UK Homeschooling FAQs
These are answers to the most frequently asked UK homeschooling questions, starting with ‘Can I homeschool in the UK?’. I’ve written articles on whether you need qualifications to homeschool in the UK.. Parents’ first concerns are often how do homeschooled children socialise, and what are the UK local authority checks on homeschoolers?
How To Start Homeschooling UK
For those of you just starting off on your UK homeschool journey, I’ve written this post on 10 things to consider before home educating. Here are 40 amazing advantages of homeschooling as well as this encouraging post on the only 10 things you need to homeschool your child (hint: you have them all already!). You may be starting to home educate because your child hates school- you should read this (surprising) article on why it’s normal for kids to hate school. This beginner’s guide on how to start homeschooling as all the basics to get you deregistered and I have deregistration letter templates then there’s info on how to homeschool multiple children. I also have a great new guide on deschooling. There’s some quick myth-busting to quell your worries in the post about little-known facts about home education and a handy guide to UK homeschooling law.
- For single parents, here are my 5 top tips for single parent homeschooling
- For those with older children, a post on homeschooling GCSEs.
- For parent with autistic children, here is a post on why homeschooling is brilliant for children with autism.
- Finally, in case you weren’t sure of why you’re considering home education- here are 5 terrible reasons to homeschool!
UK Homeschool Resources & Curriculum Tips
I always recommend Curious Little Monkeys Educational Resources (a small business I co-run with another home educating parent) for children who appear to be ‘reluctant learners’, or who have had school trauma, or who need a confidence and skills boost. These activity packs are adaptable for multiple ages and themed in popular topics such as Minecraft, Minibeasts, Harry Potter, Roblox, Dinosaurs and more. I would highly recommend the Mindful Me Journal if your child as been having a stressful time recently.
Here on the blog I also have some free Minecraft activities for kids, some printable Harry Potter colouring pages, lots of Harry Potter movie trivia and answers and Easter themed activities for children. There are 20 Halloween STEM Activities for children, 28 Brilliant Maths Games For KS1, and ideas for homeschool PE at home.
In addition, here is a post on how to organise a homeschool room (if you have one), an article on 6 types of homeschool curriculum plus 5 homeschool curriculum bundles for kindergarten & reception age. I have rounded up 100+ cheap or free homeschool resources to make budget homeschooling easier, and written an article on using strewing in your homeschool which is 100% free!
There is a post on the best STEM toys for children (excellent for science and mathematic education), great toys for children with autism, some educational documentaries for children, the best dyslexia resources for homeschooled children and 25 Amazing Feminist Books For Children. Parents have also benefitted from this (non-religious) post on how you could incorporate spirituality in your child’s homeschool. and you will likely need this guide to internet safety for kids as lots of home education is tech-based.
Homeschooling Grants & Costs
Here is a transparent post on how much it costs to homeschool in the UK. Lots of parents are concerned about home educating on benefits / tax credits and I answer all your concerns in that blog post (plus info on homeschool grants). I’ve also written about how to homeschool while working full time.
Homeschooling Support
Getting support as a homeschooling parent is extremely important. Here is the best way to find UK homeschool groups, and 6 ways to include Dads in homeschooling. There is also a post on TV shows and books that feature homeschooled characters (this helps normalise homeschooling for kids) and a post on how to maintain a relationship with your partner while home educating.
Unschooling
You may be wondering ‘What Is unschooling?’ We have always been an unschooling family including when we spent a year travelling in Asia, and I have been constantly amazed at how much my children have learned and how much they enjoy learning. Here is an example of everything my children learned in one unschooling day when they were younger. I would highly recommend following an unschooling approach, while I appreciate that the thought may be daunting- I recommend reading this post on why it’s a good idea to rethink your children’s milestones and ‘In favour of faffing around‘- why boredom and ‘doing nothing’ is so important for development. My children were not ‘taught’ to read conventionally yet they can all read very well, and adore reading- take a look at my post on when should children learn to read? Here are some posts on what it was like home educating in Bali, home educating in Sri Lanka and how to homeschool while travelling. Unschooling requires deschooling, and I’ve also written about what I find to be one of the hardest parts of unschooling (radical honesty).
You may also wish to look at my parenting and child behaviour posts for support while home educating- these are in the gentle parenting blog section.
I hope you’ve found these posts helpful. Don’t forget I have info on homeschool FAQs; how to start homeschooling in the UK; homeschool curriculum and resources; homeschooling finances, costs & grants; homeschool support for parents; unschooling and gentle parenting tips to help your homeschool journey.