Some parents choose to educate their children at home.
You can find out more about the law and home schooling on the Government's website.
Sandwell Council supports parents who educate their children at home by providing advice and guidance through our EHE Advisory Team. We also work with parents to ensure a suitable education is being provided at home.
Home educated children must receive education from the start date of what would be the school term following their fifth birthday. They must then be educated until the last Friday in June of Year 11. A child who is aged 16 between September and 31 August is of compulsory school age until the last Friday of June in that year.
- If your child is in school and you decide to home educate them, you must write a letter to the head teacher to state your intentions to home educate and asking for your child to be removed from roll. Your child will then be removed from the school roll and the head teacher will inform the council.
- If your child has never been to school, currently you do not have to take any action before you start educating them at home - but if you could let us know, we can make sure your child's record is updated.
- If your child has a statement of Special Educational Needs / Education Health and Care Plan, you must inform the Local Authority SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) department to inform that you wish to remove your child from school roll. Pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs / Education Health and Care Plan (EHC plan) can be educated at home providing the Local Authority judges the arrangements to be appropriate for the child's age, ability and aptitude. This is done through the Annual review of the EHC plan.
- If you home school your children, or if you are thinking about home education, please email home_education@sandwell.gov.uk or call us on 0121 569 8147 for advice and support. These contact details are for home education only. For all other enquiries, there are contact details below.
Other education contact numbers
You can also download Sandwell's elective home education policy
For more information about home educating in Sandwell you could read our welcome back which is a useful guide about home educating in Sandwell:
Other services for home educated children
Connexions Sandwell is a service for 13 to 19-year-olds (up to 25 years for those with Special educational Needs with Education, Health and Care Plans) providing careers advice and guidance on post 16 options including further and higher education, jobs, apprenticeships and training.
For advice from a Connexions Personal Adviser please call 0121 569 2955.
Youth services
Just Youth is the go to place for children and young people in Sandwell to find something to do, someone to talk to and somewhere to go. Designed with and for young people, the website provides: Advice, guidance and sign posting on a wide range of topics. Finding someone to talk to if they have an issue. You can also contact young people's services by phone on 0121 569 8432 or email youngpeople_services@sandwell.gov.uk
Work experience and child employment
Sometimes home educated children want opportunities to access work experience/child employment to develop their work related learning skills. You can download our work experience/child employment factsheet which offers guidance around local bylaws and what the restrictions are.
The Education Business Partnership supports schools with their work experience programmes and can extend this service free of charge to children that are electively home educated. You can call 0121 296 3000 or email enquires@sipseducation.co.uk