Home Schooling These guidelines are to assist parents or carers who may be considering educating their child at home or who have already taken a decision to do so.
Things to consider before deciding to educate your child at home
The reasons for deciding to home educate are many. For some families this may be based on philosophical or religious views or to meet a child's specific needs. Consider the social side of education; regular contact with peers, joint activities and sports which provide real benefits for all children.
If you have decided to educate at home because of disagreement with a school, disappointment at not getting a particular school place, or difficulty in persuading your child to attend, you may want first to contact us to see if we can help resolve this. Whatever your circumstances we will try to support you.
Consider the costs of home schooling
If you choose to home educate, you assume full financial responsibility for your child's education, including the cost of examinations, equipment, books, visits and tutors.
National curriculum and testing
The national curriculum does not apply to children who are being educated at home, nor do children have to take tests (sometimes known as SATs). It is recommended that the curriculum you offer your child should be broad-based and should seek to develop all your child's abilities.
The curriculum can be described as covering main areas of learning and experience that are desirable for any child. They are
- Aesthetic and creative
- Human and social
- Linguistic and literary
- Mathematical
- Scientific
- Spiritual and moral
- Technological
- Physical
You may want to visit our national curriculum page for more details.
In addition to covering a broad curriculum, a child needs the chance for social development and the opportunity to mix with other children and adults in a variety of circumstances.
Educating part-time at home and part-time at school
This arrangement is often called flexi-schooling. Permission for this style of teaching is at the discretion of the headteacher of your child's school. Children will be registered at the school in the usual way and would still be educated to the national curriculum whilst in school.
Withdrawing your child from school
You have a responsibility to inform your head teacher in writing that you intend to educate at home. The school will then take your child off the school roll. In addition it is recommended that you notify us of your intentions as early as possible so that support and advice can be offered. In Southwark you should notify us using the details at the bottom of this page.
If your child has a statement of special educational needs
A parent's right to educate their child at home applies equally where a child has special educational needs (SEN). Where a child has a statement of SEN and is educated at home, suitable arrangements must be made to meet the child's needs. For the duration of the statement the council will continue to hold an annual review to make sure that the help that has been provided is still appropriate. Rights of appeal to the SEN tribunal still apply.
We wish you success
If after careful consideration you decide to educate at home, we hope that you find it a happy and constructive experience. We are not able to provide teaching support, but we will offer encouragement and advice. We are committed to a successful education for all children and recognise that education at home can work well for some children.
Get information about your legal duty to ensure your child receives education and our duties as a council.
Additional support
There are a number of national organisations which provide excellent support for parents (pdf 21kb)that decide to educate at home, such as lesson plans and teaching techniques.
Contact
Helen Dunlea
Team manager - inclusion
Tel: 020 7525 2693
helen.dunlea@southwark.gov.uk
John Smith House
144-152 Walworth Road
London
SE17 1JL |