What to expect from a local authority visit (and why you might have one)

Once you’ve deregistered your child from school and started your home education, you may receive contact from your local authority.

Local authorities in the UK have a duty to check no child is missing their education. As a parent, you also have legal rights, as well as responsibilities, when it comes to home educating your child.

Use this guide to understand what those legal rights and responsibilities are, including what to do if you’re asked for a home visit by your local authority.

While the Elective Home Education (EHE) guidance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for local authorities (LAs) differs slightly, the broad expectations are the same:

• LAs are encouraged to foster a good relationship with home educating parents
• LAs are advised, but not obliged, to check in with parents around once a year
• Parents must provide their child with a ‘suitable’ and ‘efficient’ full-time education
• LAs may request an in-person home visit, but parents are not legally obliged to say yes to it.

The home education guidance for local authorities in Scotland) outlines the role of LAs towards home educating parents and their child:

“Authorities should have regard to the views of parents/carers and to those of the child and seek to support families in the choices that they make by offering advice and clear, accurate information and resources where feasible.”

The government also recommends LAs should strike a balance between checking a child’s education is adequate and leaving competent home educating parents to get on with what they’re doing:

“It is important that the authority’s arrangements are proportionate and do not seek to exert more oversight than is actually needed where parents are successfully taking on this task.”

Under UK law, you’re obligated to have your child in full-time education from the age of five, whether at home, in school or elsewhere. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states:

“The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.”

It can be tricky to understand what that means legally, but UK case law can help. Based on a judge’s interpretation provided in an appeal case in Worcester Crown Court in Harrison & Harrison v Stevenson in 1981, the outcomes of a suitable education are defined as:

• To prepare the children for life in a modern civilised society
• To enable them to achieve their full potential.

During a legal case in 2021, Judge Mr Justice Lane added:

“The duty is, plainly, objective in nature. The parent is not the ultimate arbiter of whether, for example, the education being received by the child is suitable. The requirement in section 9 for the Secretary of State and the local authority to have regard to the general principle that pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents has no direct impact upon the section 7 duty.”

In other words, the judge is saying that LAs should take into account the parents' wishes on how their child is educated, but the parents’ wishes should not supersede their legal obligation to provide their child with a ‘suitable and efficient’ education.

A local authority, “has a moral and a social obligation to ensure that a child is safe and being suitably educated. If it is not clear that that is the case, the authority should act to remedy the position,” according to the Department for Education’s EHE local authority guidance.

LAs are further advised their initial approach to home educating parents should be, “informal contact and enquiries”. This could be in writing, over the phone or video call. The guidance goes on to say: “Informal enquiries can include a request to see the child, either in the home or in another location.”

Therefore, you may be contacted by your LA about a home visit, especially when:

• You first start home educating
• Your child is getting older (and therefore needs more resources)
• They’re concerned for the child’s welfare.

At this stage, when the LA is trying to understand the education you’re providing for your child, you’re under no legal obligation to meet the LA representative in person. You can choose whether to agree to a home visit or video call, or to respond in writing. You may be asked to provide your education philosophy, evidence of your child’s learning and how you’re measuring their progress. The LA may send you a form to complete, but you can also choose a format suitable to you and your child.

Whichever option you choose, it’s worth keeping a record of any correspondence and notes of any conversations, so you can refer back to them if needed in any future contact. It’s also important to respond to communication from the LA within the timescale requested.

If your LA requests, and you accept, a home visit, you’ll usually be visited by a local authority officer, sometimes called an education welfare officer or HEA (home education assessor).

Home education visits are not carried out by Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) which inspects schools and other services providing education.

Assessors / advisors are expected to be aware of their area and the government’s home education policy, and of the different approaches and philosophies parents have towards home education.

During the visit the LA officer will want to see reasonable proof of the content you’re providing and how you’re measuring progress. They may do this by:

• Discussing your educational approach or a ‘typical’ day and week for you and your child
• Looking at some of your child’s work
• Requesting information on other people providing education for your child, such as tutors or home educating groups
• Seeking details of how you monitor your child’s progress.

Officers will often ask to meet with your child or speak to them about their education. Your child is under no obligation to be there for the home visit, so you and your child will need to decide if they feel like being a part of it. The LA advisor’s role is to gauge the outcome of the education you’re providing for your child, i.e. are they getting a ‘suitable’ education at home.

If you can build a good relationship with your LA they can potentially give you access to resources and advice which may be useful.

However, you’re under no obligation to keep in regular contact with your LA, unless they have requested specific information.

If the local authority assessor determines you’re not providing a suitable education, they’ll normally write to you asking you to demonstrate within a specified period of time (not less than 15 days) that your child is receiving a suitable education.

The BBC Bitesize home education collection is designed to support you and your child’s learning at home with free resources for early years and foundation stage (EYFS), primary and secondary-age students.

Bitesize Parenting is the go-to place for the whole parenting community to find stories, expert advice and fun activities.

If your child has special educational needs and / or disabilities, be sure to check out the Parenting SEND collection. Bitesize also has a collection of Sensory Stories, an immersive video series that transports you on unique sensory adventures, for children with additional or complex needs.

For more information about home education, these BBC News articles cover the rise in families deciding to educate their children at home and, from 2021, the impact of Covid on home education.