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Home education is where a parent or carer chooses to become the main educator of their children. They take the legal responsibility for deciding what their children will learn and how. In most cases, this is without direct support from schools or a local council.
There is no statutory duty upon families to inform the local authority that they are home educating if they do not require consent to withdraw from a school roll, however Scottish Government guidance strongly encourages parents/carers to make known to their local authority their intention to home educate.
Consent to withdraw a child from school is not needed in the following situations:
Why is it important to understand about home education in the context of neglect?
Most families who choose to home educate their child will do so in a safe and nurturing environment. However, in some instances, home education may lead to missed opportunities for safeguarding. Reduced visibility to schools and other services means fewer chances to identify concerns early.
Always ask yourself: “What does this child need me to do?” They may be in a home education setting where they have become invisible and living in a family facing complex challenges. At a time when they have limited contact with professionals or the wider community, they may need you to speak up for them.
If you notice a child is not in school during normal school hours, pause and consider why. Approach the family respectfully and ask: “How are the children being educated?”
Alongside being the child’s voice, we must also practice professional curiosity. This means actively exploring situations, asking open and respectful questions, following up on information, verifying accuracy, and avoiding assumptions. Professional curiosity is essential for keeping children safe, particularly when there have been previous safeguarding concerns and a family requests to home educate.
Take a step back and look for patterns in family engagement, delays in communication, or impacts on the child’s development. For example, if a child’s development consistently declines during periods of home education but improves when attending school, and a parent repeatedly requests home education, this should raise concern.
Reflective supervision and open conversations with colleagues are key tools to support curiosity and strengthen analysis.
Designed to support children and young people at home, particularly those who do not have access to the NSPCC Speak out Stay safe programme through an education provider.
It is freely available via the NSPCC Learning platform and is aimed at parents and carers and/or home educators. It includes a range of engaging and age-appropriate activities, resources and videos for use with children aged 5-11. All activities within the pack are easy to run and utilise resources that can be readily found at home. There are introductory materials to support with facilitation of the activities, including video briefs and scripts. The resources cover a range of topics including feelings, worries, safe adults, children's rights and online safety. There is also signposting to further support and to additional NSPCC resources.
All home educated children and young people have the option of a named person. The named person is available to listen, give advice, and support children, young people and their parent/carers. The named person is a point of contact for other services and partner agencies.
Families can arrange a named person by contacting Fife Council using one of the methods below:
The Scottish Government Home Education policy team can also be contacted via email to homeeducation@gov.scot.
