Elective Home Education (EHE)
Parents can choose to provide their child’s education themselves, and this is known as elective home education (EHE), or more simply, home education.
It is different to home schooling which is where children receive work from their school to complete at home, for example during a period of illness when they can’t get into school.
Guidance for schools on EHE
Schools should forward any parental request to have their child’s name removed from the school roll in order to provide the child’s education themselves, to the home education team so that the child can be recorded as EHE.
Where it is clear that the parent intends to home educate, schools can remove the child from their roll immediately.
If it is not clear that the parent is going to provide the education themselves, the child should be maintained on roll and contact the EHE team so that we can work together to understand the parent’s intention.
Schools should not advise parents to home educate. Taking responsibility for a child’s education is a major step for any parent and no-one outside the family can know whether it is the right decision for their child and the family as a whole.
Guidance for parents on EHE
Parents who home educate must provide an efficient full time education which is suitable to their child’s age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have.
The BCP EHE team assess the education parents are providing at home, usually on an annual basis, either via a home visit or by requesting information in a report from parents.
Home educating parents don’t have to stick to the national curriculum or work to traditional school timings or term times, as long as the education they provide is suitable for the child.
Additional information
You can find more information about home education on the BCP Council site.
Contact
You can contact the EHE team at ehe@bcpcouncil.gov.uk