Home education
Parents can choose to home educate their child at any age, whether they have been enrolled at school previously or not.
If your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, the right to home educate still applies.
Parents considering educating their child at home may wish to speak to the Surrey Elective Home Education Team. You can also refer to the Surrey County Council Elective Home Education Policy and Procedure (PDF) document.
Can a child with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan be home educated?
Yes! The right for a parent to home educate their child applies regardless.
If your child already has an EHC plan in place, the provision agreed within the plan will still apply even if the child is being educated at home.
The local authority (Surrey County Council) will still hold an Annual Review of your child's EHC plan to make sure that your child is making progress towards the outcomes set out in Section E of their EHC plan, and that the plan is still appropriate.
Your rights to appeal to a Special Educational Needs (SEN) Tribunal still apply.
Who do I need to notify?
If your child attends a mainstream school, then you will need to write to the Headteacher of the school to notify them of your intention to home educate.
If your child attends a special school, you should seek the agreement of the local authority (Surrey County Council) before removing your child from school.
To do this, you may like to use the draft letters on the Education Otherwise website, as a guide to communicating your plans to home educate your child to the school or local authority.
Is there a structure to home education that I need to follow?
By home educating, you are committing to making sure your child receives full-time education at home. How you deliver this education is up to you! It may be you want to educate in a structured manner like a lesson in a school, or you may feel that you want to teach your child in a more informal way.
You must also meet the costs of educating your child, including any public examinations.
Where can I receive advice or support with home educating?
If you are considering educating your child at home, you may wish to speak to the Surrey Elective Home Education Team.
The following groups may also be helpful:
- Education Otherwise a membership-based organisation that provides support and information for families whose children are being educated outside school.
- Home Education Advisory Service is a national home education charity that is dedicated to the provision of advice and practical support for families who wish to educate their children at home.
Educated Other than at School (EOTAS)
Some children or young people cannot be educated in a formal educational setting. This is called Educated Other than at School (EOTAS), and can be for lots of different reasons, for example health. In these cases, the child or young person may be educated outside of a formal education setting, for example online schooling or hospital schooling.
EOTAS is not the same as elective home education, If you choose to home educate, parents are responsible for making their own suitable arrangements for the child's educational provision. The educational provision for a child receiving EOTAS is still the responsibility of the Local Authority and can only be agreed with the Local Authority via an EHC needs assessment, a reassessment of needs or at the EHC plan annual review.
The Local Authority must consider a request from the parent/ carer and decide if EOTAS is appropriate. If you are considering requesting EOTAS, please discuss this with your child's Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and your SEND Case Officer.