Home education

All parents have a legal right to choose home education for their child. If a child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan for special educational needs, however, we must make sure your child's education meets their special educational needs as described in the plan.

Guidance on home education for children with special educational needs (SEN) is set out in paragraphs 10.30 to 10.38 of the government's special educational needs and disability code of practice, 0 to 25 years, January 2015 – go to GOV.UK: SEND code of practice, 0 to 25 years.

If your child has special educational needs

Before deciding to educate your child at home it is useful to discuss this in detail with their school, pre-school or nursery, and in particular with their Special Education Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo), or at an annual review.

If your child is attending a special school, our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) team must give consent for your child's name to be removed from the school roll.

If your child is not already in a school or pre-school, our SEND team can offer advice.

If your child has an EHC plan and you choose to go ahead with home education, your child's case will be allocated to our Elective Home Education Officer (EHEO). The EHEO will work with our SEND team. The SEND team will arrange a meeting to review the EHC plan and, with your consent, the EHEO will attend.

If you think your child may have special educational needs

If you are educating a child at home already and you come to believe they may have special educational needs, you can ask us to carry out a statutory assessment or reassessment. Contact our SEND team, below.

Further information

You may find it helpful to contact our SEND team if your child has an EHC plan or your child is already home-educated and you have concerns about SEND.

Our SEND 'Local Offer' web pages provide information for children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities.