschooling period stressful for the parents of older children simply because it can feel like time is running out. It is a very fixed expectation in our society that children will achieve set milestones at certain ages – GCSEs or similar exams at 16, advanced studies at 18 and then on to University, College, apprenticeships or employment from there. These are set by the school system, because of the need to have children in classes which progress at a projected pace. Home Education removes the necessity for these age limits. Children can take their exams earlier or later than they would in school, they can focus on one or two subjects at a time instead of 8 to 12 subjects all at once. They might not even take them at all! (See the exams section for more information on this.) Deschooling is often misunderstood. The only other thing that must be said about Deschooling is that it is not widely known of or understood. A lot of people will see that you have deregistered your child in order to let them sit around doing nothing all day. There are two things here that are untrue. Firstly – this is part of your plan. They have the time to recover, whilst being allowed the freedom to direct their own learning, be that as trips to museums and art galleries, as listening to classical music all day, cooking and baking, or in making “potions” for casting spells…and leaving them forgotten under pieces of furniture for weeks before the cat knocks it over and dyes a patch of your living room carpet purple! But secondly – in Home Education, everything is education. Life is education. When they are tired, they sleep. When they are hungry, they eat. When they need to pee, they can go without asking permission. The first thing they learn is to listen to their bodies again, and this is massively important in allowing the brain to function to its best ability. They learn that their parents will listen to them, will hear their problems and work with them to solve them. They learn to trust themselves, to make strong, genuine connections with their peers based on mutual interests rather than the current trends in toys, fashion, music, or gaming. Why you shouldn’t use the term Deschooling with professionals. It is unfortunate that a lack of understanding about Deschooling has led Local Authorities to believe it an unsuitable term, they assume it means no suitable education is being provided. Changes made to the EHE guidance in 2019, now state that the education must be suitable from the first day of home education, so with that in mind, we strongly recommend not using the term Deschooling when liaising with the LA. Instead, we suggest you explain you are having a transition period, where you are adjusting and figuring out what works best for your child. If you are required to write a report during the time you are Deschooling, it is important to remember that baking, walks in the woods, documentaries, discussions about world events are all educational, education does not only include sat to the table with a workbook. Our guide to writing a report will help you respond to the LA, and you can join our group where you can get advice from other Home Educators.
Current battles facing home educators and what you can do...
Oooh the advice! I cant believe some of the "advice" I have been given in my years of Home ed. Even from well meaning friends. Whats the worse you've been given? #ukhomeed #homeeddad #homeedmum #homeedplanning #learningfromhome #homeeducate #homeeducationrocks #homeeducationlife #homeedLA #homeedideas #homeeducationadventure #learningathome #EducationalFreedom
We still find it amazing how misunderstood Home Education is. What is the most bizarre thing school (or anyone else) have claimed? If you’re never sure about the facts and accuracy remember our website explains everything you need to know. #homeeducators #homeeducator #homeed #educationalfreedom #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeducators
Sometimes LAs aren’t transparent, sometimes they’re incompetent, sometimes malicious, so it’s best to know the facts. The email some of you have received is asking you to fill in a form to support the CNIS, however that’s not what it is. It’s an application to be part of the discussion forum. Please fill the form in and be part of the discussion. Change doesn’t happen if you are silent. If you have questions about why a register is dangerous to home educators please read our blog piece and do ask us and we will help the best we can.
This is more than a newbie pitfall. We often see long term home edders suffering with fear of what the LA might do. Knowledge truly is power! Have you or do you suffer with this? #ukhomeed #homeeddad #homeedmum #homeedplanning #learningfromhome #homeeducate #homeeducationrocks #homeeducationlife
More people than ever are either choosing to home educate, or feeling they have no choice but to, this should drive the demand for affordable and accessible groups and activities in the community that our children can benefit from in numerous ways. However, we are increasingly hearing that the opposite is true. Families are finding it difficult to find age inclusive groups, costs are rising and choices are limited. Added to this many describe feeling excluded when they do try to join already established groups. Please share your experiences of attending groups. Do you find them an integral and valued part of your home education? Have you struggled to find appropriate groups? Do you have children of different ages and find it impossible to find anything that works with your families needs? Have you started a group of your own or helped with the running of an existing group? Or have negative experiences put you off trying and you no longer try to join groups? Whatever your experience please share it here so that we can gain a better understanding of what the issues are. And hopefully provide some pointers so that everybody gets the opportunity for their children to access the many benefits that groups can offer. Better still, have you got an idea for a group but so far are uncertain whether to give it a try? Why not take that leap and see what you can add to the community. Every well established and thriving group started somewhere. #homeeducation #educationalfreedom #groups #activities #accessforall
On the 15th November 2024 Lord Storey did the second reading of the 'Home School Education Registration and Support Bill.' What does this mean? At the moment this is not a major concern, but something to keep an eye on as the Government are looking to implement a Children's Well-being Bill instead and it is unlikely the bill being discussed here will amount to anything....
