Are We Breaking the Law by Home Schooling?

Author: Charlotte Walker-Olivier

Mr C.E asks

If we as parents choose to home school are we breaking any law? Can we be made to send our daughter to school? Our daughter has issues with regards to school life.

Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that all children receive an education from the age of 5 to 16. For the vast majority of children, this will inevitably mean going to school. However, ensuring that their children attend school is not the only way that parents can satisfy their legal responsibility in England.

Teaching children at home, or home schooling, is legal and is becoming increasingly popular for a number of reasons. You mention that your daughter has issues with school life, which is one reason why some parents choose to educate their children at home. Other parents may choose to home school for religious or social reasons, or simply because they feel that they are better able to address their child’s needs.

As long as your daughter is receiving an education, you have complied with Your Legal Duty and the authorities should not force you to send your daughter to school. However, it may be advisable to notify your Local Education Authority that you intend to home school your daughter rather than just taking her out of her school. The school should also be notified in writing of your intentions before you remove your daughter. The rules are different for children who attend a special school due to their special educational needs.

Parental Rights Checker

Check your legal rights as a parent on education, health and welfare decisions.

Try our Parental Rights Checker free, here on this site →

There is no requirement for you to follow a particular curriculum or to have any teaching qualifications. It is also up to you whether your daughter goes on to take GCSEs. However, you should bear in mind that if your daughter does not attain any recognised qualifications this could limit the options she has later in her educational or professional career. A parent who educates their child at home must ensure that the child still has a full education and that any special needs the child has are addressed. The education the child receives should be appropriate for their age and abilities.

The Local Education Authority could ask you to prove that you are providing your daughter with an education. You might do this by setting out the methods you use and providing examples of your daughter’s work. Alternatively, you could arrange a meeting, either at your home or elsewhere, with a representative of the Authority. If the Local Education Authority was not satisfied that you were providing your daughter with an appropriate education, they could serve you with a school attendance order forcing you to send your daughter to school.

There are many websites offering advice and materials for parents who decide to educate their children at home, and some Local Education Authorities may supply free study materials based on the National Curriculum.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Parental Rights Checker lets you check your legal rights as a parent on education, health and welfare decisions. Try it now →

15 questions

Ask Law and Parents a Question

DAVE 14/03/2021 at 10:33 pm

My daughter currently at college and her 19th birthday is on the same day the college break up for summer holidays this June.But her course officially doesn't finished until the 25th June but the CSA have told me they won't review it until that date..My question do i stop payment on her 19th birthday or the 25th the official end date knowing she hasn't done the required 12 hours per week of course work due to the college closed.And i do i continue payments until the CSA contact me even though my daughter won't be in any sort of education after the 25th June.

Tim 25/03/2020 at 10:07 pm

My son’s a’level education has stopped due to the crisis. He is now technically out of secondary education and is working part time. He is due to start university in September. Am I still liable for child maintenance until the day he actuallly starts university or can it stop now as his a’levels technically stopped when the government cancelled exams? Thanks very much.

Max 15/09/2019 at 8:28 pm

Unfortunately I have no contact with my daughter who turned 19 in September 2019. I have paid maintenance payments as per the CMS calculator for over five years. She is embarking on her third year of A levels. I have been told that I have to continue maintenence payments. Can you advise at what point these payments can be discontinued.

I have carried out some research but seem to get conflicting advice including

A) once she reaches the age of 19
B) once she no longer attends school / completes her last exam in relation to A levels.
C) once she reaches the age of 20

Any assistance would be gratefully received.

Max

MrD 16/01/2019 at 2:31 pm

My 17 year old daughter has been kicked out of college, she has no job.
She lives with her mother. as i understand it, it is my responsibility to provide child support whilst she is in further education of at least 12 hours per week. But shes not?

So i wish to stop paying maintenance, she is fully capable of getting a job.
This isnt about paying maintenance, its about making my daughter realise that she cant sit around all day, week after week doing nothing.

