JabbaHome education and the national curriculum
Written by The Jabba team · Updated 30 June 2026
As a home educator you are not required to follow the national curriculum. It is still a useful map. It shows roughly where teaching is heading, helps you see where your child is, and gives you a shared reference point if you ever want one.
What is the national curriculum?
The national curriculum is what state schools in England must teach, from Reception through to Year 11. It's organised into key stages: KS1 (Years 1–2), KS2 (Years 3–6), KS3 (Years 7–9) and KS4 (Years 10–11, leading to GCSEs), with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) covering ages 4 to 5.
Academies, free schools and home educators aren't required to follow it. For a home educator, it's most useful as a map: it shows roughly where teaching is heading at each stage, without dictating how you get there.
Using it subject by subject
Start with the core subjects: English, maths and science. Foundation subjects such as history, geography, art and PE round things out, but the core subjects are where most families begin.
You don't have to work through a key stage in order or match the pace of a classroom. What matters is that your child is moving forward, at a pace that suits them.
- Use the key stages as a rough guide, not a checklist.
- Start with English, maths and science, then branch out.
- Let your child's level, not their year group, set the pace.
Keeping track of what you've covered
Home education doesn't come with school reports, but it's worth keeping a simple record anyway: examples of your child's work and a short note of what you've covered and when. It's useful for your own sense of progress, and it means you're ready if your local authority ever makes an informal enquiry about your child's education.
You're not legally required to respond to an informal enquiry, but if you don't, the local authority may conclude the education doesn't appear suitable. A brief, honest record is normally all you need, and it does not have to be a formal report.
How Jabba helps
Jabba ties every activity to the national curriculum for England, organised by key stage, so you don't have to translate between tasks and the curriculum yourself. You choose the subject and stage, and the plan follows from there.
You get a running overview of what your child has covered and how it's going, framed as growth rather than grades. It's both a compass for planning and a record you can point to if you ever need one.
What parents ask most
Do I have to follow the national curriculum when home educating?
No. The legal duty sits in section 7 of the Education Act 1996. It requires an efficient, full-time education suitable to your child's age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs, delivered 'either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.' The national curriculum applies to state schools. Home educators are free to teach differently, and many use it simply as a reference point.
Where can I find the national curriculum?
The programmes of study are free on gov.uk, organised by subject and key stage. BBC Bitesize and Oak National Academy both offer free lessons and resources mapped to the same curriculum, which is handy if you want material that lines up with what schools are covering.
Does my child have to reach the same standard as children in school?
The law asks for an education suitable to your child's age, ability and aptitude, not that they match a classroom's pace exactly. A child can be ahead in one subject and need longer in another. What matters is genuine progress over time, not whether they follow a school-year timetable.
How do I show what we've covered, if asked?
Local authorities can make an informal enquiry about the education a child is receiving. You are not legally obliged to respond. A short, honest record is normally enough: examples of work plus brief notes on what you have covered. It is far simpler to keep as you go than to reconstruct later.
Does Jabba tie activities to the national curriculum?
Yes. Every activity in Jabba is mapped to the national curriculum for England by key stage, and you get a running overview of what your child has worked on.
Sources
Teaching that follows the curriculum
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