School Is Not Compulsory

Children must be educated...
...but they don't have to go to school.

Why do families educate their children at home?
Can anyone do it?
What are the problems?
And what will the authorities say?

(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and

(b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

Education Act 1996, section 7 (emphasis added)

Education Otherwise's most often read booklet is entitled "School Is Not Compulsory" ("SINC").

School Is Not Compulsory explains your rights and duties and discusses the practicalites of dealing with educational authorities. Above all, it contains a variety of personal experience in the world of parents and children who have already embarked on home-based education.

It is divided into three main sections, with a couple of appendices for additional information:

Learning at Home

• Reasons
• Starting Out
• Rewards and Benefits
• Methods
• Social Life
• Examinations
• Going Back to School
• Part Time Schooling
• Bullying and School Refusal

The Law Relating to the Education of Children Out of School

• The right to ‘otherwise’ education
• The duty of the parent in English Law
• The duty of the local education authority in England and Wales
• Withdrawing your child from school in England and Wales
• Education supervision orders and care proceedings in England and Wales
• Police power to remove truants
• The law in Scotland
• Children with ‘special educational needs’ in England and Wales
• ‘Special educational needs’ in Scotland
• Child benefit

Your Relationship with the Local Authority

• Dealing with the LEA
• More about taking your child out of school
• When can I do it? - What should I do? - Who should I write to?
• What if I live in Scotland? - What will happen next?
• What if my child needs time to recover?
• Providing evidence of education
• Timetables and curricula
• Autonomous education
• Home Visits
• Access and assessment
• Taking notes
• Writing to the LEA
• Who to write to? - What to say and how to say it
• Presentation and procedure
• Keeping organised
• Unreasonable demands and misleading communication
• The local ombudsman
• Getting legal advice
• Finding a solicitor - Legal aid - Fixed fee interview
• Talking to your solicitor

Supplementary Information

Further information is available in the booklet, "School Is Not Compulsory," and includes the following headings:

• Education Otherwise
• Other organizations

The following are example sections quoted from "School Is Not Compulsory" ("SINC");

The duty of the parent in English law:

• If you have a school-age child, you must see that (s)he is educated.
• You can delegate this duty to a school, or you can carry it out yourself.
• In any case, the education provided must be efficient and full-time.
• It must be suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude.
• If your child has special educational needs, it must cater for them.

What exactly does this mean? Nowhere in the 1996 Act is the term education defined. Most of the other terminology in s 7 is not defined either. For many of these expressions our only source of guidance is
an appeal case which was heard at Worcester Crown Court in 1981 (Harrison & Harrison v Stevenson). In this case the judge defined education as ‘the development of mental powers and character and the acquisition of knowledge through the imparting of skills and learning by systematic instruction’. He went on to describe an efficient system of education as one which ‘achieves that which it sets out to achieve’. Finally, he defined education as suitable if it is such as

1. to prepare the children for life in modern civilised society; and

2. to enable them to achieve their full potential.

This definition is a very general one and could encompass a variety of educational styles and methods. Education Otherwise defends the right of families to take direct responsibility for their children’s education regardless of the particular approach they wish to adopt. But for all its broadness, the judge’s definition does set limits. There are some parents who, for whatever reason, see home education as a means of separating their children from society at large. In taking this view they may fail to meet the first of these criteria, and EO would find it difficult to support them in any conflict with the authorities.

With respect to the second criterion, critics sometimes claim that children are denied opportunities by being kept away from school. But many parents choose to educate their children at home precisely because they feel they are giving them more freedom, not less, to become everything they are capable of becoming, and thereby to improve the quality of society for everyone.

The terms school-age, full-time and special educational needs will be discussed below. Apart from this, the important thing to know is that this is all there is to be said about your duty. Provided your child is not a registered pupil at a school (see page 49), you are bound by no other constraints. In particular:

• You don’t need permission to educate ‘otherwise’.
• You don’t have to tell the LEA (but see page 48 on this point).
• You don’t have to have premises equipped to any particular standard.
• You don’t have to be a qualified teacher.
• You don’t have to cover the same syllabus as the school.
• You don’t have to follow the National Curriculum (see page 90).
• You don’t have to plan your curriculum in advance at all.
• You don’t have to keep to school hours, days or terms.
• You don’t need a fixed timetable.
• You don’t have to give formal school-type lessons in a classroom.

You may well choose to do any or all of these things, but you don’t have to. You need to be able to show, if required, that you are serious about home-based education and that you are offering your child a reasonably wide range of appropriate opportunities (some of which may well be declined!). If your child is happy, healthy, and is responding well to what you are providing, the chances are that your educational arrangements are ‘suitable’. If (s)he is bored, resistant, frustrated or badly behaved, you may need to think again.

In order to be efficient, your education does not have to cover the same syllabus as the equivalent education being offered in school, nor does it have to meet any hypothetical standard set by any school or the authority (Bevan v Shears, 1911, 2KB 936). So long as it is full-time, education can take place anywhere and at any time. So long as it is suitable for your child, it can take any form. As for the definition of ‘efficient education’ quoted above, it has been wryly pointed out that if all education had to achieve what it set out to achieve, every child who failed to benefit from school would put their parents in breach of the law!

Withdrawing your child from school in England and Wales

What is a registered pupil at a school? The registration of pupils is provided for by the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/2089). Regulation 5 requires schools to keep admission and attendance registers. A child whose name is on the school admission register is a registered pupil. The presence or absence at school of registered pupils is recorded in the attendance register. A child will not be registered simply because you have put their name down for a school, but as soon as you actually send them there you can assume that they are. At this point your duty to secure regular attendance begins. (But note that it only applies if your child is of ‘compulsory school age’. So if you have a four-year-old at school, you are not committed to sending them regularly and can withdraw them without formality. See page 45.)

If you are withdrawing your child from school it’s important to see that (s)he is deregistered. The grounds on which a pupil’s name must be deleted from the admission register are listed in regulation 9. Under regulation 9(1)(c), a ‘school-age’ pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register if:

... he has ceased to attend the school and the proprietor has received written notification from the parent that the pupil is receiving education otherwise than at school.

This means you need to write to the school explaining clearly that you are educating the child at home. (Note the tense. It’s important to make it clear that home education is already taking place. See page 76 for a specimen letter.) On receiving your letter the school must take the child’s name off the register. It is also obliged (under regulation 13(3)) to inform the LEA within two weeks of doing so.

Providing evidence of education

As a parent you must see that your child is properly educated, and the LEA may ask you to show that you are doing this. Sometimes LEAs may make specific demands, either by word of mouth or in writing; but any such demand is unlikely in itself to have the force of law (see pages 44 and 109). Often you may be happy to comply; but if you aren’t, the LEA should not insist. Your best course is to treat such demands as suggestions only. If you don’t like them, you should explain why and propose a constructive alternative.

This applies on a number of levels. Firstly, the LEA may ask you to provide specific things, such as history instruction or a computer. If you feel that what they are asking for is not essential to a suitable programme of education for your child, you may wish to point this out. Secondly they may ask you to produce specific documentation, such as lesson plans or timetables. If you feel these are not relevant to your style of education, you may wish to explain. Thirdly (although in a sense this really comes first), they may ask you to provide evidence of your arrangements by specific means, such as written reports or home visits. If you prefer to provide the information in some other way, you may wish to negotiate.

Purchase the full copy of SINC