Getting Setup For Homeschooling & Specialist Tutors To Support Learning

Homeschooling (also known as ‘elective home education’ here in the UK) is a term used when parents decide to educate their children at home instead of sending them to school or receiving home tuition provided by a local authority or specialist tutors.

There have previously been stigmas attached to homeschooling with many people assuming it to be an inferior form of education and an approach popular among ‘hippies’; if truth be told, every child has an individual learning style that best suits them. Some thrive in a school classroom environment and some benefit from a 1-1 setup, so there can be huge value in homeschooling.

In fact, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) estimated that as of October 2021 there may have been over 80,000 registered home educated children in England and there’s evidence to suggest that this number continues to increase year on year.

There are a number of reasons a parent might choose to educate their child at home. It could be to better support special education needs (SEN), unhappiness in their current school, emigration or to tailor education to a child’s unique learning style. Whatever the reason, there are in fact a number of benefits to homeschooling and a plethora of resources and support available, from online materials to specialist tutors, to ensure your child receives a strong education.

The Advantages of Homeschooling

• Tailored Lessons – Whether you choose to teach your child yourself or bring in an experienced homeschool tutor to help, homeschooling allows you to tailor lessons to suit your child’s strengths, weaknesses and passions.
• Flexible Learning Styles – Everyone learns differently so regardless of whether a parent or tutor is teaching, lessons can be adjusted to suit your child’s individual needs so they engage with subjects and can digest information in a way that suits them
• Online & In-Person Tutoring – If you are engaging a tutor, lessons can be delivered at home or online (or a combination of the two) and is suitable for children of all ages, from primary school through to Sixth Form.
• No Distractions – Your child can be free from distraction during lessons in a 1-1 environment
• Confidence To Ask Questions – Many children are hesitant to ask questions in a classroom out of fear of judgement from peers. Homeschooling will allow your child the freedom to ask questions in a ‘safe’ environment and explore areas that they’re perhaps unclear on or need further explanation.
• More Opportunity To Experience Things – Homeschooling means  opportunities to leave the ‘classroom’ are more frequent and you are able to decide on the school trips you feel will most benefit your child’s education. Venturing out to museums, exhibitions or on excursions can help further a child’s understanding of a topic as well as develop their natural interest in a subject and thirst for knowledge.

The Process: How To Apply and Get Setup For Homeschooling

Generally speaking, getting setup to start homeschooling is quite straightforward and will follow a process similar to the below. Each London Borough and county will have individual requirements that need to be met so be sure to check your local council’s website for the latest guidance and specific steps to follow.

1. Register your intent to homeschool

If your child is currently enrolled in a mainstream school, you will need to put your intent to homeschool and withdraw your child from the school in writing to the headteacher. They will then arrange for your child to be formally removed from the school’s register and notify your local authority or council.

If your child is not yet at the compulsory school age but you’re already homeschooling them, there is no need to inform anyone but you should notify your local authority once they reach the compulsory school age.

2. Complete the Elective Home Education Statement of Provision

The second step is to complete a Statement of Provision which outlines how a parent plans to provide a suitable and sufficient education for any children they intend to homeschool.

Within this, you may be asked questions about your child(ren)’s age, the format in which they will be educated and any timetabling involved, the opportunities to interact with peers or other adults and how you’re responding to any specific needs your child may have.

Once your statement of provision and intent to homeschool have both been received you can usually begin homeschooling but your local authority will be in contact if there are any further requirements ahead of that.

Do note that if your child has special education needs (SEN) and therefore attends a specialised school, you’ll need to first get permission from your council to educate them at home as extra measures will need to be taken to ensure the child is receiving an adequate education and the necessary support.

Engaging Specialist Tutors To Support with Homeschooling

It is a legal requirement for every child of compulsory school age to receive “an efficient and full-time education” that is reflective of their age and ability and caters to any specific learning needs they may have. But, at the time of writing, there are no strict requirements that dictate how a curriculum should be delivered.

We know that parents choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons and there’s no one size fits all approach to it. While some parents prefer to lead on educating their children themselves and have their own programme in mind, many turn to the help of specialist tutors to support with home education.

There are a number of benefits to hiring a tutor to help with homeschooling your child. Our highly experienced homeschool tutors work with parents to devise a bespoke learning plan, designed to maximise your child’s potential – both academically and beyond. Our specialist tutors can also answer practical questions about the national curriculum, public assessments and educational regulations.

At the time of writing, there is no legal requirement for children receiving elective home education to sit public exams or standardised tests so it is up to the parent or homeschooling tutor to find and register at an exam centre.

At Hampstead and Frognal Tutors, our specialist tutors have a wealth of experience preparing students for GCSE and A Level assessments, as well as school entrance exams 7+, 11+, and 13+ should you decide you’d like your child to sit public exams at any stage. Exam boards such as the AQA or OCR also provide information about registering for exams privately as well.

How often should my child work with specialist tutors when homeschooling?

At the time of writing, the law does not specify the number of hours considered to be ‘full-time’ but it is advised that children should spend between 21 and 25 hours on schoolwork for 38 weeks of the year.

Some families prefer to homeschool their children on a full-time basis and primarily use tutors to support in extra tuition for weaker subjects or homework help. Other families look to engage a tutor full-time and or split between tutor and parent-taught lessons.

Our tutors can adapt to the needs of your family but we will help you find the right tutor and, depending on your requirements, we can provide:

• Live-in Homeschooling Tutors
• Full-time Homeschooling Tutors
• After-school Tutors to help with homework
• Tutor Nannies to assist with the school run, after school snacks and homework help
• Residential Tutors for school holidays
• General study skills support

We know that embarking on the home education journey can be both exciting and daunting but we are here to help and can match you with one of our highly experienced homeschool tutors to help you get started and find what’s best for you. All you need to do is get in touch!

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Useful resources

• Get information from your local council about elective home education
• Additional information on elective home education for children with special education needs (SEN)