What is homeschooling? Homeschooling, called elective home education in the UK, means parents take full responsibility for educating their child at home (or elsewhere) instead of sending them to school. This guide covers what the law in England requires, what the 2026 Act changes, how home-educated students sit GCSE science, and how to do safe practicals at home.
What is homeschooling? A simple definition
In everyday speech, people say "homeschooling" or "home schooling". Official documents in the UK use the term elective home education, often shortened to EHE. Councils treat the two as the same thing: the parent chooses to educate the child outside the school system and takes full responsibility for doing so.
"Elective" simply means the family has chosen it. That separates home education from children who are out of school for other reasons, such as illness or exclusion.
Home education can be full-time or part-time, and full-time education is required from age 5. Families do not have to follow the National Curriculum. It is the parent who provides or arranges the education. Many parents do bring in tutors, online courses or classes, but that is a choice, not a rule.
Home education can look very different from one household to the next. One family might follow a structured online course with set hours. Another might use project work, visits and reading. A third might mix both. What they share is that the parent, not a school, decides what is taught and how.
Homeschooling vs flexi-schooling vs homebound teaching
Three terms are easy to confuse.
- Homeschooling (elective home education): the child is not on a school roll and the parent is responsible for their education.
- Flexi-schooling: the child stays on a school roll and attends for part of the week, with the rest of the education provided at home. It needs the head teacher's agreement, there is no legal right to it, and it is not home education.
- Homebound teaching: teaching arranged for a child who cannot attend school because of illness or a similar reason. If that is your situation, read about what homebound teaching is, because the council arranges it rather than the parent.
Home education can also blend with other approaches. Some families combine lessons at home with online classes, and our guide to blended learning explains how mixing online and face-to-face teaching works.
How many children are home educated in the UK?
The Department for Education (DfE) publishes figures for England, collected from councils. The numbers have grown quickly.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Children in elective home education on census day, autumn 2025 | 126,000 | DfE, published 15 January 2026 |
| Same measure, autumn 2024 | 111,700 | DfE |
| Increase between the two | About 14,300 | DfE |
| Children home educated at some point in the 2024/25 school year | 175,900 | DfE |
These figures are for England only. The first number is a snapshot on one day, which is why the second figure, covering the whole year, is higher: children move in and out of home education during the year.
Why do families choose home education?
There is no single reason. Where councils know the reason, the DfE reports mental health as the most common (16%), followed by philosophical or preferential reasons (12%). The DfE figures here cover only the two most common reasons it reports, and many reasons are unknown.
Some children begin home education after a difficult time at school. Others never start in school at all. If your child's grades have dropped and you are wondering whether school is the problem, read how to help your child after poor grades in school before deciding. A conversation with the school can sometimes change things without a big move.
Pros and cons of homeschooling
Home education suits some children and families very well, and others find it hard. Here is a balanced look at both sides.
Possible advantages
- Personalised pace: a child can spend longer on a topic they find hard and move faster through one they already know.
- Time for investigations: a science question can become a week-long project, without a bell to end it.
- Flexibility: lessons can fit around health, travel, work patterns or a child's interests.
Possible challenges
- Cost to the family: parents carry the full cost of books, equipment and public exams, including public exam fees.
- Laboratory access: a kitchen is not a science lab, which matters for GCSE and A level science (covered later in this article).
- Parent time: someone has to plan, teach or supervise, which can limit work hours.
- Social contact needs planning: the law says education can be judged unsuitable if it leads to excessive isolation from peers, so clubs, groups and activities matter.
Learning online has similar trade-offs, and our article on the advantages and disadvantages of online education is useful if your family plans to use virtual lessons.
Is homeschooling legal in the UK?
Yes. Home education is legal in all four nations of the UK, but each one has its own rules. Most of this section focuses on England, then compares Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in a table. Always check the latest guidance on gov.uk or with your local council before acting, because the law in this area is changing.
The law in England: what parents must (and don't have to) do
The legal duty comes from section 7 of the Education Act 1996. It says a parent must cause every child of compulsory school age to receive:
"efficient full-time education suitable (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise."
The key words are "or otherwise". That phrase is what allows home education. In plain words:
- Efficient: the education should achieve what it sets out to achieve.