MUMMY 14/01/2019 at 12:56 pm

18 NOT GOING TO COLLAGE STUDYING AT HOME SHE SAYS FOR 12 HOURS ? DO I STILL PAY C/S
HER MUM WILL NOT GIVE ME ANY INFO PLEASE SOME ONE HELP THKS

MUMMY 14/01/2019 at 12:46 pm

18 YEARS OLD NOT GOING TO COLLAGE DO I STILL PAY CS ???
CANT FIND ANSWERS ANY WHERE ,HER MUM WILL NOT TALK TO ME
AND IS STILL BEING PAID .. THKS

LawAndParents Editor 12/02/2018 at 3:43 pm

Furious dad - Your Question:My ex wife has took my son out of school due to him being a pain etc. The school are sending him work to do which he refuses to do. So my question Is, as he isn't in full time education, do I still have to pay his maintenance the we agreed on ?Our Response:Yes.

Furious dad 10/02/2018 at 6:23 pm

My ex wife has took my son out of school due to him being a pain etc. The school are sending him work to do which he refuses to do. So my question Is, as he isn't in full time education, do I still have to pay his maintenance the we agreed on ?

LawAndParents Editor 17/05/2017 at 12:49 pm

We think if she's studying for 12 hours per week or more at A level standard or equivalent then you should still be eligible for CHB and CTC but do check with DWP and HMRC to be sure.

Jo 16/05/2017 at 2:30 pm

Hi,

My 16 year old daughter has been home-educated all her life and will be carrying on with taking further exams at home ('A' levels). She will have tutors but as it's home education, a lot of the learning is self-motivated rather than 12 hours weekly at a college.

Will the fact that she will not be studying with a tutor for 12 hours weekly likely cause a problem when it comes to what the government calls 'approved full-time education'. On the Education Otherwise website it states that the government recognises HE, but is this only when they a home-education student sees a tutor amounting to 12 hours weekly?

Also, I'm thinking of her taking evening classes and I'm wanting to know, will taking evening classes, alongside her Home Education course, affect child benefit/child tax credits?

I would greatly value any help you could give,

Thank you,

LawAndParents Editor 18/12/2014 at 11:19 am

@lisa. While she's still at school studying up to a'level standard, yes he will have to pay until she finishes. As for the university, it depends whether there was any private child maintenance agreement between him and your stepdaughter's mother.

lisa 17/12/2014 at 5:28 pm

My stepdaughter is 18 and still at school she hopes to go onto university, she earns up to £500 a month does my partner still need to pay maintainance

magoo 10/09/2012 at 10:18 pm

my 7yr old son wants to live with me. his mother says she will not let him. can she stop him? i live alone.

Cherry 11/08/2012 at 10:32 am

My 17 year old daughter turns 18 in December. She is living with me and has just acquired a small part time job. She is also studying via Internet a Tafe Business course. She is no longer at school.

My ex husband just found out about her job and is now goingbto child support to withdraw maintenance.

He pays 1070 a month. Will I lose these last 4 payments before her 18th birthday. She is earning approximately $150 a week if that.

Please help me.

Cheryl

Loathe British Schoo 03/07/2012 at 6:41 am

My children are both British and Canadian. They have been educated in Canada up to this point, but we are considering moving back to the UK. Unfortunately, that means suffering the British school system.... Our older son may enter 6th form, but our younger son will be taking distance-learning courses from Canada, so essentially home-schooled. I wouldn't DREAM of having to cram him into some stupid uniform and be dictated to by the nanny-state if we choose to take a family holiday! English school? No thanks!!!! Distance-learning is actually part of the normal school system in Canada. The courses are available on-line the same as those studied in the classroom, complete with exams and qualifications at the end of it. I suggest that more parents explore their options and look at distance-learning, the nanny-state mentality will drive more kids away from education than it retains.... George Orwell couldn't have scripted it better!

Ask Law and Parents a question

Ask our editorial team a question and we will reply with our advice. Tell us as much about your situation as you can: the more detail you give, the more useful our answer can be.

You do not need to use your real name. Please do not include your full address, phone number, email address, or the names of other people. We may edit or remove identifying details for privacy and legal reasons.

Comments are moderated before publication.