Home education news
Source-led guides for moments when home-education rules, statistics or local-authority expectations change. Read dates carefully and pair posts with current official guidance for your UK nation.
Guide directory
Choose the guide that matches the question you are trying to understand. Each card links to a guide in this section.
15 published guides available.
Guide
Yes, in some cases. This article explains part-time college, direct 14–16 admission, provider examples, funding, exam fees, transport and the checks parents should make before applying.
Read the guideGuide
The 2026 Act has received Royal Assent, but several register, consent and oversight duties depend on start dates and guidance. Here is what families can understand and prepare for now.
Read the guideGuide
A 2025 survey suggests more parents are exploring home education. Here is what the figures mean, how they compare with official data, and what families should weigh up before making a decision.
Read the guideGuide
A practical explainer for parents on exam-centre shortages, private-candidate entries, costs, deadlines and SEND access arrangements.
Read the guideGuide
A calm parent-facing guide to why home education socialisation and peer contact are now being discussed with stronger oversight — and what UK families should, and should not, take from it.
Read the guideGuide
A source-backed guide to what councils can ask, why support can feel limited, and practical next steps for documentation, SEND, mental health and advocacy.
Read the guideGuide
The DfE scheme can help parents assess full-time online education providers in England, but it is voluntary, non-statutory and not a provider ranking.
Read the guideGuide
The VAT ruling may make home education sound like a legal fallback. This explainer separates that courtroom point from the time, cost, SEND and UK-nation rules parents need to weigh before acting.
Read the guideGuide
A calm parent guide to the reported rise, classroom-safety concerns, ASN support pressures, school-confidence worries and Scotland's withdrawal rules.
Read the guideGuide
A practical England-focused guide for families weighing elective home education after SEND support has broken down.
Read the guideGuide
The January 2026 DfE release shows a further rise in elective home education in England. Here is what the figures mean, where SEND and EHCP caveats fit, and what records can help families.
Read the guideGuide
Before accepting a placement, clarify whether it is parent-arranged EHE, school or local-authority alternative provision, or EOTAS/EHCP provision — then get responsibility, safeguarding and review arrangements in writing.
Read the guideGuide
A practical parent guide to the difference between lawful home-education support and provision that may need independent-school registration, with England and Wales rules, wider UK caveats and questions to ask before using a setting.
Read the guideComparison guide
A family-facing comparison of the Welsh and Scottish guidance, including child voice, local-authority contact, voluntary home visits and the key ways England differs.
Read the guideComparison guide
A Northern Ireland-first explainer for parents: what Elective Home Education means, how EA guidance frames the process, how it differs from EOTAS, and where England, Wales and Scotland use different rules or terminology.
Read the guide