General information about England, not legal, employment or financial advice. Home education law is changing, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have rules of their own, so treat the official pages linked below as the final word.
What the law says about time
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 is about what, not when. It asks for "efficient full-time education", fitted to a child's age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs, at school "or otherwise", and is silent on the time of day or the day of the week.
The DfE doesn't pin it down either. Its guidance for parents says "full-time" has no legal definition, at home or at school. A child in school normally gets about five hours' tuition a day for 190 days a year; home education needn't mirror that, and it can happen outside normal school hours (paragraph 2.7). Paragraph 2.8 goes further: no timetable, no set hours, and no need to follow school hours, days or terms.
So a week built around a job is allowed: science on a Saturday morning, say, or a tutor on the Tuesday you're at work.
The catch is paragraph 2.9. Whether an education is full-time depends on the facts, and parents "should at least be able to quantify and demonstrate" how much time their child spends being educated. If it plainly doesn't fill a significant part of your child's life, it probably won't meet the duty. When lessons move around your work, write down when they happen and let the hours calculator do the adding up.
Other people can teach, but it's still on you
You can engage private tutors, other adults or online tuition, though you don't have to, and settings outside the home may not be regulated at all (parents' guidance, paragraph 1.2).
Paragraph 6.1 is blunt about the rest. If you employ other people to educate your child, you stay responsible for the education and for your child's wellbeing, so it's for you to be sure anyone you engage is suitable to be around children. Take up references, and check that a private tutor has a recent Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. A tutor who comes through a council, school or agency should already have been checked, and you can ask that organisation to confirm it (paragraph 6.2).
There are also companies that provide part-time education for a large part of the week, aimed at parents who can't provide a full-time education themselves. Ask them about safeguarding and staff checks, the guidance says (paragraph 6.5).
What the new register will record
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 inserts section 436C into the Education Act 1996, setting out what each council's register of children not in school must hold. That includes the name of each parent providing education, and estimates of the time your child is taught by parents and by anyone else. For a provider who teaches your child for more than an amount still to be set in regulations, it adds their name and address, what kind of provider they are, and how much of that time no parent is actively involved.
None of that applies yet. When we looked at legislation.gov.uk on 24 October 2026, the section was in force only for making regulations, so check our guide to the Children Not in School register before you plan around it.
Leaving a child at home while you work
GOV.UK's page on the law on leaving your child on their own says: "The law does not say an age when you can leave a child on their own, but it's an offence to leave a child alone if it places them at risk."
It passes on the NSPCC's advice. Children aged 12 or older should only be left alone for long periods when they feel safe and their parent feels they're ready. Children under 12 are rarely mature enough for long periods alone, and babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left. Parents can be prosecuted for leaving a child unsupervised "in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health".
Working from the next room isn't the same as working across town, and the judgement is yours.
Asking your employer for different hours
Every employee has the legal right to request flexible working from their first day in a job. You can ask for fewer hours, different start and finish times, different days or a different place, and the types GOV.UK lists include part-time hours, compressed hours (full-time hours over fewer days), flexitime and working from home.
You apply in writing, with a statutory application saying how and when you'd like to work. You can make two in any 12-month period. Your employer must discuss it with you before refusing, and decide within 2 months unless you agree to longer.
A refusal has to rest on one of the business reasons GOV.UK lists, such as extra costs that would damage the business, work that can't be reorganised among other staff, or harm to quality or performance. Being refused isn't on its own grounds for an employment tribunal. You can go to one if, for example, the request wasn't handled in a reasonable manner or was refused on incorrect facts.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 adds a test that a refusal must also be reasonable. When we checked, legislation.gov.uk showed it in force only for specified purposes and GOV.UK's guide didn't mention it, so look again before you apply.
The right belongs to employees. If you're self-employed, your hours are between you and your clients.
Ways families arrange the week
None of these is a plan to copy, and what works will change as your children grow.
| Arrangement | How it can work | Worth thinking about |
|---|---|---|
| Splitting the days | Two adults each take some days or half-days | Agree who keeps the record |
| A tutor or class on work days | Paid teaching covers the hours you're out | Checks are your job (paragraph 6.1), and the cost mounts |
| Teaching round shifts | Lessons before or after work, or on days off | A rota that changes needs a plan that can move with it |
| Online courses and recordings | Your child works through lessons you look over later | Younger children usually need an adult nearby |
| Independent study | An older child works alone from a plan you set together | The advice on leaving children alone still applies |
| Swapping with another family | You teach both families' children one day; they take another | See paragraph 6.6 if it grows into most of the week |
| Flexi-schooling | School on some days, home on the rest | The school has to agree, and it can say no |
Paragraph 6.6 is about the point where a group may need to register as an independent school. Home education groups and friends explains where that line sits, and how to find families near you. Asking a school is in flexi-schooling in England.
Self-employed, on shifts, or on your own
If you set your own hours, book teaching into your diary as you would a client, and guard it the same way. On shifts, plan the week in blocks rather than fixed times, so a changed rota moves lessons instead of cancelling them.
If you're doing this on your own, the law asks nothing different of you, but more of the week will lean on other people, a tutor perhaps, or a friend you trust. Pick the parts you most want to teach yourself, and look for help with the rest.
Money and benefits
Working less usually means earning less, and the DfE's guidance counts lost income among the costs of home education (paragraph 4.4). Home education doesn't change Child Benefit for a child under 16. How much home education costs explains that, and what changes at 16. If you claim other benefits, check how new hours would affect them first.
Keeping track of who taught what
In AltEd, the calendar holds repeating events with the people each involves, and a timetable lets you block out the hours that aren't free for study before it lays out the week. You don't need either for the part that matters most.
When the teaching is shared, a short weekly note in a notebook does a lot: who taught which subject, on which days, for about how long. It answers paragraph 2.9's question about time, and once the register starts, it's the kind of thing the council will ask for. Home education records covers the rest.