home education

help and info

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organisations

Advisory Centre for Education
1C Aberdeen Studios
22 Highbury Grove
London N5 2DQ
Tel: 020 7354 8318
Advice line: 0808 800 5793 (Mon-Fri 2-5pm)
E-mail: enquiries@ace.dialnet.com
Website: www.ace-ed.org.uk
Provides independent advice to parents on their legal rights in relation to education. It produces a Home Education Pack that includes a guide to the law and a book describing parents' experiences of home educating as well as other helpful literature for parents who are teaching their own children by choice or due to exclusion.

Education Otherwise
PO Box 325
Kings Lynn PE34 3XW
Helpline: 0870 730 0074 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
E-mail: enquiries@education-otherwise.org
Website: www.education-otherwise.org
A UK-based self-help organisation that offers support, advice and information to families who are practising – or contemplating practising – home-based education as an alternative to schooling.

Home Education Advisory Service
PO Box 98
Welwyn Garden City
Hertfordshire AL8 6AN
Tel: 01707 371854 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
E-mail: enquiries@heas.org.uk
Website: www.heas.org.uk
A UK-based national home education charity dedicated to the provision of advice and practical support of families who wish to educate their children at home in preference to sending them to school.

Choice in Education
PO Box 20284
London NW1 3AA
Tel: 020 8969 0893
Website: www.choiceineducation.org.uk
An online magazine for people involved in home education. Choice in Education produces information on home education and the law and discusses alternatives to school-based education. The website features a regular online newsletter, an archive of relevant articles and details of regional events.

Worldwide Education Service (WES)
East Devon Business Centre
Heathpark Way
Heathpark
Honiton
Devon EX14 1SF
Tel: 01404 47301
E-mail: wes@wesworldwide.com
Website: www.wesworldwide.com
WES Home School Service is designed to create a school in the home in which groups of parents can teach their own children, both in the UK and overseas. It provides teacher support and assessment through its team of WES personal tutors who are qualified and experienced UK teachers. The WES also supplies courses for primary school-aged children which are based on the National Curriculum of England and Wales and offers Standard Assessment Testing Service (SATs).

websites

Educate Online
www.educate.co.uk
Features information and resources for families about LEAs and home education, and information for LEAs about home education and the law.

Home Education UK
www.home-education.org.uk
Extensive website seeking to provide support to people home educating or intending to home educate in the UK. Provides information and resources, including information on legal rights and responsibilities.

Learning at Home and Outside School
www.dfes.gov.uk/parents/learning/home.cfm
Part of the Department for Education and Skills, this site features guidelines for parents considering educating their children at home. It also contains help and advice about revision techniques and homework, plus information on study support and other aspects of learning at home.

Open Education – A campaign for change
www.open-education.org.uk
Still being developed, this site aims to provide a forum to develop and circulate ideas that challenge the mainstream education system. Features articles, legal guidelines and a discussion forum.

In Scotland, the legal situation differs slightly:

Schoolhouse
www.schoolhouse.org.uk
Provides information and support to parents/carers throughout Scotland who seek to take personal responsibility for the education of their children, and families who have chosen or are contemplating home-based education.

Parents Zone
www.ngflscotland.gov.uk/parentzone
Set up by the Scottish Executive Education Department, this website contains information and resources for parents and others responsible for school aged children. Covers a range of education issues, including home education.

reading

	Educating Children at Home by Alan Thomas (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000) The author examines issues involved in home education and challenges basic assumptions about the nature of teaching and learning. Get this book

	Free Range Education: How home education works by Terri Dowty (editor) (Hawthorn Press, 2000) For parents considering home education, or those getting started. Featuring the stories of home educating families, this text contains answers to frequently asked questions, and is full of information, resources and practical advice. Get this book

	Teach Your Own by John Holt (Lighthouse Books,1997) A how-to guide for parents considering teaching children at home. Includes the law for the UK and US and has advice from parents with experience of home education. Get this book

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