538,547
pupils with an EHC plan in England in 2025/26
Home education and SEND
EHCP home education: what parents should check before withdrawing
A practical England-focused guide for families weighing elective home education after SEND support has broken down.
Current answer
Can you home educate with an EHCP?
In England, yes. Parents can choose elective home education for a child with SEND or an Education, Health and Care plan, often called an EHCP or EHC plan. DfE parent guidance explains that “education does not have to be undertaken through attendance at school”.
The important second answer is about provision. An EHC plan does not simply disappear, but if parents arrange suitable home education themselves, the local authority is generally not under the same duty to arrange the special educational provision in the plan. DfE parent guidance uses the wording: “no duty to arrange any special educational provision for the child” when suitable home education has been arranged by parents.
For a mainstream pupil, parents usually notify the school in writing. For a local-authority-arranged special-school placement, local authority consent is needed before the child is removed from the admission register. If a school attendance order is in place, deal with that before sending a withdrawal letter.
Mainstream school, special school or attendance order: what changes before withdrawal
The withdrawal step is not the same in every situation. The SEND Code of Practice also warns: “There is no provision in law for a ‘trial period’ of home education.”
A comparison of the main pre-withdrawal rules for parents considering elective home education in England.
| Situation | Before withdrawal | What to ask or record |
|---|---|---|
A child is on roll at a mainstream school, including a mainstream pupil with an EHC plan. | Parents normally notify the school in writing that they are choosing elective home education. Local authority consent is not required for mainstream deregistration. | Ask the school and local authority to confirm the removal date, attendance position and who will arrange the next EHC plan review if a plan is maintained. |
A child attends a special school because the local authority arranged or named that placement. | Local authority consent is required before the child’s name can be removed from the register. The SEND Code says this should not be a lengthy or complex process. | Ask for consent and for written confirmation of what will happen to Section I, Section F, annual reviews and any current appeal deadline. |
A child is attending the school because a school attendance order is in force. | The order must be revoked before the child’s name can be removed from the admission register. | Ask the local authority to confirm the position in writing before treating a withdrawal letter as effective. |
A child is already home educated, has never been on roll, or is between settings. | There may be no school deregistration step, but parents can still raise concerns about SEN and ask about an EHC needs assessment. | Keep a clear record of the child’s needs, current education, evidence from professionals and any request for assessment or review. |
Elective home education is not the same as EOTAS
Both can involve learning at home, but they are not the same decision. The difference matters because it affects who arranges special educational provision, who pays for it and what should be written in the EHC plan.
Pre-withdrawal checklist for parents of a child with SEND or an EHCP
Use this before sending a deregistration letter or asking for special-school consent. The 2026 SEND reform consultation gives reassurance for existing EHCP support, including the wording: “There will be no changes to support received through EHCPs before at least September 2030”. That is still not a substitute for checking the current plan and the child’s immediate situation.
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Confirm the school type
Is the child in mainstream school, a local-authority-arranged special school, or a school named because of a school attendance order? The answer changes the withdrawal step.
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Separate EHE from EOTAS
Write down whether you are choosing parent-arranged elective home education or asking the local authority to arrange education away from school.
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Read Section F
List each piece of special educational provision, who currently provides it and what would happen if the child is educated at home.
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Read Section I
Check the named school or placement wording and ask how the plan would record parent arrangements if you withdraw.
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Check annual review timing
A maintained EHC plan must still be reviewed at least annually. Ask when the next review will be and who will attend.
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Check appeal and mediation deadlines
If there is a refusal to assess, refusal to issue, amended plan, placement dispute or cease-maintain decision, check deadlines before changing the child’s school status.
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Challenge pressure to withdraw
DfE guidance says schools should not pressure parents to remove a child to avoid exclusion or because of learning or behaviour difficulty.
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Cost the home plan
Include specialist teaching, resources, therapies, social opportunities, exam fees, travel and any back-up plan if a parent becomes unwell.
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Get written answers
Ask the local authority for written answers before sending any final withdrawal letter, especially where an EHCP, special-school placement, funding or appeal issue is involved.
Message to the local authority before choosing elective home education
Questions to put in writing before you withdraw
Use or adapt this if your child has an EHC plan and you are considering withdrawal because support has broken down.
