Home education is legal in the UK

Sometimes  I get to hear from some ignorant people who think home education is illegal! Subhanallah we can be so ignorant :-( Most of the people think, schooling is compulsory. Actually since the birth of a baby, some well-wishers would recommend putting the baby's name for the nursery! Rushing to send the kids to nursery or any other education institute is seen as a norm :-( I try to ignore all the 'recommendations' and try to avoid even answering as I believe , Allah subhana wa ta'ala knows our intention. I don't need to justify to anyone why we have chosen to home educate our precious children.  Alhamdulillah the more I read about home education or home schooling , I believe we are doing the best for our children alhamdulillah.

Alhamdulillah in the UK, home education is legal :-) Unfortunately many people in the UK do not realise that British home education (known as 'homeschooling' in the USA) is legal, and becoming more popular all the time alhamdulillah. Although laws in the four countries of the UK (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) are not the same, home education is legal in all of them.

 

According to the 1996 education act in England and Wales, it is parents who are responsible for providing their children's education 'in school or otherwise', suitable for the age, ability and aptitude of each child. The same wording is used in Northern Ireland. Scottish law says that 'every child has a right to an education, and it is the duty of the parent of every school age child to provide that education, either by sending the child to school, or by other means.'

 

Moreover, Home educators in the UK do not have to be trained teachers, nor do they need any special qualifications to educate their children at home. Some British home educating families choose to use a structured 'homeschool' curriculum; some pick and choose school-type text books from bookshops; some use the Internet and libraries to find suitable educational resources; some follow the children's interests and do little or no teaching as such.

In other words, there are no rules for how families go about their home educating in the UK. It's up to each family to ensure that their children receive appropriate education, which will vary from child to child.

 

I hope this post helps inshAllah. Jazakallah khairan :-)