Q. Is it legal?
A. The law in England states that education is compulsory but school is not. The relevant extract from the law can be found on our Legal Page.
Q. Do I have to be a qualified teacher?
A.You do not have to have any formal qualifications in order to be able to educate your child at home. As a parent, you have been educating your child from day one - and no-one teaches you how to be a parent! How you and your child choose to learn will be the first - and perhaps the most exciting - thing that you will discover. Finding out how your child learns, how they view the world and their place in it, can be a real eye-opening experience. The process of education will be one that you cannot help but share, and you will grow together.
Q. Will the LEA monitor what we are doiing?
A. It is likely they will want to know what educational provision is being made for your child. However, they have no legal right to monitor you and can only make informal enquiries of parents. If you chose to repond, you may chose to do so in any way eg in writing, via a home visit or by meeting in person at a neutral location such as a library.
Q. What about exams?
A. Formal testing is not required - your child does not have to sit Key Stage test. Some children may chose to enter for formal qualifications (such as GCSEs) as private candidates or arrange for part-time attendance at Further Education College. Others use correspondence courses. Again, you and your child must decide what is right for them.
Q. What about socialization?
A. The word socialization, contrary to the opinion of some, does not mean spending the weekdays competing with 25 human beings one's own age. In a natural community children spend their daily lives with old people, babies, and everyone in between. They do not compete, but learn to search out the needs of others and to help them live and learn. This mixed age group and habit of teaching and helping others, and being helped and taught by people younger or older than oneself, is a natural part of home education.
