The rise of homeschooling

Homeschooling is on the rise in England. In autumn 2025, 126,00 children were in elective home education (EHE), 14,300 more than the previous year. Mental health was the most reported reason for choosing EHE (16%), while 12% of parents cited philosophical or preferential reasons and 9% said it was due to their lifestyle.

Whatever the reasoning, homeschooling is a significant commitment for parents and carers. If you are considering this route for your child, it’s important to understand your responsibilities.

The legalities

It is a parent/carer’s responsibility to ensure that their child receives a full-time education from the first term after their fifth birthday until the end of the academic year in which they turn 16. Then, a child must stay in some form of education until they turn 18. This could be:

Full-time education
An apprenticeship
Part-time education or training, accompanied by at least 20 hours of work or volunteering per week.

Exams

Your child is not legally required to sit any specific examinations; however, you may wish to enter them in key exams such as GCSEs so they can access higher education. You would be responsible for the cost of entering these exams, but you have the freedom to choose the exam board.

De-registering your child

If your child has never attended school, you are not legally obliged to seek permission to home educate; however, it is strongly recommended that you tell your local council’s EHE department, so that you can receive relevant support and resources. For example, there are some routine vaccinations that are offered through schools, such as the HPV vaccine, flu jab and 3-in-1 teenage booster. If you are known to the local authority, your details will be shared with school health and immunisation teams so your child can still access these vaccines.

If your child is currently attending mainstream school, you should write a letter to the headteacher notifying them of your decision to home educate. The school should then remove your child from their register and notify the council.

Children with special educational needs (SEN)

If your child is currently at a special school, you must submit a formal request to the headteacher to switch to home education. Your local EHE department will enquire about the education you plan to provide and, if they believe that your child’s needs will be appropriately met, consent will be granted.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), the EHCP will be amended to include home education. If the council is satisfied that the new arrangements are suitable for your child, it is not dutybound to help you provide the special educational provision set out in the EHCP.

If your child is in EHE and you wish to apply for an EHCP, you can make the application yourself, with support from services such as SENDIASS.

Support and resources

If you are considering EHE, you don’t have to do it alone. Your local authority will be in contact with you annually to check in, as they have a duty to ensure that children are receiving suitable education.

Essex County Council has shared links to services that can help you with the transition to EHE. There may also be homeschooling groups near you, allowing you to connect with other local families. However, if this amounts to full-time education of five or more children, you may be required to register this as an independent school.