Home Education in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland

Why this guide exists

The UK has four separate education systems.

The law, terminology and role of education authorities differ across the four UK nations. Use this page as a starting point, then read the current official guidance for the nation where you live.

England

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 (see the England guide) places the duty on parents. LAs have responsibilities to identify children not receiving a suitable education; how they engage with home educating families is described in DfE guidance.

Scotland

Scotland has its own home education framework under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and current Scottish Government Home Education Guidance.

If your child has been attending a public school, you will normally need the local authority's consent to withdraw them from that school. Consent must not be unreasonably withheld, and the Scottish Government guidance says councils should aim to decide within 6 weeks of receiving your request, and that in most cases it would be inappropriate to start or pursue attendance procedures while you are waiting. This is consent to withdraw from school, not permission to home educate in itself.

Consent is not needed at all in several situations, including where your child has never attended a public school, or has never attended one in that council's area, where you are withdrawing your child from an independent school, where your child has finished primary but has not started secondary, where the school has closed, or where your child is not yet of school age.

Terminology and authority roles differ from England, so use the current gov.scot publications for the authoritative version before you act.

Wales

In Wales the duty on parents sits in section 7 of the Education Act 1996, the same provision that applies in England, and the Welsh Government publishes its own statutory guidance on elective home education for local authorities on gov.wales.

If your child is at a mainstream maintained school, you give written notice to the head teacher and the school deletes your child's name from the admission register under the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010. The local authority does not have to agree. The exception is a special-school place arranged by the local authority, where the authority must agree before your child's name comes off the register, and if it refuses you can ask the Welsh Ministers to direct that the name is removed.

Additional learning needs in Wales are met through an individual development plan (IDP) under the ALN system rather than an EHC plan, so English SEND terminology does not carry across.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland the relevant body is the Education Authority (EA) rather than a local authority, and the parental duty sits in Article 45 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.

You do not need permission to home educate. If your child is on a school roll, you write to the principal, signed and dated, giving the date home education starts and asking that your child's name comes off the roll. That is a notification, not a request. The school notifies the Education Authority, so you do not have to. The EA publishes its own elective home education guidance, and its team will normally be in touch afterwards with that guidance and information about support.

Special educational needs in Northern Ireland are recorded in a Statement of Special Educational Needs rather than an EHC plan. Use the official Northern Ireland sources, and do not assume English rules transfer directly.

Cross-border moves

If you move between nations, re-read residence rules, exam entry as a private candidate, and any requirement to notify the new authority. Healthcare and SEND systems also differ.