- Full-time: there is no legal definition. School pupils typically get about 5 hours of teaching a day for 190 days a year (about 38 weeks), but home educators do not have to match that.
- Suitable: it should fit the child's age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs.
Compulsory school age runs from the term after the child's fifth birthday until the last Friday of June in the school year they turn 16. After that, education or training continues to age 18, and home education can count towards it.
What parents are not legally required to do
No law deals with home education as a specific approach, and the DfE's guidance for parents (still current from April 2019) lists many things you do not have to do. Parents are not legally required to:
- hold teaching qualifications;
- have premises equipped to any particular standard;
- aim for specific qualifications;
- teach the National Curriculum;
- provide a "broad and balanced" curriculum;
- plan lessons in advance or give formal lessons;
- mark work or formally assess progress;
- reproduce school-type peer socialisation.
There are limits, though. Education may be judged unsuitable if it leads to excessive isolation from peers, and councils may use minimum literacy and numeracy expectations when they look at what a child is learning. Parents also carry full financial responsibility, including public exam costs.
Taking a child out of school
If your child is on a school roll, tell the school that you are withdrawing them to home educate. The school must accept a full withdrawal. Council permission is needed only if the child attends a special school (where the council arranged the place) or is under a school attendance order. It is not needed for a mainstream school, even if the child has an EHC plan.
What the council can do
Councils can make an informal enquiry to find out how a child is being educated. Parents have no legal duty to reply. However, if you do not reply, the council may conclude that the education is not suitable. In that case it can serve a school attendance order, which requires the child to attend a named school. Councils have no right of entry to the home to check the education.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026: the new children not in school register
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. It applies to England and Wales. For home education, two parts matter.
The register (section 38). Every council in England must keep a Children Not in School register. It covers children of compulsory school age who live in the area and are not registered at a school, or only part-time. The register will hold:
- the child's name, date of birth and address(es);
- the parents' names and addresses and which parent provides the education;
- estimates of the time the child is educated by parents and by others;
- details of other education providers above a prescribed amount of time.
Parents must give the information within 15 days of the child becoming eligible and report changes. The council must ask for an update at least once a year. Once the law starts, a council must also give parents advice and information on request, such as sources of help and access to GCSE exams.
Consent to withdraw (section 37). Council consent will be needed only for a "relevant child": one placed by the council at a special school (or a special educational needs independent school), or one subject to child-protection enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989, including in the previous five years. Consent is not needed for other children.
Does the 2026 Act mean you need the council's permission to home educate? (2 marks)
No, not for most children. Council consent will be needed only for children placed at a special school by the council, or those subject to child-protection enquiries. The measures are also not yet in force in England.
Home education in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The rules differ across the UK. This table sums up the main points. Check the official pages for the latest wording.
| Nation | Main rules | Consent to withdraw? | Register? |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | Section 7, Education Act 1996 | Only for council-placed special school pupils and under a school attendance order (new rules for some child-protection cases when in force) | Passed in 2026, not yet in force |
| Scotland | Education (Scotland) Act 1980; guidance published 23 January 2025 | Yes, if the child has attended a state school; the council should aim to decide within 6 weeks and must not unreasonably withhold consent | Not covered here |
| Wales | The 2026 Act also covers Wales | Welsh Government agreed in March 2026 that consent rules for child-protection cases should apply; timing for the next Welsh Government | Agreed in principle; timing for the next Welsh Government |
| Northern Ireland | Duty to ensure full-time education from age 4 to 16 | Tell the school principal to de-register; tell the Education Authority if removing a child from a special school | Not covered here |
In Scotland, consent is not needed if the child never attended a state school in that area, is leaving an independent school, or is not yet school age. Northern Ireland has no obligation to follow the NI curriculum. Wales will bring in the new register and consent rules through Senedd-approved regulations after consultation.
How does homeschooling work day to day?
There is no standard school day. Home educators do not have to follow a timetable, set hours or school terms, so families build a routine that suits them. Here are some common approaches:
- Structured courses: following a set curriculum or online course with regular lessons.
- Online schools and tutors: paying for live or recorded classes in some or all subjects. If you are thinking about this route, our guide on how a tutor can improve your child's GCSE results explains what a good tutor can add.
- Project-based learning: choosing a theme, such as the weather or a local river, and covering science, maths, writing and geography through it.
