My child is struggling at school and the school has suggested I home educate them. I do not want to home educate my child - do I have to do this? Are there other options?

The law says parents of compulsory school age children must make sure their child gets a suitable education. This means it is suitable for their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs (SEN) they have.

Whilst parents must make sure their child receives a suitable education, they can choose how their child receives it. Parents can choose to send their children to school, or they can decide to educate them otherwise, at home for example.  

Deciding to home educate a child can be a big step and it is a personal decision. There is no duty on a local authority (LA) to help home-educating parents or to fund provision for home-educated children with SEN.

For some children, elective home education is the right step for them and their families, but it isn’t for every child or their parent. 

No parent should feel under pressure from a school or an LA to home educate their child, and no school or LA can force a parent to agree to home educate a child.

If you feel your child’s SEN are not being met by their school and you feel you have no other choice but to remove them, or if you feel under pressure to home educate when this is not something you want to do, you can take action.

Remind the school of its legal duties

Remind the governing body (or its equivalent) of your child’s school of its legal duty to make sure the school is doing all that it can to put in place the special educational provision required to meet your child’s SEN. This duty is called the ‘best endeavours’ duty and you can use our template letter to make sure this duty is being met.

The school must also make sure they do not discriminate against disabled children and must put in place reasonable adjustments to avoid disadvantage.

If your child does not have an EHC plan, ask for an EHC needs assessment

An EHC needs assessment is an investigation into a child’s education, health and care needs, what provision is required to meet them, and what outcomes are to be expected as a result of that provision. It is the gateway to an EHC plan, a legal document which carries important duties and rights.

You can request an EHC needs assessment at any time, including if you feel your child’s school isn’t meeting their SEN, if you have been asked to consider home education, or if you are already home educating your child.

Your LA must agree to this request if your child has or may have SEN and may need special educational provision in accordance with an EHC plan.

You can use our template letter and resources to help you make your request.

If you child has an EHC plan, consider if the EHC plan needs changing

If your child already has an EHC plan but you are coming under pressure to home educate them, or you feel the school cannot meet your child’s SEN, then it might be that:

• your child’s SEN have changed, and Section B needs to be updated
• the special education provision your child requires is missing from Section F
• Section F is vague, meaning that your child isn’t receiving what they need or how they need it, and Section F needs to be more specific
• you want a different school named in Section I, or
• you think it is inappropriate for your child’s special educational provision to be delivered in a school meaning they need to be educated otherwise than in a school, and Sections B, F, and/or I need to be amended.

Whenever your child’s EHC plan is in draft form you have the right to request that a particular nursery, school or college is named in the EHC plan.

Your LA must agree to (and on appeal, the SEND Tribunal must order) your placement request unless limited reasons apply. For example, you may think your child needs a special school placement, and you have the right to request a maintained special school, a special academy school, a non-maintained special school or section 41 school is named.

You can check the status of a school online to see if it is one you have the right to request.

On the other hand, you may feel that no school is suitable for your child, because it is inappropriate for their special educational provision to be delivered in a nursery, school or college. Your LA can arrange for their provision to be made otherwise, such as at home, and the SEND Tribunal can order this too. This is different to elective home education, as here your LA will be responsible for continuing to secure and fund that provision (unlike the case with elective home education).

If your child’s EHC plan has been recently issued, you can appeal its contents to the SEND Tribunal and try to have it changed that way. You can also use your right to mediation to say what changes you would like made to the plan and see if agreement can be reached.

If you don’t have a right of appeal or mediation, you can try to have the EHC plan changed at the next annual review, or ask for an early statutory review if that is some time away.