Elective Home Education
Choosing to educate your child at home instead of enrolling them at a school, a college or other education setting is now referred to as Elective Home Education (EHE).
Most children are educated at school because schools are successful in helping children to develop academically whilst also supporting their personal and social development.
Making the decision to electively home educate your child is a very important one. It requires a lot of research, commitment and time.
If you are concerned that a school is not able to meet your child's needs, especially if they have special educational needs, you may wish to speak first with the school and then the Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES). There are a range of specialist schools and settings where CYPES may place your child to meet their needs. You can find out about special educational need provision in Jersey here: Special Educational Needs.
What the Education Law means for parents who electively home educate their children
The Education (Jersey) Law 1999 allows for EHE and the education of children other than at school (EOTAS).
EHE is when a parent/carer elects to home educate their child/children.
EOTAS is when CYPES provide education for a child/young person in a setting other than in a school based environment.
The Education (Jersey) Law 1999 (revised 2007), Article 13 states that to provide elective home education for your child “the instruction to be received by the child is at least equal to the instruction that a child of the same age would receive in a provided school".
This means that you must show that your child will:
have access to a broad and balanced approach that meets their individual needs
progress academically on an annual basis as appropriate
develop emotionally and socially
You do not have to offer the same as a school.
Financial impact of Elective Home Education
Currently, direct funding is not provided by CYPES for elective home education. It would be wise to consider the financial arrangements you would need to put in place to electively home educate your child, including relevant resources and opportunities.
What to consider when planning to electively home educate
You may wish to consider the following:
- the time and energy commitment required for facilitating home education
- the financial cost e.g. visits, books, resources
- your preferred style of delivery suiting the needs of your child and discussing this with your child before starting
- providing a variety of social interaction opportunities for your child to be involved in, having contact with other children, joint activities and groups
- that you have future plans. Your child's needs may change at different ages and stages. Should your family decide that EHE is no longer most suited to your child, CYPES will provide advice in terms of finding an appropriate school place for your child
- that home education is not a solution to the education of a child who is reluctant to attend school. The Education Welfare Service will support your child if this is an issue.
If you decide upon EHE, CYPES will maintain a collaborative partnership with you whilst ensuring that an appropriate education is being provided.
Considerations when planning your child's educational learning journey
The Jersey Curriculum does not directly apply when you choose to electively home educate. However, if your child starts school at any point in the future, their entry into their new school may be much easier if the requirements of the Jersey Curriculum are taken into account.
You may wish to consider the following subjects:
- Art
- Design Technology
- English
- French
- Geography
- History
- Information and Communication Technology
- Mathematics
- Music
- Physical Education
- Personal, Social and Health Education
- Religious Education
- Science
Time spent learning
The length of time is not specified, however, as a general guide, full-time education in school means that children will spend between 25-27 hours on work each week, plus homework appropriate to their age. Children attending school attend for 38 weeks per academic year.
Meeting the requirements of a broad and balanced curriculum
Broad:
Introducing children to a wide range of knowledge, understanding and skills, including practical, creative and physical activities, as well as planned opportunities for social development.
Balanced:
Dedicating sufficient time to each knowledge area.
Relevant:
Knowledge areas are facilitated by the parent/carer or tutor to make them relevant to the child's own experience and to their future adult life.
Differentiated:
Knowledge areas are facilitated and how they are facilitated by the parent/carer or tutor need to be matched to the child's ability and aptitude, including sufficient challenges, so that a child's progress can be evidenced.
A range of learning methods may include a variety of independent and group learning activities such as:
- active learning
- collaborative and cooperative within groups
- problem solving and decision making skills
- teamwork skills
Particularly for younger children, learning is not always delivered as separate subjects, but may be delivered through wider topic related activities.
As children get older, it is more likely that subjects may be facilitated separately. You may decide what to facilitate and the best methods, provided you can describe the ways in which the education is appropriate and effective.
At all ages, children may benefit from collaborative and group work to develop skills and attributes to take through their lives and their education journey.
Children learn in many ways, at different rates and from a range of people and circumstances. Education does not always have to follow a set pattern of lessons or even a structured timetable. If your style of facilitating their education is such that you follow a curriculum or plan ahead, it is good to identify your weekly, termly and annual plans and the ways in which you intend to achieve them.
