Costs
You are strongly encouraged to plan ahead and think carefully about the cost of educating children at home.
If you choose to educate your child/ren at home, you must be prepared to take full financial responsibility. There is no funding available from the government or the local authority to support with home education.
There will be expenses to pay, and you should think about the costs involved providing things like:
- Tutors
- Books
- Materials
- Resources
- Educational trips
- Examination fees
Exams
Your child will not have to take the national curriculum tests (known as SATs).
You can arrange for your child to take exams, such as GCSEs, as external candidates at exam centres like further education colleges.
You will need to find an examination body that provides qualifications for private candidates – in other words, candidates who are not registered in a school. Private candidates will not usually be able to sit exams where there is controlled assessment, which rules out some GCSEs. You will find that many home educators look to International GCSEs instead – iGCSEs.
You should also consider the cost of any exams. Individual exam boards can provide details of their costs, processes and deadlines.
Although you will have to pay the costs associated with studying for and taking examinations, you will have the advantage of selecting the examination board whose external syllabus most suits your child.
Social activities
Going to school and meeting other children is an important part of your child’s social development.
If you are home educating, you may wish to consider encouraging your child to join a variety of clubs which can assist with social skills, such as sharing and mixing with other people of all ages.