JabbaHow to start home educating
Written by The Jabba team · Updated 30 June 2026
Parents in England have the right to educate a child at home. The legal duty, under Education Act 1996 section 7, is to make sure your child receives an efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs, whether at school 'or otherwise'. If your child is at a state school, you write to the head teacher to deregister them. You will also need to put your child on your local authority's Children Not in School register. You don't have to follow the national curriculum or keep school hours, but you do have to make sure the education actually happens.
Understand your right to home educate
The right to home educate comes from Education Act 1996, section 7: a parent must ensure their child receives an education suitable to age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs, 'either by regular attendance at school or otherwise'. Those two words, 'or otherwise', are the legal basis for educating at home.
You don't need a teaching qualification, and you don't have to follow the national curriculum, keep school hours, deliver formal lessons, follow a timetable, or enter your child for exams. What matters is that the education your child receives is genuinely suitable for them.
- The duty is to provide a suitable education, not to attend school.
- You are not required to follow the national curriculum or a fixed timetable.
- Your local authority can make informal enquiries, and can intervene if the education looks unsuitable.
Deregister from school
If your child is currently on the roll of a state school, you write to the head teacher to ask that they be deregistered. The school then removes your child from its roll and informs the local authority.
Under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, local authority consent must be obtained first for certain children before they can be withdrawn to home educate: children who are subject to a child protection investigation, children who are (or were within the last five years) under a child protection plan, and children at a special school. For most families, though, a letter to the head teacher is all that's needed to begin.
- Write to the head teacher asking to deregister your child.
- The school removes the child from roll and tells the local authority.
- Children in a child protection process, or at a special school, need local authority consent first.
Register with your local authority
Every local authority must keep a Children Not in School register, and home-educated children need to be on it. This is separate from, and in addition to, deregistering from a school.
Your local authority may also make an informal enquiry under section 436A, asking what education you're providing. You're not legally obliged to respond, but if you don't, the local authority may conclude that the education doesn't appear suitable. If it decides the education or home environment is unsuitable, it can intervene, including by issuing a School Attendance Order. There is no routine Ofsted inspection of home education.
- Register your child on your local authority's Children Not in School register.
- The local authority may ask, informally, what education you're providing.
- Ofsted does not inspect home education; the local authority is the only body involved.
Plan the first weeks calmly
You don't need a whole school year mapped out on day one. Many families start with English, maths and science, and gradually add other subject areas as they find their rhythm.
The first weeks are as much about finding a pace that suits your child as about covering set content. Short sessions, breaks, and something your child is genuinely interested in all make the start easier. BBC Bitesize and Oak National Academy are free resources many home educators dip into for structure and ideas.
- Begin with a few subjects and a short day.
- Keep a little of your child's work from the start, in case you want it later.
- Adjust the pace to the child, not to an outside timetable.
How Jabba helps you get started
Jabba lays out a daily plan that covers the core subjects, using the national curriculum as a reference point without tying you to it rigidly. You choose subjects and level, and Jabba takes the day one small step at a time with your child.
You follow along in an overview of what your child has done and how it's going, so you have a clear picture from day one of what's been covered.
What parents ask most
Do I have to be a qualified teacher to home educate?
No. Education Act 1996 does not require any teaching qualification of parents who home educate. What matters is whether the education is suitable for your child's age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs, not your CV. A reasonable plan and good resources matter more than formal credentials.
Do I need to register with the local authority?
Yes. Every local authority keeps a Children Not in School register, and home-educated children need to be on it. If your child is currently at a state school, you also write to the head teacher to deregister them; the school then tells the local authority.
Which subjects do I have to teach?
There's no fixed list. The legal test is that your child receives an efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs. You are not required to follow the national curriculum, though many home educators use English, maths and science as a starting core and build outward from there.
Can I start home educating partway through the school year?
Yes, you can withdraw a child from school at any point in the year by writing to the head teacher to ask for them to be deregistered. The one exception is if your child is subject to a child protection process or attends a special school, in which case local authority consent is needed first, under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. Many families use the first few weeks to find their feet before settling into a full rhythm.
How long should a home-education day be?
There's no legal requirement for a set number of hours or school-style timetable. One-to-one teaching moves much faster than a class of thirty, so most families cover the core in a few focused hours; for younger children, an hour and a half to two can be enough. What counts is what your child learns, not how long they sit at a desk.
Will Ofsted inspect us, or will someone visit regularly?
No, Ofsted does not inspect home education. Your local authority may make an informal enquiry asking what education you're providing; you're not legally obliged to respond, but if you don't, it may conclude the education doesn't appear suitable. If it judges the education or home environment unsuitable, it can intervene, including by issuing a School Attendance Order.
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