Home education: everything you need to know about homeschooling

Home education – also referred to as homeschooling – is a huge commitment and not for everyone, but for some families the benefits are clear. Here’s what it involves and where to get help if you're thinking about trying it, or are already doing it.

Although the vast majority of children in the UK head through school gates each day to learn, a small but growing number are educated at home instead.

According to the latest research, in the years 2014-15, there were 34,000 families choosing to homeschool. By 2016-17, this had shot up to 48,000 – and it’s likely these figures are still rising.

The internet might well be contributing to this boom, making it far easier for parents to find support and educational materials as well as swap tips and arrange meet-ups with other homeschooling parents.

The reasons why mums and dads go down the homeschooling route are many and varied.

Some feel their child is being let down by mainstream school, others prefer the idea of a more individual and flexible approach to education, than that found in a class of 30 pupils following the National Curriculum.

Home educating brings freedoms, such as dropping the drudge of washing uniforms, organising endless dress-up outfits, dashing to do school runs and set routines. But it’s a big commitment for parents in other ways.

For some of us, it’s never going to be practical – especially if you’ve got to look after younger children or elderly relatives and need to find the time to work on top of all this!

But if it’s a path you’d like to consider, we’ve done some of the homework for you ...

What is homeschooling?

Homeschooling, also known as home education, refers to children learning outside of the school system.

At one end of the scale, this can involve fairly traditional teaching, with textbooks and timetables.

At the other, it might be so-called ‘unschooling’ or ‘autonomous home education’. This typically has less structure, is child-led and has been described as ‘learning through life’.

Who a child learns with can vary, as well. They might be at home with just their parent, a tutor, or a combination.

If it all sounds a bit isolating, there’s the option of finding a home education group, where children from different families learn together, some or all of the time. This allows kids to get a bit of social interaction and gives them the chance to make new friends.

Another possibility is ‘flexi-schooling’.

Flexi-schooling involves children going to school part-time, and being home educated the rest. Schools have to agree to this, so it’s a discussion you need to have with the headteacher.

Can I take my child out of school to homeschool?

One of the most common questions asked about homeschooling is this – in other words, is it even legal to homeschool?

And the answer is, yes – absolutely!

Education is compulsory in the UK for children aged five to 16, but going to school isn’t. You won’t be breaking the law by home educating.

Anyone can do it, there’s no need to have a teaching qualification or past experience.

If your child has never attended school, you don’t need to notify your local authority.

If they’re currently a pupil at a primary or secondary, you can withdraw them at any time but should write to the headteacher to let them know your plans.

What are the most common reasons to homeschool?

There are plenty of reasons why parents decide to homeschool. Situations where it appeals might include:

• A child who finds school especially stressful or difficult, perhaps due to a mental health issue such as anxiety, or having experienced bullying.
• Parents who feel their child’s learning needs are not being met in mainstream education, and would be better served by home education.
• A family that believes in a more flexible, individualised approach to education or think homeschooling would sit better with their religious beliefs.
• A parent who home educates temporarily, while waiting for a place at their preferred school to come up.
• A child who is pursuing a sporting activity, drama work, or other extra-curricular activity to a high level, and needs a more flexible approach to schooling to fit around that.

Celebrities with homeschooled kids provide some extra insights. Loose Women presenter Nadia Sawalha’s children are home educated, and she’s talked about how her younger daughter was struggling with the academic pressures of school.

Watch Nadia discuss why and how she homeschools below ...

Stacey Solomon’s two sons also learn at home as Stacey believes school was too stifling for them.

Another well-known home educator is actress Samantha Womack, who's talked about choosing to homeschool her daughter because of the inflexibility of term-time holiday rules.

Which subjects do we need to cover when homeschooling?

Parents who are new to homeschooling are often surprised by just how few rules there are about what, and how much, a child should learn.

Children don’t need to follow the National Curriculum or take public exams, such as GCSEs, for example.

It does make sense to ensure your child is building literacy and numeracy skills. But whether that’s via play-based activity and real-life tasks such as going to the shops, or or in a more conventional way, is your call.

You can also choose whether they learn other subjects covered by schools, such as history or geography.

How many hours of homeschooling do I need to do?

When it comes to hours, there are no rules either. Some families prefer to stick to a set schedule and timings, others keep the days less structured, but there’s no set amount you have to do.

Some, but not all, local authorities will send a representative round each year to check your child is being educated.

But legally you don’t have to agree to let them in or discuss how or what your child learns with them.

Can homeschooled children still take GCSEs and A levels?

If your child wants to apply to a college or university, they might need to take public exams to gain entry.

Whether or not children who are homeschooled can still do official exams such as GCSEs has been widely discussed about in our forum and is clearly a concern shared by homeschooling mums.

Luckily, being homeschooled shouldn't mean you're excluded from doing them.

Education and parenting consultant, Gill Hines, co-author of The Home Education Handbook, says, ‘some schools and colleges allow home educated children to sit exams.’

The main exam boards have information on their websites about this process if you search ‘private candidates’.

Homeschooling organisations such as Oxford Home Schooling also offers advice on its website. it says:

'Whilst it is your responsibility to arrange your exams, Oxford Home Schooling can offer a lot of assistance.

'Last year our students sat at 700 different centres across the country and we maintain a database of this information for our students.

'Full information on arranging examinations can be found here.'

I’ve decided to homeschool, what next?

Gill recommends taking a step back and thinking about what you want to achieve:

‘Be clear about your reasons and about what you want [from homeschooling],' she says.

'Read as much as you can, and talk to other home-educating parents to work out what learning style you want to go with, and what resources they use.'

Consider what works for your child, too.

Some parents find it useful to write a homeschooling plan, detailing what their objectives are for their child, and how they’ll aim to reach these and measure progress.

How much does homeschooling cost?

Homeschooling expenses aren’t just about buying some textbooks or subscribing to education websites.

You’ll need to consider any lost earnings because of the time involved, as well as paying for activities such as sports or arts and crafts, and potentially tutor fees.

On the flipside, there are savings, including not having to spend money on uniforms or travel costs.

Generally, Gill says that home educating needn’t be expensive, particularly for a younger child.

For young children she notes that, 'exploring the world and learning about life, interaction and socialisation are the most important things and they are sometimes free’.

She adds:

'The biggest cost is in adult time, a parent home educating their child may have to make career sacrifices with the resultant financial loss.

'Groups of families home educating together can help reduce individual time commitments.’

What else do you need to consider with homeschooling?

As well as how and what your child will learn, think about the non-academic side of things, too.

How could they meet other children and make friends? What about sport, music or art activities? Again, the internet is your friend here and read our piece on 'things to consider before homeschooling', too.

It sounds obvious but you also need to plan how you’ll juggle the realities of home education with work, childcare, and any other commitments.

Where can I find out more about homeschooling?

The good news is, that once you get going, being a home-educating family is much less isolating than you'd think.

There are tons of resources out there and plenty of ways to connect with other families doing the same.

Netmums’ chat forum is one way to share homeschooling ideas, experiences and questions.

There you can swap notes on everything from finding other local homeschoolers to how to embark on GCSE preparation.

Other sites to check out include:

• Education Otherwise, a home education charity which has a list of home education groups in the UK
• Oxford Open Learning, which provides distance learning material
• the Government’s National Curriculum pages

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