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

A suitable education has been defined as that which prepares children for life in a modern, civilised society and enables them to achieve their full potential.

Deutsch and Wolf, in the preface of 'Home education and the law' write, 'It was never the intention of Parliament to compel all children to attend school. Nor was it ever the intention to specify or to empower LEAs to specify the form and content of every child's education….parents do not need to obtain permission or approval from anyone…..there exist many contending educational philosophies giving rise to many different styles of education which are reasonable even though they differ radically amongst themselves…that style which the LEA adheres to for the benefit of the children whom it educates is.. one of these, but only one. Both amongst experts and laymen there is no unanimous agreement as to what constitutes a proper education...' (LEA = Local Education Authority)

Home education is open to all parents, whatever their race, creed, income, social class or level of education.
- You don't have to have any teaching qualifications.
- You don't have to follow the National Curriculum.
- You don't have to employ tutors.
- You don't have to keep to school hours or terms.
- You don't have to give formal, school-type lessons
- You don't need to use a timetable.
- Your child will not take Key Stage tests (SATs)

Homeschoolers are not eccentrics and cranks but keepers of an educational tradition that sustained human beings for thousands of years...State-controlled, compulsory schools, on the other hand, are a relatively recent phenomenom, a modern educational experiment whose results, thus far, are not particularly encouraging.' (Guterson p114) It is not a soft option. It requires time, commitment, enthusiasm and resourcefulness plus understanding and faith in your child, but has many outstanding advantages to offer a young person with reading difficulties -see 'How Home Education Can Help'.

'Deborah Simpson, from the Professional Association of Teachers, says: 'Some children are taught at home very effectively. Others are allegedly being taught, but not much happens beyond the basics. If a parent has an ideological argument against teaching their child to read, for instance, we would argue that they're denying them a basic human right' (The Observer 'A class of their own'17/ 04/05) and, it could be argued, a 'suitable' education as defined above. It has to be said though, that the 'whole-language mixture' method which has been used to teach reading in most schools doesn't achieve much better results than the 'absence of any formal reading instruction' method used by many home educating families! For advice on teaching reading - see Teach your child to read

Dr. Alan Thomas found that several of the autonomously home-educated children in his descriptive study did not learn to read until around 8-10 years of age, but he says that, unlike their school attending contemporaries this did not, '...appear to retard general intellectual progress, affect self-esteem or detract from eventual enjoyment of reading.' (Thomas p106). These are anecdotal findings from a self-selected group, 'and as social scientists like to say, the plural of anecdote is not data.' (Harris p214) We do not know the actual reading and spelling ability of these particular children as no standardised testing was done. When it comes to the acquisition of literacy skills, the autonomous method should not be used as it puts those children who might fail to discover the complete alphabet code for themselves at high risk of not achieving a functional level of literacy, or even not learning to read at all;' One mom's daughter still was unable to read (anything) at 12 years old..' (Home Education Magazine)

If your child has never attended a state school you do not have to inform your LEA of your decision to home educate unless you wish to do so. If your child attends an ordinary state school in England or Wales then you have to follow a very simple procedure in order to begin home education - you must, in writing, ask the head teacher to remove your child's name from the school register (they must comply immediately), stating that you have made arrangements to educate them at home. It is the head teacher's duty to inform the LEA of your decision within two weeks of the date of your letter. For information on the procedure to remove a child from a school in Scotland, plus advice on other areas of concern to parents considering home education, contact one of the support organisations- Resources 1.

Home education needn't be a once and for all decision; children can enter or return to school at any time during the compulsory education years. A 'dyslexic' child, who has regained self-confidence and a cheerful demeanour along with an area of expertise in something like art, a craft, maths or computers, whilst being at home, may willingly return to school at a later date and subsequently flourish there. In addition, if, during the time at home, the child has received intensive, literacy tuition (from parent or tutor) with an appropriate programme -see Resources10 - then a return to school may also include academic success.

Books on home education in Resources 17.

www.interhigh.co.uk/index.htm On-line UK high school (fees payable).

www.witsendcs.com/witsendmission.htm UK curriculum packs for home education:Foundation/Primary/Secondary.

www.seangabb.co.uk/academic/homeschooling.htm Home Schooling: A British Perspective

DCSF Information Handout for parents on Elective Home Education:
www.parentscentre.gov.uk/whatchildrenlearn/learningathomeoutsideschool/electivehomeeducation/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6636569.stm Going to school 'not compulsory'.

www.midnightbeach.com/hs/ Jon's homeschool website. (USA)

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1459737,00.html A class of their own

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