Parents choose to educate their children at home for a variety of reasons. This is not a decision to be taken lightly, as it means parents become responsible for all aspects of their child’s education.
Parents’ rights and responsibilities
Parents’ legal duty is set out in Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act as follows:
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him or her to receive efficient full time education suitable:
to his or her age, ability and aptitude
to any special educational needs he or she may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
The city council has a legal obligation to intervene where it appears a child is not receiving a suitable education.
Support network for Southampton families that home educate
The SEEDS group is an independent group of home educating families, which meets up to four times a week in the Southampton and surrounding areas. There are play (for the children) and chat (for the adults) meet-ups three times each week in local parks, and whole day trips or activities at least every term-time Friday. To find out more about how you can get involved with this group please visits the SEEDS link at the bottom of this page.
Copyright © Southampton City Council 2009
