Home education vs homeschooling: Are they different in the UK?
Short answer: in UK usage, "home education" and "homeschooling" refer to the same thing – a parent taking responsibility for their child's education outside the school system. There's no legal difference between the two terms.
Where they differ is in tone and origin. "Homeschooling" is the American import that's now the everyday word most parents use. "Home education" is the term you'll see on gov.uk, in DfE guidance and in UK legislation. "Elective home education" (EHE) is the fuller legal phrase and the one you'll meet on any council form.
The formal UK term: Elective home education
The parental duty in England and Wales sits in Section 7 of the Education Act 1996. It requires parents to provide an "efficient full-time education suitable to age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise". The DfE's April 2019 guidance is titled "Elective Home Education: Departmental Guidance for Parents" and the same phrasing appears on the gov.uk landing page.
The word "elective" is doing a specific job. It distinguishes home education chosen by the parent from arrangements the LA has made – for example, when a child can't attend school for medical reasons and the LA arranges provision at home under Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (this is called EOTAS, education otherwise than at school). EOTAS is not homeschooling. The LA retains legal responsibility for the education under EOTAS; under elective home education, the parent does.
If your child can't attend school because of illness or specific SEN circumstances and the LA is arranging home tuition or online provision on their behalf, that's EOTAS, not elective home education. The LA continues to fund and secure the provision. Don't sign away that responsibility by accidentally deregistering.
The everyday word: Homeschooling
"Homeschooling" is what most families call it. It's what you'll hear at co-op meetups, in Facebook groups (Home Education UK, Homeschooling UK), and on parenting forums. It's shorter, it's less formal, and it doesn't carry the mild bureaucratic edge of "elective home education".
The word came into UK usage largely via American parenting culture and internet communities in the 2000s. UK usage has been catching up, and the two terms are used interchangeably by most parents now. The legal system prefers "home education" or "elective home education", and journalists tend to use "home-schooled" as an adjective and "home education" as a noun.
When the distinction matters
In everyday conversation, use whichever term feels natural. Nobody at the LA is going to correct you. The distinction matters in three specific contexts.
When you're writing to your LA or your child's school. Use "elective home education" – it's the term staff recognise and it removes any ambiguity. For example: "We are electing to home educate [child's name] from [date]". This is clearer than "we are homeschooling".
When you're searching for guidance. gov.uk, DfE publications and LA welcome packs mostly use "elective home education" or "EHE". Searching "homeschooling" tends to surface US content that doesn't apply to UK families (US tax breaks, ESAs, state charter models – none of which exist here).
When you're distinguishing your arrangement from EOTAS. If your child has an EHC plan or complex SEND needs, whether they're on EOTAS provision or in elective home education is a material legal and financial difference. EOTAS keeps the LA on the hook to fund and secure the provision under Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014; elective home education generally doesn't.
| Term | Where you'll see it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Home education | gov.uk, DfE guidance, LA correspondence, UK legislation | Parent-arranged education outside the school system |
| Elective home education (EHE) | DfE guidance titles, LA forms, legal contexts | Same as home education; "elective" flags it's parent-chosen |
| Homeschooling | Everyday parent conversation, Facebook groups, social media | Same thing; American-origin word used interchangeably in UK |
| EOTAS | SEND casework, LA reports, EHC plans (Section I) | Education otherwise than at school; LA arranges and funds. Not homeschooling. |
| Flexi-schooling | LA guidance, head teacher agreements | Child on a school roll, attending only agreed days, with home ed for the rest |
Home-schooled vs homeschooled: A quick note on spelling
British English usually hyphenates: home-schooled, home-schooling. American English tends to close it up: homeschooled, homeschooling. Both are widely accepted in the UK now. gov.uk uses "home education" and "home educated" (two words), which sidesteps the question altogether. If you're writing formally, follow the DfE convention: home education, home educated, home educator.
Devolved nations: Terminology varies slightly
Wales uses the same "elective home education" language as England, under the same Section 7 duty of the Education Act 1996 (with the "additional learning needs" wording from the 2018 ALNET Act rather than "special educational needs").
Scotland uses "home education" as the standard term. The Scottish Government's Home Education Guidance (updated January 2025) uses "withdrawal", not "deregistration": Scotland has no direct equivalent of the English pupil-registration regulations, and a child leaves school by "withdrawal" (with LA consent that can't be unreasonably withheld).
Northern Ireland uses "elective home education" too, under Article 45 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986. The Education Authority (EA) is the relevant body, not a local authority in the English sense.