Hello, I am considering elective home education for [child’s name], who has an EHC plan. Before I make any decision, please confirm in writing: whether local authority consent is needed before removal from the school register; how the authority would record Section I if I electively home educate; whether the authority would continue to arrange any provision in Section F; how annual reviews would be arranged; whether EOTAS or another placement should be considered; and whether any mediation, review or appeal deadline is currently running. Please also confirm who I should contact if I want to request an urgent review of the EHC plan.
It separates the decision to home educate from the legal and funding consequences, and it creates a written record before any deregistration letter is sent.
What rights and duties can still continue after home education starts?
Elective home education changes responsibility for day-to-day education, but it does not erase every SEND process. These points matter if a plan is maintained or if an assessment or appeal issue is live.
Annual reviews
A maintained EHC plan must be reviewed at least every 12 months, including when a child is educated otherwise than at a school or institution.
EHC needs assessment requests
Parents can still ask about an EHC needs assessment for a home-educated child. The usual decision process applies and a plan is not guaranteed.
SEND Tribunal appeals
Parents and young people can appeal specified English local authority decisions about EHC needs assessments and EHC plans, including refusals to assess, refusals to issue a plan, disputed plan wording, decisions not to amend and decisions to cease maintaining a plan.
Appeal deadlines
The SEND Code gives the usual deadline as two months from the local authority decision notice or one month from a mediation certificate or mediation information, whichever is later.
Cease-maintain appeals
If a decision to cease maintaining an EHC plan is appealed, the local authority must maintain the plan until the Tribunal decision is made.
Home visits
Local authorities do not have an automatic right to enter the family home because a child has SEN or an EHC plan. Parents should still be ready to explain and evidence how the education is suitable.
Moving area
If a child with an EHC plan moves to a different local authority area, SEND Code transfer rules may become relevant. Avoid relying on informal assumptions about which authority is responsible.
2026 SEND reform: what is proposed, and what is current law?
The England SEND reform consultation ran from 23 February 2026 to 18 May 2026 and GOV.UK says feedback is being analysed. Treat the reform material as policy proposals unless later legislation says otherwise. DfE’s consultation also says: “Families will retain the right to appeal to the Tribunal.”
A table separating current EHCP rights from the proposed 2026 SEND reform package for England.
| Reform point | Current status | What parents should take from it before withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
SEND reform: putting children and young people first | Closed consultation for England. It ran from 23 February to 18 May 2026 and feedback is being analysed. | Do not treat consultation proposals as current enforceable rights or duties. |
Digital Individual Support Plans | Proposed future records for children and young people receiving Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist support. | An ISP is not currently an in-force replacement for an EHCP. Use proposed/future wording unless the law changes. |
Nationally defined Specialist Provision Packages | Proposed future packages for children and young people with more complex needs; the proposals say they would guide future EHCP content. | Families cannot rely on these as a current process before withdrawing. Current EHC plan law still matters. |
Existing EHCP support | DfE’s consultation says no changes to support received through EHCPs before at least September 2030. | Reform is not a reason to assume existing EHCP support will vanish immediately. Still check for any government response or legislation before relying on it for a family decision. |
SEND Tribunal | Current English appeal rights continue. DfE also says families will retain Tribunal appeal rights under the proposals, but the exact future scope depends on legislation. | Do not abandon a current appeal or miss a deadline because reform has been announced. |
Key terms in plain English
These terms are often mixed together in parent discussions. Use the official terms carefully when writing to a school or local authority.
Elective home education
A parent’s choice to educate a child at home or otherwise than at school, rather than the local authority arranging education away from school.
Suitable education
Education suitable to the child’s age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs. It does not have to mirror school, but parents may need to show how it meets the child’s needs.
EHCP / EHC plan
In England, a legal document setting out the education, health and social care support to be provided to a child or young person with special educational needs or a disability.
Section F
The part of an EHC plan that specifies special educational provision. It matters because special educational provision carries different enforcement implications from general support.
SEND Tribunal
The First-tier Tribunal process that hears appeals about English local authority decisions on EHC needs assessments and EHC plans, plus some disability discrimination claims.
EOTAS
A commonly used term for local-authority-arranged education otherwise than at school, including potentially home-based provision where school is not appropriate. It is different from parents choosing elective home education.
Personal Budget
An amount identified to secure provision in an EHC plan. Its scope varies and it is not an automatic home-education payment.
