Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland parents have the primary responsibility for ensuring that their children receive an effective education. Although this responsibility is usually delegated to schools, some parents choose to exercise it directly by providing an education based at home.
The following summarises the legal responsibilities of parents and local education authorities in relation to elective home education of children of compulsory school age. However, it should be noted that there is no case law known to us about home education in Northern Ireland, and it is assumed that, should a case arise, England and Wales case law would be considered.
Responsibility to Ensure a Suitable Education
The responsibility of parents is clearly established in section 45(1) of the Education and Libraries Northern Ireland Order 1986 SI 1986/594
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.
Definition of Suitable Education
The following again assumes that England and Wales case law would be relevant in Northern Ireland should a case come before the courts.
An interpretation of some terminology used in the Education Act 1944 (replaced by the 1996 Act) was provided by an appeal case which was brought at Worcester Crown Court in 1981 (Harrison & Harrison v Stevenson). In this case, the judge defined a ‘suitable education’ as one which was such as
- to prepare the children for life in modern civilised society, and
- to enable them to achieve their full potential.
The diversity of modern society and styles of education give parents considerable freedom of choice in enabling children to achieve their potential. In the case of R v Secretary of State for Education and Science, ex parte Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School Trust (1985) (Times, 12 April 1985) Mr Justice Woolf held that:
education is ‘suitable’ if it primarily equips a child for life within the community of which he is a member, rather than the way of life in the country as a whole, as long as it does not foreclose the child’s options in later years to adopt some other form of life if he wishes to do so.