Considering Home Educating? If you’re here, something is stirring.
Maybe school isn’t working for your child. Maybe you feel that tug toward something slower, more meaningful, more connected. Maybe you’re simply curious.
Whatever brought you here — welcome. I’m Hayley and I have been home educating my 5 children since 2020. I created this blog to form a comprehensive guide to help parents to home educate, and understand what it entails before making the leap.
Home education can be beautiful, stretching, exhausting, freeing, and deeply rewarding… sometimes all in the same week. If you’re considering it, here’s what you genuinely need to know.
Home Education Doesn’t Have to Look Like School at Home
One of the biggest misconceptions is that home education means recreating a classroom at your kitchen table.
It doesn’t.
Some families follow a structured approach and stick with the national curriculum, Others lean into child-led learning, Charlotte Mason philosophy, project-based learning, or even unschooling. Theirs is not correct way to home educate; every journey is different, because every family and every child is different! That’s the beauty of home education.
Your home doesn’t need a whiteboard (unless you want one), a strict 9–3 timetable, or a perfect Pinterest setup.
It needs time. Intention. Relationship. Flexibility.
Learning at home often looks like baking and measuring ingredients (maths), gardening or tending an allotment (science, patience, responsibility), reading together on the sofa (literacy and connection), and long nature walks noticing the seasons change.
Sometimes the richest learning happens in the most ordinary moments.
The Legal Side (UK Overview)
If you’re in the UK, you are legally allowed to home educate your child.
You are required to provide an education that is suitable, full-time, and appropriate to your child’s age, ability, and aptitude.
You do not need teaching qualifications. You do not need to follow the National Curriculum. You do not need to recreate school at home.
If your child is already in school, you’ll need to formally deregister (unless they attend a special school, which follows a different process). If you are ready to deregister please read our de registration guide, which includes a free template that you can download, edit and send to your child’s school. https://homeeducatewithhayley.com/?p=479 It is also highly advisable to read the EHE guidelines (not just your local authorities policies) so you are aware what is legally expected of you as a home educator, and also what to expect and except from the local authority when they make contact. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ca21e22e5274a77d9d26feb/EHE_guidance_for_parentsafterconsultationv2.2.pdf
The most important thing to know and remember is Home education is legal. It is your right as a parent.
It’s More About Relationship Than Resources
Curriculum is helpful. Resources are helpful. Printables are lovely.
But the real foundation is relationship.
When children feel safe, seen, heard, and unrushed, they learn more deeply.
Home education gives space for conversations that wander, pausing when emotions are high, and following fascinations — whether that’s Minecraft, insects, fashion design, space, or ancient history.
You’re not just delivering lessons. You’re building a childhood.
Socialisation — Let’s Talk About It
This is the question everyone asks.
Home educated children are not locked away at home.
In reality, many are at sports clubs, drama groups, forest school, tuition hubs, church groups, educational trips, and weekly home-ed meetups. They often mix with different age groups rather than only children born in the same academic year.
Socialisation in home education can mean real-world interaction, community-based learning, and meaningful friendships.
It may look different from school. Different doesn’t mean lacking.
The Hard Parts (Because There Are Some)
I won’t sugar-coat it.
Home education can feel overwhelming. It can feel lonely at times. It can stretch you financially. It can feel mentally heavy when you’re carrying the planning, the house, and the emotional load.
You are with your children a lot. You see the gaps. You feel responsible.
There will be days when nothing goes to plan, maths ends in tears, and you question everything.
And there will be days when your child reads independently for the first time, asks deep questions about the world, or shows confidence that surprises you.
Both are part of the journey.
You don’t have to do it perfectly. You just have to do it faithfully.
You Don’t Need to Decide Forever
This might be the most freeing truth.
Home education is not a lifetime prison sentence.
You can try it for a term. You can review yearly. You can return to school later if needed.
Some families home educate for a season. Others for the whole journey.
You are allowed to reassess.
Ask Yourself These Questions
Before making the leap, gently reflect.
Why am I considering this?
What does my child need right now?
What kind of family culture do I want to build?
Am I willing to grow alongside my child?
Because you will grow. Home education stretches you just as much as it shapes them.
Final Thoughts
If you’re considering home educating, take your time.
Talk to other families. Visit groups. Read. Pray, if that’s part of your life. Journal your thoughts rather than rushing the decision.
This choice deserves calm reflection, not panic reaction. However I also understand that sometimes the choice is almost taken away from you, that you won’t have the time to reflect and research before hand. That for the physical or mental safety of your child you need to act first, think later. If that’s the situation you find yourself in please know that you are not alone. Reach out, ask questions and just like the very day you became a parent I promise you will work it all out as you go along.
You are allowed to choose differently. You are allowed to parent intentionally. You are allowed to step off the conveyor belt if it isn’t serving your child or your family. 🤍
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