You may also wish to consider the following as appropriate to your child:
- they may really enjoy a learning process which is as active and practical as possible
- learning should be planned with your child's needs as the priority
- taking full advantage of all the resources available to you and around you
- reading for pleasure should be a high priority
- explore educational visits and make use of local opportunities around you
- provide opportunities which help with physical development
- provide opportunities for social interaction to take place
- make learning more enjoyable by varying the style, and processes of delivery
- give opportunities for independent study and research and provide a quiet area for study/work
Should you wish for your child to take part in regular testing as a form of progress assessment (as takes place in schools and colleges) please advise the Inclusion Service within CYPES who can make these arrangements with you.
It is important to be aware of options pre and post the age of 16 years as part of the decision to electively home educate your child.
Exams, such as GCSEs, are important to consider. CYPES will now pay the fees for sitting up to a maximum of 5 GCSEs at Highlands College per student.
Guidance about future careers is available for young people who are part of the EHE community. Details can be found here: Careers guidance.
Health services for Elective Home Educators
There are a number of vaccinations and health checks regularly carried out in schools that can be delivered to children within the EHE community. It is very important your child has the opportunity to receive these:
- vaccinations - protect them against potentially serious diseases; and
- health checks - so any health problems are identified and treated as early as possible
T
he vaccinations and health checks offered in school are shown in the tables below:| Year Group | Vaccination/Health Check |
|---|
| Reception (age 4 to 5 years) | Height and weight measurements |
|---|
| Hearing check |
| Vision check (Tel: 01534 442076) |
Reception, Year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (age 4 to 11 years) | Annual flu nasal vaccine in October / November to protect against flu |
|---|
| Year 6 (age 10 to 11 years) | Height and weight measurements |
|---|
| Reception though to Year 6 (age 4 to 11 years) Annually | Dental screening (Tel: 01534 445300) |
|---|
| Year Group | Vaccinations | Injections Required |
|---|
Year 8 (girls only) (age 12 to 13 years) | Human papillomavirous (HPV) vaccination to protect against cervical cancer | Two injections required, 6 months apart |
|---|
Year 9 (age 13 to 14 years) | Teenage booster vaccine to boost protection against diptheria, tetanus and polio | One injection |
|---|
| MenACWY vaccine to protect against Meningococcal disease groups A, C, W and Y | One injection |
How to access the vaccination and health check services for EHE
If you would like your child to receive these vaccinations or you believe your child has missed out on these, contact the Child Health Team on +44 (0) 1534 443741 or email them on childhealthadmin@health.gov.je.
Alternatively, you may choose to contact the individual health teams yourself using the telephone numbers in the table above.
If you want to access the health checks or have any health and/or development concerns regarding your child that you would like to discuss with the School Nursing Team, you can contact the school nursing team on +44 (0) 1534 443622 or email schoolnurses@fnhc.org.je
Elective Home Education approval process
By law, the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning is responsible for ensuring that a child of statutory school age receives an education either through a school environment or by parents/carers conducting EHE. You must seek approval in writing from CYPES before you electively home educate your child. Until an approval is made by CYPES, your child will remain enrolled at their existing school (or at the school they have been allocated in the case of a reception class) and the child's education, attendance and welfare responsibilities remain with the school.
- approval may be subject to certain conditions
- your child's academic progress will be assessed from time to time, usually annually
- further discussions around the appropriateness of home education may take place during your application process
- you must provide evidence in writing and discuss this with CYPES
- if there are concerns relating to safeguarding, approval may be withdrawn.
How to apply
Please ensure that you complete the online form. You will then be invited to meet with CYPES Officers to discuss how you plan to electively home educate your child.
All applications are reviewed by CYPES using the 
Electively Home Educated Policy.
If your application is approved:
- CYPES Officers will visit your home, or the place where education is delivered, to ensure the learning environment is appropriate and that everything is in place
- You will be provided with an annual EHE review form each year. The form will be reviewed by a panel within CYPES and you will be notified once your review has been completed.
- CYPES Officers will visit you annually to check on the safeguarding of your child and that they are academically progressing as appropriate in line with their ability and age
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