This this this!!! Weekly if not daily we help people who have been given incorrect information from the "professionals" Please do come and shout as our website is full of advice for these situations as our highly knowledgable admin on the groups and page. #ukhomeed #homeeddad #homeedmum #homeedplanning #learningfromhome #homeeducationlife #homeedideas #homeeducate #homeeducationrocks
One of my sons favourite things is watching a certain dog on Instagram called Bernoulli. Needless to say this launched into a question about his name (named after Bernoulli's principle) so guess what we're studying this morning?! https://youtu.be/iSTp6lIo6kE?si=PSOQZmDxZXD6Gzii we've made our own obstacle course! What are you all up to at the moment?
in today's blog we explore the many ways in which the population of home educated families is changing and the impact this has on the climate of home education. In particular, the implications of different groups of people and their motivations for home educating for their interactions with the Local Authority is outlined. To read the full blog visit www.educationalfreedom.org.uk #homeeducation #educationalfreedom #localauthority #deregistering
As the evenings are drawing in so early now and the days seem a little grey our home education alters too. We actually spend far more time learning and playing through board games. Some of our favourites at the moment are Catan, Shakespeare in London, The World Game and Smugglers, how about you guys? Any good board games out there we've missed? #ukhomeed #homeeddad #homeedmum #homeedplanning #learningfromhome #homeeducate #homeeducationlife
With so many new home edders starting I thought I would repost our fabulous series of common pitfalls! Hopefully you'll be able to avoid these! If not and you're stucuk come to our group and shout! #ukhomeed #homeeddad #homeedmum #learningfromhome #homeeducate #homeedplanning #homeeducationrocks #homeeducationlife #homeedideas #homeedLA
Hey folks, just a reminder, Educational Freedom offers much more than a ‘unique offering to service users’ firstly because we don’t see you as service users, you’re people, many of whom we talk to for many hours. You’re really important to us. And as more than 5 million of you have accessed our website in just over 10 years we assume we are important to you too. We do not need to be a registered charity as that includes excessive man hours and fundraising to retain that status, instead we are a not for profit organisation, we use our time to help you and we are not constrained by politics. All of the team are fully trained, and will only ever advise on what they know, hence having a team with varied specialities. Of course we are subject to data protection guidelines and your information is safe with us. You can see our accounts if you’d like to, but as we don’t have many overheads, and run mostly off donations there is no opportunity to misuse funds. We work really hard, for you, by having open communications with government officials, local authorities, the press and other professionals to encourage understanding and acceptance, to ensure home educators are treated fairly, and we fight tirelessly to protect your rights. You’re welcome to ask us about any of that if you’d like. And guess what? We do all of that for free unlike others that withhold support unless you pay. We do not discriminate and never turn someone away that needs our help. Best wishes from the Educational Freedom team. #homeeducation #educationalfreedom #ukhomeed #homeedmum #homeeducate #homeeducationrocks #homeeducationlife #EducationalFreedom #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeddad
One of the big things we love about home education is the freedom! We can head out to museums, the park, go for a walk, go a trip and take as long or as little out and about as we need! #ukhomeed #homeeddad #homeedmum #learningfromhome #homeeducate #homeedplanning #homeeducationrocks #homeeducationlife #homeedideas #homeedLA
Choosing home education for your family is, for many, an extremely positive experience. Whatever the reasons for starting, you join a community of active, like minded people who are equally motivated to provide the best start for their children within the available resources. As the home education community evolves and expands, more opportunities are becoming available. Many after school groups are seeing the value in providing affordable opportunities for home educated children and others are developing activities and events exclusively for this market There is a wealth of free resources available online. And the use of social media makes information sharing, communication and interactions readily available. There are increasing examples of very successful home educated role models and a majority of those who home educate report improved mental health and enjoy seeing their children flourish and learn. Confidence in the effectiveness of home education for expanding rather than limiting life choices is growing. And with so much information available about the legalities of the process, once you understand your expectations and responsibilities it is a far easier system to navigate than can often be the case with schools and the seemingly endless administration involved. All of this should paint a very bright and encouraging picture of the future of home education. However, the opposite is being reported by many. There needs to be an understanding of why changes are happening and why their impact is seen in this light. With changes to legislation and the proposed introduction of a register, it is more important than ever that the home education community stands together with a common set of beliefs and values and a common vision of the future of home education that is one that remains inclusive, supportive and, more importantly, a positive and achievable way for children to receive their education. Head to the blog to learn more about some of the common issues being identified and what these mean for all of the community. #homeeducation #educationalfreedom #resources #lifechoices