- Unschooling: letting the child's interests lead, with little formal structure.
Whatever the style, the cost falls on the family. That includes books, IT equipment, science kit, visits and public exams. Councils may offer some help, but any help with exam costs is discretionary.
Can homeschooled children sit GCSEs? Yes, as private candidates
There is no legal requirement to sit exams, but many home-educated teenagers want GCSEs for college, sixth form or work. They enter as private candidates: students who are not enrolled at the exam centre. The parent pays, and exams must be taken at an external exam centre that accepts private candidates, which may be some distance from home.
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has a private-candidate centre search tool. Each centre sets its own process and fees, and some listed centres may no longer accept private candidates, so confirm directly before you rely on a name in the list.
A typical route looks like this:
- Choose an exam board and specification for each subject.
- Find a centre using the JCQ search tool.
- Confirm the fees and practical arrangements with the centre.
- Enter before the deadline. Cumberland Council says the deadline for most boards is around mid-February for June exams, but check with your centre.
- Sit the exams at the centre.
Fees vary by centre. One council, Cumberland, quotes around £200 per exam. Use the calculator below to plan a budget with your own centre's figures.
GCSE science for home-educated students: the practical problem
Science is the subject where home education is hardest. The reason is practical work. In GCSE sciences in England, practical skills are assessed through written exam questions, which replaced controlled assessment. Schools must also give students the chance to do the required practical activities: at least 8 for each single science and 16 for combined science. Schools must confirm that students were enabled to do the full range.
For a private candidate that creates a problem. AQA, for example, accepts private candidates for GCSE Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Combined Science (Trilogy and Synergy) on one condition: "the entering centre must make provision for private candidates to carry out all the practical activities". If a centre cannot do that, you cannot enter there.
Why can a private candidate struggle to enter AQA GCSE Chemistry? (2 marks)
The entering centre must make provision for private candidates to carry out all the required practical activities. Not every centre can or will do that, so the candidate has to find one that will.
That is why one council reports that most home-educated pupils sit IGCSEs in subjects with practical elements that are hard to do as external candidates. Some IGCSE sciences offer a written Alternative to Practical paper instead of a hands-on test. For example, Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) lets candidates take either Paper 5 Practical Test or Paper 6 Alternative to Practical. Syllabuses differ, so always check the one you plan to use.
Deciding between combined and separate sciences is another big choice, and our article on GCSE double science vs triple science explains the differences. Once you have chosen, you can plan revision with our guide on how to start revising for GCSE science subjects.
A level sciences and the practical endorsement
A level Biology, Chemistry and Physics have an extra requirement. Every student must carry out at least 12 required practicals, and a teacher assesses them for the practical endorsement. Without it, the endorsement is likely to be recorded as "not classified". Written papers also carry at least 15% of marks on practical work (AQA guidance).
Private candidates must therefore find a school or college willing to run and assess the practicals, often at a considerable cost. Start looking for one early.
The key message for families is simple: for GCSE and A level science, ask about practicals first, before you pick a board or centre. Everything else follows from that answer.
Safe science experiments at home
Home educators often want to run experiments, so safety matters. CLEAPSS, the school science safety advisory service, is clear: "It is NOT appropriate to set standard secondary school science activities to be carried out at home." Homes typically have no specialist equipment or chemicals, may have no supervision, no personal protective equipment (PPE), no immediate first aid and no suitable way to dispose of waste.
The answer is not to give up on hands-on science. It is to choose activities that are intrinsically safer and use household or high-street materials. CLEAPSS gives examples such as making a wormery or a constellation viewer.
Before any home experiment, run through this checklist. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
- An adult knows the plan and is nearby.
- Eye protection is worn when liquids could splash.
- The work surface is clear and easy to wipe.
- Only household materials are used, with no lab chemicals.
- Cleaning products are never mixed.
- Containers are labelled.
- Hands are washed afterwards.
- Liquids are poured away only when the adult agrees it is safe.
