Elective home education

What elective home education is and how to educate your child at home.

Whilst most parents send their child to school, some choose to teach their child at home. This is called elective home education (EHE).

As a parent, you are legally responsible for your child's education. This includes financial responsibility for things like learning materials, tutors and exam fees.

Things to think about

Home education can be difficult. You will need time, energy and motivation to meet your legal duties and make sure your child reaches their full educational potential.

If you decide to teach your child at home, their education must be full time, suitable and efficient. This is your responsibility. This means that you should consider:

  • what a typical day or week will look like and how you will ensure that your child receives a full time education of around 20 to 25 hours per week
  • how you will ensure that your child's studies are suitable including:
    • access to core subjects, especially literacy and numeracy
    • making sure you prepare your child for their next steps
  • how you'll make sure that your child is making progress including:
    • how they get feedback
    • what opportunities they have for further learning

You should also think about:

  • costs, such as:
    • resources
    • equipment
    • books
    • exam fees
    • online learning charges
    • tutors
    • possible loss of a parent's income
  • your child's wellbeing, including how you will give them chances to:
    • meet and play with other children and young people
    • talk about issues and ideas with other people to help their understanding and critical thinking
  • access to special facilities and experiences, for example:
    • science equipment
    • sports and exercise
    • trips and visits

Before you decide, we suggest you contact the EHE team for advice.

Reasons for home educating

Many parents consider EHE for positive educational reasons. However, there are times where we advise further caution.

If you are thinking about EHE because of a disagreement with your child's school, we recommend you work with the school to try to solve the problem before making a final decision.

If you are wanting to educate your child at home while you wait for a place at a particular school, remember that your child may be on a wait list for a long time. You must make sure that you can meet your legal duties.

What to do

What to do when you decide to educate your child at home depends on your circumstances.

Children below statutory school age or not registered at a West Sussex school

If your child has not reached statutory school age or is not registered at a school in West Sussex and you are going to educate them at home, contact the EHE team.

Children registered at a school

If your child currently attends school, you must write to the school to tell them you are going to educate your child at home. The school cannot legally remove your child from their roll until they receive written confirmation from you. The school then have a legal duty to inform the EHE team of your decision.

We suggest that both parents agree to home educate their child. It’s best if both parents sign the letter or send an email to the school. If the parents do not agree, the EHE team will go with the decision of the parent the child lives with and suggest you speak to the family court for advice.

Children registered at a special school

If your child attends a special school, you cannot remove them from the school without the agreement of the Special Educational Needs Assessment Team (SENAT). Find more information on our home educating a child with special needs page.

If you change your mind

EHE does not have to be a permanent decision. You can apply for your child to attend a school at any time. Be aware that if you take your child out of a school, there might not be space for them to return to the same one later.

Find more information on our requesting a school place for a home educated child page.

 
Last updated:
21 October 2025
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