Home Education UK

See our FAQ's for:

Please read the FAQ before you write to me, thanks.

Parents and guardians

Professionals - (Local authority staff, teachers, tutors, medical staff, social workers, police, and Journalists)

Find a local contact or national forum

Home Education - a human right

"The respect of parent's freedom to educate their children according to their vision of what education should be has been part of international human rights standards since their very emergence."

(The Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights 8th April 1999)

UK law is clear, parents are responsible for the education of their offspring regardless of whether they are in school or out of it. In law the right to an education is an obligatory right, it may neither be denied to, nor refused by, a child.

Thus since children may not refuse education and there is no academic consensus on what constitutes an effective education, we believe that the state must be flexible in defining what a 'suitable' education.

Even though the law expresses the right to home educate as a parental right, it is my belief that, in the same way that young people have the right to decide upon medical procedures, a specific education should not be imposed upon them. This is not only right in principle but in practice too since intrinsically motivated learning will most readily "achieve that which it sets out to achieve". Ultimately, education cannot take place against a person's wishes.

Get a free A4 poster

Many parents are still unaware that home education is legal, or if they do, where to find support.

This poster could be put up anywhere parents and children might benefit, You could ask to put this up on your Library for example. Down load the poster today, print it, post it somewhere and help a child learn free.

Joy baker

Joy Baker was a mother who, during the 1950s, fought hard for the right to home educate her children. A Video of Joy Baker being interviewed in 1960 exists.

The authorities fought back, removing them and treating her, and her family barbarically. Thankfully, such over reaction is not acceptable today, but had she not fought for the right or had she lost, it's unlikely that home education would be an option to families today.

She wrote a book about her experiences Children in Chancery (no longer in print), and you can read about her struggle in a book called Joy Baker was published by EHP.

Educational Heretics Press

I also run EHP, a press dedicated to challenging educational dogma with many books of interest to home educators.

We have an extensive back list of of nearly 90 books many of which are kindles covering many issues of interest to home educators.

EHP Kindles

Many EHP books are available as Kindles, often at very low prices, with more to come. Eventually our entire blacklist of nearly 90 books will be converted.

Remember, there are app's for all brands of smart phone available, so you can build up your own library of 'read anywhere' EHP titles.

Rethinking Learning to Read

Harriet Pattison's highly successful new book is taken from her PhD.

Based on new research on home educators it sheds light not only on how home educator's children learn to read but how they learn generally.

Harriet challenges the accepted wisdom of 'learning as a function of being taught.' Recommended reading for educators, especially those who are trying to find their way forward.

Can't Go Won't Go

examines and challenges the current thinking on school refusal and particularly the blame culture that permeates it.

Taking real life stories of the way families were treated it arms parents with an insight to how it's perceived. It ends with an brief look at school refusal and home education.

Home Education Journal

Between 2006 and 2015 I published 16 issues of the Home Education Journal. These are now available as Kindles, in just 5 heavily discounted volumes.

Each volume contains dozens of articles and news bites on issues of interest to home education. A great, and inexpensive introduction to the world of home education.

volume 4 covers articles written at the time of the Badman Review and home educators responses to it.

Remember

Sales contribute to my time and costs running HE UK and future EHP publications.