Elective home education

Parents have a legal responsibility and a duty to make sure their child is educated. Most parents and carers choose to send their children to school, but school is not compulsory - you have the right to educate your children at home.

This is called elective home education (EHE).

For full details of the regulations around home education and the points to consider when deciding if home education is right for you and your child, see GOV.UK - elective home education.

De-registering a child from a mainstream school

Before de-registering your child we ask you and your child's school to arrange a meeting with the Local Authority. Your child, if age appropriate, can also attend this meeting. The meeting is to discuss the reasons for the de-registration and to provide information about the expectations and responsibilities around EHE .

Following the meeting if you choose to de-register your child, the school will inform us and an  EHE advisor from the Attendance and Children Out of School team will then contact you to arrange a home visit to discuss your plan of education.

De-registering a child from a Specialist setting

If your child currently attends a special school, you will need to email ehe@cheshireeast.gov.uk, rather the school, for the Local Authority to consider your request. The Local Authority will then meet with the relevant parties to decide if  EHE is agreed or not and you will be notified of this decision. While this decision is been reached your child should continue to attend school.

Support we offer

Families will be allocated an  EHE advisor from the Attendance and Children Out of School team. This person will offer you a visit initially to talk through and have oversight of your plan to home educate your child. This advisor will assess how often they need to visit to review the education in place. This could be often at the beginning when you are starting out. Cheshire East is responsible for checking that you are providing a suitable education for your child.

If the Local Authority is concerned that there is not a suitable education in place for your child, a School Attendance Order may be considered.

More guidance can be found on the elective home education guide for parents on the government website.

Returning to a mainstream school

If you wish for your child to return to school, you will need to go through the in-year admissions process. If your child’s previous school still has places they should be able to return there. If there are no places at your childs previous school you will need to apply to other schools.

Returning to a specialist school

If you wish for your child to return to a school setting, you will need to contact your child’s SEND keyworker.

Contacting the Elective Home Education team

For any further information about home education, you can email EHE@cheshireeast.gov.uk or call us on 01270 375255.

The Cheshire East Council named contact for  EHE is Sally Ashworth, Team Manager for the Attendance and Children out of School Team.