Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Home education rules where you live
Rules for home education range from a simple right to educate at home with no registration, through annual notification and portfolio review, to required testing or approved curricula, and some places do not permit it at all. Reading the actual law and the local authority's published guidance before you start means you comply with what is required and do not hand over more than the law asks for.
First tasks
- Find the law or regulation that governs home education where you live
- Download the local authority's home education policy or guidance
- Write a one-page summary of duties, deadlines and what is optional
- Join one established home education support organisation or forum
- Check whether the home education rules or local policy have changed @recurring(yearly)
Formal withdrawal from school in writing
Where a child is on a school roll, most systems require a written notice to the head teacher before the school removes them, and a few require consent first, for example for some special schools or children on a support plan. A dated letter and a confirmation of removal protect the family from attendance action and give a clear start date for home education.
First tasks
- Check whether your child needs consent before removal from the roll
- Draft a short withdrawal letter giving the date home education begins
- Send the letter to the head teacher by a method with proof of delivery
- Ask the school to confirm in writing the date of removal from the roll
- File the letter and confirmation in the home education records folder
Choosing your home education approach
Families who pick a method in a rush often buy a full boxed curriculum, find it recreates the school day they left, and abandon it by spring. Reading about four or five approaches (structured curriculum, Charlotte Mason, classical, project-based, autonomous or unschooling, eclectic) and matching them to how your children learn and how much time you have gives a starting point you can defend and adjust.
First tasks
- List four home education approaches you want to compare
- Read one practical description of a typical week in each approach
- Ask two experienced home educators what they started with and what changed
- Write down the chosen approach, the reasons and a review date
