Home education is a term used to describe when parents, guardians and carers choose to educate their children at home instead of sending them to school. In Wales, as with the rest of the UK, education is compulsory, but school is not.

You do not need permission from the local authority to home educate (unless your child is registered at a special school). You have a right to educate your child at home providing you fulfil the requirements of Section 7 of the Education Act, 1996 which places a duty on the parents of every child of compulsory school age to receive efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs that they may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

Home educating your child is a decision which should not be taken lightly; It will mean a significant commitment of your time and energy. There is no funding for parents who elect to home educate so if you choose to home educate your children you must be prepared to assume full financial responsibility, including bearing the costs of any public examinations.

The Process

Monmouthshire County Council has a statutory obligation to ensure that all children of school age in the LA receive a suitable education at school or otherwise and that they are not a child missing education (CME).

If a child attends school, the parent should notify the head teacher of the school in writing that they wish to deregister the child from school roll.

When a learner becomes EHE, an initial meeting is offered with a member of the EHE team to discuss a plan of education and to explore any advice or support needed.  Meetings take place at mutually agreed locations and thereafter, the EHE Officer will contact home-educating families at least once a year. This will provide an opportunity to offer information, support and advice, as well as listen and respond to the views of the child and family.

Monmouthshire Elective Home Education team has a duty to make arrangements to identify children of compulsory school age who are not receiving a suitable education. Parents educating their children otherwise than at school will be asked to provide information about the education their child is receiving. When assessing the efficiency and suitability of education provided through home education, we will take into account that parents’ educational provision will reflect a diversity of approaches and interests. Some parents may wish to provide education in a formal and structured manner, while others may decide to make more informal provisions that are responsive to the developing interests of the child.

To achieve the aim of ensuring that every electively home educated child of compulsory school age receives an efficient and suitable education we encourage working together and communication on a reasonably regular basis.

What learning opportunities you provide and how your child learns are up to you, providing that the education you provide is ‘full-time’, ‘suitable’ and ‘efficient’. There is no obligation to follow a curriculum or the same approaches as a school, but you might find this helpful as a framework when deciding what areas of learning and experience to include and how to assess your child’s achievement.

Suggested characteristics of a suitable and efficient education

A suitable education would include provision in numeracy, literacy and language skills, suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any ALN the child may have. Suitable education is not simply a matter of academic learning but should also involve socialisation. These are essential in preparing the child to participate and function in society.

School attendance orders

If it appears to Monmouthshire local authority that a child of compulsory school age is not receiving a suitable education, we must serve a notice in writing on the parent requiring that parent to satisfy us within the period specified in the notice (no less than 15 days beginning with the day on which notice is served), that the child is receiving such education. If the parent fails to satisfy the local authority within the period specified in the notice and the local authority considers that it is expedient for the child to attend school then we must issue the parent with a school attendance order (SAO) in respect of that child, which details the school the child should attend. 

Services

In line with Welsh Government universal offer for elective home educated learners, Monmouthshire Council EHE department are a registered exam centre for EHE learners residing within the County.  We offer GCSE and IGCSE examination sittings for all year 11 age EHE learners in the summer examination period only.  The full financial cost of the examination entries lies with parents.