How many children are home-educated?
It is not known how many children are home educated in England. However, there are estimates of the number of pupils registered as home educated. As registration with local authorities is voluntary, these estimates are likely to underestimate the total number.
In the autumn 2022 school census the Department for Education (DfE) collected information from local authorities about registered home educated pupils for the first time. After adjusting for non-responses there were an estimated 80,900 home educated pupils known to local authorities in England in October 2022, and around 86,200 in January 2023.
As this is the first time this data has been collected, we do not know whether this increase is due to seasonal variation or other reasons.
Third party surveys of registered home educated pupils are now several years out of date (October 2021 for the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, and March 2019 for the Office of the Schools Adjudicator). These estimates suggest that the number of pupils registered as home educated has increased.
Education is a devolved issue and this briefing covers the position in England only.
Responsibilities of those home schooling
Under the Education Act 1996, parents and guardians, including those who choose to home-educate their children, are responsible for ensuring that the education provided is efficient, full-time and suitable to the child’s age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. They are not required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum and do not have to follow the National Curriculum. Home educating parents must be prepared to assume full financial responsibility, including the cost of any public examinations.
The DfE has published departmental guidance for parents (PDF) on home education.
The role of local authorities
The DfE has also published guidance for local authorities (PDF). Local authorities have no formal powers or duty to monitor home education. However, they do have duties to identify children not receiving a suitable education, and to intervene. As part of this, the DfE recommends that authorities should contact people home educating on at least an annual basis, to enquire about the suitability of the education being provided.
If it appears a child is not receiving a suitable education, intervention could include issuing a school attendance order, although the Government encourages authorities to address the issue informally before serving a notice.
Local authorities also have powers relating to safeguarding, which may be used if it appears that a lack of suitable education is likely to impair a child’s development.
Plans for a register of children educated outside of school
In April 2019, the Government published consulted on proposed legislation concerning children not in school. The consultation closed on 24 June 2019.
The Government proposed to create four new legal duties effecting schools, local authorities, parents and guardians:
- A duty on local authorities to keep a register of children of compulsory school age who are not registered at a state-funded or registered independent school.
- A duty on parents to provide information to their local authority if their child should be on the register.
- A duty on education settings to respond to enquiries from local authorities about the education provided to individual children who attend school alongside being home educated.
- A duty on local authorities to support home educated families if the families request it
In its February 2022 response to the consultation, the Government said it intended to legislate for a register of children not in school, and that it would engage further with local authorities and the home educating sector in developing its proposals.
In May 2022, the Government published a Schools Bill which included provisions for a home-schooling register. These provisions, and others in the Bill, proved controversial. The wide-ranging Bill was abandoned in December 2022, although the Education Secretary has said legislating for a register remains a priority.
Guidance on home educating children
In October 2023, the Department for Education published revised draft home education guidance for local authorities and opened a consultation.
The draft guidance recommends that local authorities should operate a voluntary registration scheme for children receiving elective home education. The consultation is open until 18 January 2024.