Home education guidance in Scotland and Wales: what families need to know

Statutory guidance for local authorities. Authorities must have regard to it when exercising section 436A functions.

Guidance issued under section 14 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000. Education authorities must have regard to it.

Separate DfE guidance that applies to England. DfE has described the EHE guidance as non-statutory departmental guidance.

Parents must secure efficient, suitable full-time education for a child of compulsory school age. Home-educated children do not have to follow the Curriculum for Wales.

Parents must provide efficient education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, either by school attendance or otherwise.

GOV.UK says parents must make sure their child “receives a full-time education from the age of 5”, but do not have to follow the National Curriculum.

Strong UNCRC framing, including best interests, development and respect for the views of children.

Strong UNCRC framing. Annual contact should include the child if the child wishes.

Current DfE page frames the guidance around ECHR Article 2 of Protocol 1 and Education Act 1996 section 7 rather than the same explicit UNCRC wording.

For a mainstream school, parents give written notification and the school makes a return to the local authority within 10 school days. Special-school cases under local-authority arrangements need local-authority consent or a direction from Welsh Ministers.

Consent is needed to withdraw from a public school, but not to home educate as such. Decisions should normally be issued within 6 weeks.

A school must accept complete withdrawal for home education in ordinary mainstream cases. Local council permission is needed where a School Attendance Order applies or where a child attends a special school because of SEN.

Authorities can ask about the parents’ approach and the education being delivered, and should judge suitability on that basis rather than on school curriculum requirements.

Annual contact is strongly recommended at least once a year for known home-educating families. The format should be flexible.

The council can make an informal enquiry to check suitable education and may take formal action if it believes school attendance is needed.

The guidance encourages contact with the family and child, but current wording should not be read as forcing a home visit.

The guidance is explicit that the authority has no automatic right of access to the home or child as part of annual contact.

Home visits and meetings are generally treated as voluntary for EHE monitoring, but refusing to provide any information can leave the authority unable to assess suitability.

Use ALN and IDP terminology, while recognising some SEN references still appear during transition in older or legal wording.

Use ASN or additional support needs.

Use SEN, SEND and EHC plan/EHCP terminology.

Parents give written notification that they intend to home educate. The school removes the child from the admissions register and makes a return to the local authority within 10 school days.

Parents need consent to withdraw a child from a public school. The consent is for withdrawal from that school, not permission to home educate in itself.

The school must accept complete withdrawal for home education in ordinary mainstream cases.

A child registered at a special school under local-authority arrangements cannot be removed from the register without local-authority consent or, if refused, a direction from Welsh Ministers.

Additional support needs do not change the core home-education right, but local circumstances and support duties need careful handling.

GOV.UK says local council permission is needed if the child attends a special school because of SEN. It says permission is not needed for a mainstream child with an EHC plan.

Families may home educate from the start, but local authorities still have duties around children who may not be receiving suitable education.

The Scottish guidance lists exceptions where consent is not needed, including withdrawal from an independent school or a child who has never attended a public school in that authority’s area.

The public GOV.UK guide focuses on telling the school where a child is currently at school; local authorities still have duties around children not receiving suitable education.

The school return to the local authority is due within 10 school days after removal from the register.

The Scottish guidance says withdrawal decisions should normally be issued within 6 weeks.

GOV.UK does not give the same 10-school-day or 6-week rule for ordinary mainstream withdrawal in the public guide.

A parent’s choice to educate their child otherwise than by full-time school attendance.

It is different from a local authority arranging education otherwise than at school.

Education that is suitable to the child’s age, ability, aptitude and additional needs, and that prepares the child for life in their community.

The exact wording and case-law explanations differ by nation and source.

Guidance that a public body must have regard to when carrying out the relevant function.

Welsh guidance is statutory for local authorities under the relevant section 436A functions.

Official guidance that explains expected practice but does not itself create new legal powers or duties.

This is important when comparing England’s DfE guidance with Wales and Scotland.

In Scotland, the recommended yearly conversation between an authority and a known home-educating family about the child’s education.

The child should be included if the child wishes, but the format should be flexible.

A visit that depends on consent rather than an automatic right of entry.

Families can often offer information in another format, but should avoid providing no information at all.

In Scotland, consent required to withdraw a child from a public school roll.

It is consent to withdraw from that school, not permission to home educate as such.

A formal legal step used in England and Wales where an authority is not satisfied that a child is receiving suitable education and believes school attendance is needed.

Seek specialist advice if an order, notice or prosecution threat is mentioned.

Children of compulsory school age who are not registered at school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at school.

Suitable home education is not the same thing as a child missing education.

Wales uses ALN/IDP, Scotland uses ASN, and England uses SEND/EHC plan terminology.

Use the nation-specific term in letters and plans.