Elective Home Education (EHE)

All children of compulsory school age have a right to an education, however this does not have to take place in school. In England the responsibility for a child’s education rests with their parents and they can choose to educate their children other than at school. Some parents choose to educate their children themselves and others may employ tutors.

The education you provide must be ‘suitable’ and ‘efficient’.

If your child is already registered in a school, you need to inform the school in writing that you are removing your child to educate at home. If your child attends a special school, the SEN team would need to be consulted before your child can be removed from the school roll.

The reasons why a parent may choose EHE (sometimes called 'home schooling') could include:

  • distance or access to a local school
  • religious or cultural beliefs
  • philosophical or ideological views
  • dissatisfaction with the system
  • as a short term intervention for a particular reason
  • parents feel that their child is not thriving within a school environment
  • to build closer family bonds

Parents can home educate their child from a very early age and the child may never have been enrolled at school - they may also elect to home educate at any other stage up to the end of compulsory school age.