The Home-Schooling Surge: What New Regulations Mean for Families Choosing to Educate at Home

The number of children being educated at home has more than doubled in five years. Behind that headline sit thousands of individual family stories — some driven by anxiety, some by ill health, some by deep philosophical conviction, some by a school system that no longer fits. Now the government is moving to register and regulate home education for the first time. For families considering this path, or already on it, the rules are about to change.

How Big Is the Surge?

According to Department for Education data, the number of children registered as electively home educated in England has risen from around 60,000 in 2019 to over 153,000 in 2025. The actual figure is widely believed to be higher because, until now, registration has been voluntary and patchy. Local authorities estimate the true total is somewhere between 180,000 and 220,000 children.

The reasons families give are varied but a few patterns dominate. Mental health and anxiety. Special educational needs unmet by the mainstream system. Bullying. Religious and philosophical convictions. And, increasingly, a sense that the school the family was offered does not match the values or the rhythm the family wants for their children.

What the New Regulations Will Require

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduces a statutory register of home-educated children, alongside new powers for local authorities to monitor provision. The exact mechanics are still being finalised, but the core elements are clear.

• Compulsory registration. Every family home educating must register with their local authority. Failure to register will be an offence.
• Annual review. Local authorities will have powers to conduct an annual review of the education being provided.
• Suitability test. Education provided must be “efficient and suitable” — the existing legal test — with new clarity on what that means in practice.
• Restrictions for safeguarding cases. Where a child is on a child protection plan or subject to safeguarding concerns, the local authority can require school attendance.
• Information from parents. Parents will be required to provide information about the education being delivered, including curriculum, hours and providers used.

For most home-educating families, who already provide rigorous and well-organised education, the regulations will not change much in practice. For families operating informally or struggling, they introduce a structure that may feel intrusive but is genuinely intended to protect children.

Why Parents Are Choosing Home Education

Speaking to home-educating families, four reasons come up most often.

Mental health and anxiety

The post-pandemic surge in school refusal has driven many families to home education when their child simply could not cope with school. For these families, home education is sometimes a temporary recovery measure and sometimes a longer-term solution.

SEND not being met

With EHCP waiting lists at record highs and school SEND provision under enormous strain, many parents have made the calculation that they can do better at home than the school can. Our piece on SEND reform 2035 and what the EHCP changes mean explores this in detail.

Values and worldview

Some families want a values-driven education that the mainstream school does not provide. For Muslim families, this often means an integrated approach that places Islamic learning, character development and academic rigour together rather than treating them as separate.

Pace and rhythm

Some children simply work better at a different pace, whether faster or slower than the school can offer. Home education provides flexibility that no class of thirty can.

What a High-Quality Home Education Looks Like

The legal test is that the education be “efficient” and “suitable”. In practice, what does that look like? Drawing on our experience working with home-educating families, four elements consistently appear.

The Practical Steps for New Home Educators

If you are considering home education, here is what the next few months should look like.

1. Notify the school formally. If your child is currently enrolled, write to the headteacher to deregister them. The child’s name will be removed from the school roll once you do.
2. Register with the local authority. Once the new statutory register comes into force, this becomes mandatory. Many authorities are already running voluntary registration schemes.
3. Build a support network. Local home education groups, online forums and parent co-ops are invaluable. You do not have to do this alone.
4. Plan the curriculum. What subjects, what materials, what pace. Write it down.
5. Consider tutoring support. Most home-educating families bring in subject tutors for areas where parental expertise is limited or where the child benefits from a different teacher. Our companion article on how one-to-one tuition supports home-educated children explores this in depth.
6. Plan for examinations. If your child is going to take GCSEs or other formal qualifications, you need to research private candidate centres, exam fees and the specifications of each subject. This requires planning a year or more ahead.

The Question of Examinations

One of the biggest practical challenges for home-educating families is examinations. Home-educated children sit GCSEs and A-levels as private candidates, which means finding a centre that will accept them, paying the exam fees and managing all the logistics yourself.

This is doable but requires foresight. Most families start planning two years ahead. If you are home educating a child of GCSE age, you need to be researching exam centres now, regardless of how recent your decision to home educate is.

Why Values-Based Home Education Is Growing

For Muslim families in particular, home education is increasingly seen as a way to provide a fully integrated upbringing where academic rigour, Islamic learning and character development happen together rather than being split between school and madrasah. This is exactly the philosophy that underpins our work at Academica Mentoring, set out in our piece on the importance of Islamic values in academic education.

Whether you are home educating for faith reasons, SEND reasons, mental health reasons or any other reason, the principle is the same. The education needs to be genuinely strong, planned, supported and accountable. Done well, home education can be transformative. Done poorly, it can leave a child far behind their peers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need any qualifications to home educate?

No. The law does not require parents to hold any qualifications. The legal test is that the education provided be efficient and suitable for the child's age, ability and aptitude.

Will I have to follow the National Curriculum?

No. Home educators are not required to follow the National Curriculum. However, you do need to provide a coherent and suitable education, and many families find following the curriculum loosely is the most practical route to qualifications.

Can the local authority force my child to go to school?

Only in specific circumstances, principally where the education being provided is not suitable, where there is a school attendance order, or where there are safeguarding concerns. For families providing a strong home education, this is not a risk.

How much does home education cost?

It varies enormously. Some families spend very little, using free or low-cost resources. Others spend several thousand pounds a year on tutors, books and activities. Plan a realistic budget early.

Can my child still take GCSEs?

Yes. Home-educated children sit GCSEs as private candidates at registered exam centres. You will need to research centres, fees and specifications well in advance.