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Is it illegal to home school children in the UK??

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i hear about US kids getting home schooled all the time but i have never heard of this happening to a British child

is this because it is illegal in the UK?

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  1. Yes, it's legal - it always has been.  It's called 'home education' in the UK, however, since the law says that children must be educated at school 'or otherwise' according to their age, aptitude, ability, and any special needs.

    If you're in Scotland, you need permission from the local authority to remove a child from school, but in England or Wales, you simply write a de-registration letter to the school Head, and can then home educate.  

    There are no requirements, other than that the child receives some form of education.  You do not have to follow any curriculum, or timetable, and do not have to be a trained teacher.


  2. no iv bin home schooled over a year (im 14 now) and I dont think it is.

  3. No.  Home schooling is generally frowned upon by the authorities, but it is legal.

  4. No you can legally home school children in the UK.  You will need to contact your department of education although so that you know the curriculum that is being used

  5. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association...

    Legal Status: Homeschooling is legal in England and Wales under the 1944 Education Act, which was consolidated in 1996. Section 7, Education Act 1996 states, "…[E]fficient full-time education, suitable to his age, ability and aptitude and to any special education needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise." Under the "or otherwise" phrase in the law, families can legally homeschool.

    http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Un...

  6. Perfectly legal and there's lots of us doing it. Because we're not required to tell anyone the government has NO idea how many kids are Home Educated in England and Wales and even Scotland because the permission bit only applied if you're taking your kids out of school. Of the HE families I know over half are unknown to the LA.

    Below is a link to a recent article in the Telegraph showing it's legal and not totally underground :-)

  7. It is legal, I have a friend who is home schooled. =)

  8. no home schooling is not illegal because i used to get work sent home from nelson thomlinson school because it was the nearest school to where we lived and they were happy to send some work home with my brother.

  9. Yes, it is perfectly legal  My daughter was at school until last October and we just handed over a letter, on the day she left, to the headmistress stating that we would be withdrawing her from school.  The school then has a responsibility to inform the Local Education Authority.

    If you home educate you do not have to any of the following (although you can if you wish):

    Inform the LEA

    Teach a specific curriculum

    Allow anyone from the LEA to meet you and/or your child

    Sit GCSEs or any specific set of exams

    However, as Liberry says, you have to provide efficient full-time education, suitable to his or her age, ability and aptitude and to any special education needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

    Some children do not do exams at all, so might skip GCSEs and go straight on to A' levels or just start working for an OU degree or other qualification.  It is for the parent and/or the child to decide.

    For further info see:

    http://www.education-otherwise.org/

    http://www.heas.org.uk/

    http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/educatio...

  10. no it is not some children were taken out of my school few years back to be tought at home!

  11. I don´t know.

  12. no, i'm going to be home tutored starting next year and i'm a brit in britain

  13. It's perfectly legal.  Check out this website for more info:http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regi...

  14. its legal-you could teach your kids in a zoo in the uk as long as you prove to the authorities you can-and you do not have to be brains of britain to do so-there are plenty of resources to be had and if youve got the determination and patience then it can turn out very well

  15. In the educational laws of the UK it states that children must be educated but does not state where that education must take place.  

    Therefore homeschooling is legal.  I have a couple friends from there that hs their kids.   It's not as common as over here but is becoming more accepted.

  16. It is legal to homeschool in the UK, and the Home School Legal Defense Association estimates there are between 20,000 and 100,000 homeschooled children in the UK.  The link is below:

    http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Un...

    I don't know why there are not more homeschooled children in the UK.  Perhaps the parents believe the schools are doing a good job.  Also, the parents might be less inclined to homeschool or just have not considered homeschooling as an option.

  17. many things are illegal in the UK. such as eating babies

  18. i have home education and i live in the uk so no it's not illegal.
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