Individual Support Plan
A proposed future digital record of a child or young person’s barriers to learning, provision, adjustments and intended outcomes under the 2026 SEND reform proposals.
Specialist Provision Package
A proposed future nationally defined package of evidence-based specialist support that would guide future EHCP content for children and young people with the most complex needs.
School attendance order
A formal step a local authority can use as a last resort if it appears a compulsory-school-age child is not receiving suitable education.
Official sources used for this guide
This guide is based on official England sources and DfE reform material. Because reform material can change, check for a later government response or legislation before relying on it for a family decision.
- Open source
DfE SEND statistics
- Open source
DfE elective home education guidance
- Open source
DfE parent guidance on elective home education
- Open source
DfE local authority guidance on elective home education
- Open source
SEND Code of Practice
- Open source
DfE SEND reform consultation
- Open source
DfE SEND reform proposals
- Open source
Every child achieving and thriving
Related guidance
More guidance from this section
More guidance from this part of the Ed Centre that may help with the same decision, stage or next step.
EHCP and home education: what changes and what does not
A clear England-only guide for families weighing elective home education, EHC plan duties, Section F and Section I, annual reviews, deregistration, EOTAS and funding questions.
Children Not in School register: England Guidance
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.
Unregistered alternative provision: what home-education families should check
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.
Support and clarity
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to the questions people ask most often.
Can you home educate with an EHCP?
Yes, in England parents can choose elective home education for a child with SEND or an EHC plan. The key difference is what happens to provision: if the parent’s home education arrangements are suitable, the local authority is generally not under the same duty to arrange the special educational provision in the plan.
What happens to an EHCP if I home educate?
The EHC plan does not automatically vanish. If it is maintained, it must still be reviewed. However, where parents electively home educate and the local authority is satisfied the education is suitable, the authority is generally relieved of its duty to arrange the plan’s special educational provision.
Do I need local authority permission to withdraw a child with an EHCP?
Not usually for a child on roll at a mainstream school in England: parents normally notify the school in writing. Yes, if the child attends a special school arranged by the local authority. If a school attendance order is in force, resolve that first.
Will the local authority fund home education, tutors or therapy if my child has an EHCP?
Do not assume automatic funding for elective home education. Parents who choose EHE generally take on the financial and practical responsibility. EOTAS or other local-authority-arranged provision is different and should be discussed separately where school is not appropriate.
What is the difference between elective home education and EOTAS?
Elective home education is parent-chosen and parent-arranged. EOTAS is commonly used for local-authority-arranged education otherwise than at school, where the authority agrees school is not appropriate and arranges provision through the EHC plan. The difference affects who is responsible for arranging and funding special educational provision.
Can I apply for an EHCP if my child is already home educated?
Yes. Home education does not stop parents from asking about an EHC needs assessment. The usual assessment decision process and appeal rights apply, and an EHC plan is not guaranteed simply because a child is home educated.
Do SEND Tribunal rights still apply after home education?
Current English appeal rights still apply to specified EHC needs assessment and EHC plan decisions. The SEND Code gives the usual appeal deadline as two months from the decision notice or one month from a mediation certificate or mediation information, whichever is later.
Will 2026 SEND reform remove EHCP rights?
The 2026 reform material is a closed consultation and policy package for England, not an immediate replacement of current EHCP law. DfE’s consultation material says current EHCP support will not change before at least September 2030, but this should be checked against any later government response or legislation.
Sources and references
Sources and references
- 1.DfE SEND statistics
Special educational needs in England: academic year 2025/26.
- 2.DfE elective home education guidance
GOV.UK landing page for England elective home education guidance and funding information.
- 3.DfE parent guidance on elective home education
Parent-facing guidance on elective home education, including SEND and EHC plan considerations.
- 4.DfE local authority guidance on elective home education
Departmental guidance for local authorities on elective home education in England.
- 5.SEND Code of Practice
Statutory guidance for the 0 to 25 SEND system in England.
- 6.DfE SEND reform consultation
Closed consultation on proposed SEND reform in England.
- 7.DfE SEND reform proposals
HTML consultation document setting out proposed ISPs, Specialist Provision Packages, transition protections and Tribunal proposals.
- 8.Every child achieving and thriving
Schools and SEND white paper for England.