Low-risk home practicals that match GCSE topics
These activities link to GCSE ideas without needing school equipment. They are not a replacement for the required practicals, but they build skills in planning, measuring and drawing conclusions.
| Practical | GCSE topic | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Red-cabbage indicator | Acids and alkalis | Red cabbage, hot water from an adult, vinegar, bicarbonate of soda |
| Potato strips in salt and sugar solutions | Osmosis | Potato, salt, sugar, cups, a ruler |
| Felt-tip chromatography | Separating mixtures | Felt-tip pens, filter or kitchen paper, water, a cup |
| Pendulum timing | Time period and forces | String, a small weight, a phone stopwatch |
| Ruler-drop reaction time | Nervous system | A ruler and a partner |
| Light and plant growth | Plant biology and investigation skills | Seedlings, pots, a window and a dark cupboard |
| Fruit battery | Electricity and cells | See our lemon battery experiment |
Practical science is not only about experiments at the kitchen table. Visits count too, and our article on science museums and science learners shows how museum trips can support learning.
Do homeschooled children do better? What the evidence says
It is a common question, and the honest answer is that we do not know for sure, especially for the UK. Most research comes from the United States. The most thorough review is by Kunzman and Gaither, "Homeschooling: An Updated Comprehensive Survey of the Research", published in Other Education in 2020. It reviewed more than 2,000 English-language academic texts.
Their findings were cautious:
- Many of the largest, most-cited achievement studies "contain serious design flaws". They used volunteers recruited for the purpose, parent-administered tests, and were sponsored by an advocacy group.
- One of those studies (Rudner, 1999) itself warned that it "does not demonstrate that home schooling is superior".
- Smaller studies that control for family background suggest homeschooling "does not have that much of an effect on student achievement once family background variables are controlled".
- Homeschoolers tend to do better on verbal than on maths tests.
- Most research uses small convenience samples.
There is also little robust UK data on home-educated students' exam results. The 2021 Education Committee argued that without mandatory registration there are no reliable figures on how many children are home educated, which makes outcomes hard to measure.
Home education: true or false?
Frequently asked questions about homeschooling
What is homeschooling?
Homeschooling, called elective home education in the UK, means parents take full responsibility for their child's education at home or elsewhere instead of sending them to school. It can be full-time or part-time, and families can use books, online courses, tutors or projects. The parent chooses what is taught and how.
Is homeschooling legal in the UK?
Yes. Home education is legal in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, though the rules differ. In England the duty comes from section 7 of the Education Act 1996, which requires efficient full-time education suitable to the child's age, ability and aptitude, either by attending school "or otherwise".
Do you need permission to homeschool in England?
Not for most children. If your child is at a mainstream school, you tell the school and it must accept a full withdrawal. Council permission is needed if the child attends a special school arranged by the council or is under a school attendance order. Check the latest rules on gov.uk.
Do homeschooled children have to follow the National Curriculum?
No. In England, parents are not legally required to teach the National Curriculum, provide a broad and balanced curriculum, follow a timetable or plan lessons in advance. The education must still be efficient, full-time and suitable for the child's age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs.
Do home-educated children have to be registered with the council?
Not yet. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 requires councils in England to keep a children not in school register, and parents will have to supply details. It passed in April 2026, but the register had not started in November 2026, so check gov.uk for updates.
Can homeschooled children sit GCSEs?
Yes, as private candidates. Parents choose an exam board, find a centre that accepts private candidates (the JCQ has a search tool), confirm the fees and enter before the deadline, which one council says is around mid-February for most boards for June exams. Parents pay all exam costs.
How much do GCSEs cost for a home-educated student?
Fees vary by centre and change every year. One council, Cumberland, quotes around £200 per exam, so, as a purely illustrative example, six subjects at that rate would come to about £1,200 before any extra charges. Ask your exam centre for its exact figures, and remember that travel is extra.
How do homeschoolers do GCSE science practicals?
It is the hardest part. AQA's GCSE sciences require the entering centre to provide all the practical activities for private candidates. One council says most home-educated pupils sit IGCSEs in subjects with practical elements, and some IGCSE sciences offer a written Alternative to Practical paper. Check the specification and ask the centre before you enter.
Do homeschooled children do better than children in school?
We do not know for sure. A 2020 review by Kunzman and Gaither found that many of the largest studies had serious design flaws, and that smaller studies suggest little effect once family background is controlled. There is little robust UK data on home-educated students' exam results.
What is flexi-schooling?
Flexi-schooling means a child stays on a school roll and attends for part of the week, with the rest of their education at home. It needs the head teacher's agreement, there is no legal right to it, and it is not the same as home education.