We’re noticing a lot of questions just lately that are answered on our website, can we ask have you read through the website yet? Of course if you can’t find your answer, or want clarification etc you’re welcome to ask, but if you’ve not read the site then you could be going wrong and will need to fix something down the line. That could be your communications with the LA, an SAO that could have been avoided, or you didn’t know about deschooling, or groups, or resources etc. we bang on about reading it but it’s been proven to improve home ed life and avoid many pitfalls. Imagine you’re baking a cake, you think you know which ingredients and how much of each you need, so you wing it and you end up with an inedible pancake instead. Now follow the recipe and you’ve a beautiful fluffy cake. Our website is like your home ed recipe, it adds those snippets of info you need to have a happy and successful home ed life. Www.Educationalfreedom.Org.Uk
Recently one of our members asked if we could teach science in 10 minutes. Yup! And this is one of my favourite experiments! It takes 10 mins and is chemistry! Also great to make nearer Christmas for gifts, just add in some extra herbs! - https://edu.rsc.org/primary-science/how-to-make-butter/4011889.article
During the last ten years the climate of home education has changed enormously. A little research soon reveals that the reasons behind these changes are many and complex. Join us for a series of blogs exploring some of the issues behind these changes and their impact, and help us to keep home education inclusive and supportive to all. Follow the blog at www.educationalfreedom.org.uk #homeeducation #educationalfreedom #legislation #inclusion #support
What influenced your decision the most? What information are you missing in order to make the choice? Ask us what you need, or take a look at our website. Image description: A cartoon in two frames. The top frame shows a hand hovering between two red buttons labelled "Home Educate" and "School". The bottom frame is a close up of a superhero sweating and mopping his brow with a white handkerchief. Our logo and website are at the bottom of the frame.
We've had a lot of question recently concerning EHCPs, SENs etc and school nurses. If you have any queries have a quick read through our blog post and any questions please dont hesitate to ask. -
We're seeing a lot of adverts for Home Education services that charge for their service or have a membership fee, we need to remind you that you never have to pay, NEVER! We offer the same service and more, completely FREE! Have a read of what we offer...
Many new home educators and even some long term among us often wonder what other peoples days look like and of course there are no hard and fast rules so we wrote this fabulous blog post to help you see what different styles and ages days could look like - https://educationalfreedom.org.uk/examples-of-home-ed-life/
An old one but still so true! Who else agrees? 🙌🏻 My son William learns best when he is outdoors. Rather than sitting at a desk learning about the different weathers, he is out there experiencing it first hand! Instead of reading about the names of different trees and flowers at a desk, he is climbing them, picking them, smelling them! Instead of struggling with maths worksheets at a desk he is outside, counting acorns, measuring twigs and making shapes out of pebbles! 🌳🌸 Shelby 🌿
Michael Rosen sums up the education system wonderfully! This is what destroyed my youngest faith in education. Asked to name a famous black person they replied - Nelson Mandela (half south african so they knew all about it) teacher informed them that was the incorrect answer! She wanted Rosa Parks as the answer and complete dismissed the view point theres might be more than one!
Applying for a Blue Peter Badge is easier than you might think and open to anyone from 5 to 15 years old. The criteria for each badge are easily achievable, and take little documentation. This has the advantage of being appealing to children who are put off by high demand or perceived academic tasks. It enables them to work towards a nationally recognised award that celebrates their achievements. For home education, working towards or applying for one of the many Blue Peter Badges has value beyond the free entry into attractions. Many children enjoy having their hobbies, interests, kind deeds, talents or moments of achievement celebrated and this is a very tangible way of showing achievement in these areas. It can help motivate children to try new activities and provide a framework for engaging in new projects. To read the full blog visit www.educationalfreedom.org.uk or for more information on applying for badges or a list of free attractions visit the Blue Peter Website at bbc.co.uk/bluepeter or search for Blue Peter Badges in your search engine. #BluePeterBadges #homeeducation #award #freedaysout
Do you celebrate Halloween/ Samhein? How do you bring it into teaching in your household? We're looking at the art this year and trying to copy one of Martha Stewarts templates!
We detail why Home Education visits are a risk not worth taking, and why samples of learning should not be supplied to the LA. Remember, always reply to the LA, but it can be on your terms. https://educationalfreedom.org.uk/why-accepting-la-visits-and-or-providing-samples-of-work-is-dangerous-for-all-home-educators/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF5wZBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUw08ty_aASJjagmWEq2IxVnfImecVcHruAv-59eQ81C94iwG0jw3y8T9g_aem_iUOOormLuaw0WsDInwspJw
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