Definition
Elective Home Education is a parent's choice to educate their child at home rather than send them to school. The right is set out in section 7 of the Education Act 1996: every parent must ensure their child receives suitable full-time education, either by regular attendance at school *or otherwise*. EHE differs from EOTAS in that EHE is parent-funded and parent-arranged.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- EHE is a parent's choice to educate their child at home, set out at Education Act 1996, section 7.
- Differs from EOTAS: EHE is parent-funded and parent-arranged; EOTAS is LA-funded and LA-arranged.
- Parent writes to head requesting removal from school register; school must remove within five days.
- The LA may make informal inquiries to satisfy itself that suitable education is being provided (Education Act 1996, s.437).
- Where EHE is coerced by inadequate school provision, the legal route is to challenge the provision or request EOTAS, not accept EHE.
Section 7 sets the duty on parents, not on the LA. Parents can choose EHE for any reason. To begin EHE for a child already on roll, the parent writes to the headteacher requesting the child's name be removed from the school register. The school must then remove the child within five school days and notify the LA. The school cannot refuse the request, but the LA can make informal inquiries to satisfy itself that suitable education is being provided (Education Act 1996, s.437).
EHE and EHCPs interact in a specific way. If a child has an EHCP naming a school in Section I and the parent moves to EHE, the LA's duty to arrange Section F provision is not automatically removed. The Code of Practice 10.36 confirms that where the parent has chosen home education and is providing suitable education, the LA is no longer required to secure the EHCP provision, but if the parent has chosen home education because no school placement could meet need, EOTAS may be the legally correct route, not EHE.
This distinction matters. Many families are pushed into EHE by school placements that have broken down. What is presented as "elective" is sometimes a coerced choice. The 2023 SEND and AP Improvement Plan and OFSTED's repeated highlighting of off-rolling have made this a focus of policy attention. Where the move to EHE is essentially forced by inadequate school provision, the legal route is to challenge the inadequate provision or request EOTAS, not to accept EHE.
The financial reality. EHE is unfunded by the LA. Resources, tutoring, exam fees (GCSEs at private centres can cost £100+ per subject), and the parent's own time all sit with the family. EOTAS, by contrast, is fully LA-funded.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Elective Home Education.
Education Otherwise Than At School(EOTAS)
A bespoke package of education arranged and funded by the local authority for a child with an EHCP for whom no school placement is suitable. Provision is set out in Section F.
Emotionally Based School Avoidance(EBSA)
Difficulty attending school driven by emotional distress rather than truancy. Often linked to anxiety, autism, sensory needs, or unmet SEND, and rarely resolved by attendance penalties alone.
Off-Rolling
The unlawful or unethical practice of removing a pupil from the school roll in the school's interests rather than the child's, for example by pressuring parents to home educate.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page when school is suggesting they "consider home education", after months of EBSA, or when comparing EHE and EOTAS as routes out of a broken placement. Searches include "EHE versus EOTAS", "school told me to home educate", and "EHE with EHCP child". A Beaakon SEND advocate can identify whether your situation is genuinely "elective" home education or coerced off-rolling, and build the EOTAS case if EHE is being used to mask inadequate LA provision.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.