Is homeschooling legal in the UK?

Short answer: yes. Homeschooling is fully legal across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and it's far more common than most parents realise. The Department for Education's autumn 2024 census counted about 111,700 children in elective home education in England alone, roughly 1.4% of the school-age population.

The longer answer matters too, because the anxiety most parents feel at the start isn't really about legality. It's about what the local authority (LA) can ask, what you have to do, and what happens if you push back. This guide walks through the specific law, the LA's powers, and the lines you can lawfully draw.

In England and Wales, the whole thing hangs on Section 7 of the Education Act 1996. It reads:

"The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise."

Those last two words, "or otherwise", are the entire statutory basis for home education. Education is compulsory. School is not. The Department for Education's April 2019 guidance for local authorities restates it plainly: there are no specific legal requirements as to the content of home education, no obligation to follow the national curriculum, no requirement to enter a child for public exams, and no need to follow the school day or the school year.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have equivalents. Scotland's parental duty sits in Section 30 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980: parents must provide efficient education suitable to age, ability and aptitude, either at a public school or "by other means". Northern Ireland uses Article 45 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, which mirrors the Section 7 wording almost exactly.

Section 436A of the Education Act 1996 gives English LAs a duty to identify children in their area who aren't registered at a school and aren't receiving suitable education otherwise. A home-educated child is "potentially in scope" of that duty until the LA is satisfied the education is suitable. In Wales, the same duty came in from 1 September 2009.

That's where informal enquiries come from. Most LAs write to home-educating families and ask for something: a written education plan, an outline of your approach, samples of work, or a meeting. Some ask for a home visit. All of that is what the law calls "informal" and none of it is compulsory.

If an LA becomes not satisfied that the education is suitable, they can serve a Section 437(1) notice giving you at least 15 days to demonstrate that it is. If they remain unsatisfied and decide school attendance is expedient, they can issue a School Attendance Order under Section 437(3). In 2023/24, the DfE recorded around 7,000 Section 437 notices and about 2,100 school attendance orders issued in England. Most home educators never see one, but knowing the escalation path exists is useful.

This is the part that surprises most families. The DfE's April 2019 guidance is explicit about what LAs can recommend and what parents can lawfully refuse. Refusing any single item on the list below is not, on its own, evidence that the education is unsuitable.

There are caveats. The Phillips v Brown case (1980) established that a persistent refusal to provide any information at all can, in most cases, justify the LA moving to a Section 437(1) notice. Refusing every single thing forever is a different position from declining a specific request. Most families end up somewhere in between: providing a short annual summary or a work sample, without agreeing to home visits or LA-defined curriculum plans.

The DfE guidance also notes that Ofsted has "no responsibility for inspecting the provision of home education, only the way local authorities deal with it". If someone tells you an Ofsted inspector is coming to your house, they're wrong.

Three things:

First, provide a suitable, efficient, full-time education under Section 7. "Full-time" isn't defined for home education. The DfE guidance notes that schools deliver around 4.5 to 5.0 hours a day for about 190 days a year as a reference point, but home education doesn't need to replicate that.

Second, deregister formally in writing if your child is currently on a school roll. The parent writes to the head teacher or school proprietor stating the last date the child will attend. Under the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 (which replaced the 2006 regulations on 19 August 2024), that letter is what allows the school to remove the child's name from the admission register. There's no prescribed format and no legal duty to give a reason.

Third, if your child is at a special school placed there by the LA, you need the LA's consent before their name comes off the roll. Under Regulation 9(2) of the 2024 Regulations, consent "must not be withheld unreasonably". A mainstream school pupil with an EHC plan does not need LA consent to deregister, although engagement is encouraged.

The core law is the same idea across the UK, but the mechanics vary a bit.

In Scotland, Section 35 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 requires LA consent to withdraw a child who is already a registered pupil at a public school. That consent "shall not be unreasonably withheld". Consent is not required if the child never attended school. The current Scottish Government guidance (updated 23 January 2025) is also explicit that "there is no statutory duty upon local authorities to 'monitor' ongoing home education provision", and that the correct term in Scotland is "withdrawal", not "deregistration".

In Wales, Section 7 also applies, alongside the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 (still in force in Wales, not replaced by the 2024 England regulations). The Welsh Government has confirmed the 2010 regulations will be amended to reflect the changes coming under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.

In Northern Ireland, Article 45 of the 1986 Order is the parental duty and the Education Authority is the relevant body. Monitoring in NI is generally informal.

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. It includes provisions for a mandatory "Children Not in School" register in England (Section 38) and a new LA consent requirement for withdrawing certain children from school (Section 37, inserting a new Section 434A into the Education Act 1996). Wales is bringing in similar arrangements on a timeline set by Welsh Ministers.

As of July 2026, the substantive parental duty to register is not yet in force. Regulation-making powers came into force on Royal Assent for specified purposes, but the actual duty on parents is expected to commence in 2027 after consultation on regulations and guidance. If you're reading this after that date, check gov.uk for the current commencement position before you assume any of the register rules apply.