Home education in Bradford

Covers City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, England. General information, not legal advice. Checked against the council's own pages on 2 November 2026.

After you deregister

You confirm in writing to the school that you're going to home educate. Bradford's home education procedures say the school must then delete your child's name and send the council a return no later than the day it does so. You don't need the council's approval. If your child has never been on a school roll, the procedures say you're not required to register with it at all. Our guide to taking a child out of school has a letter you can adapt.

There are two exceptions. Leaving a special school where the council arranged the place needs its consent, and if your child is at school under a school attendance order, you ask the council to revoke the order first. The council's page for schools, updated in October 2026, tells a school to contact the team straight away when a parent writes and to wait for the council's confirmation in those two cases. The same page reminds schools that parents have the right to deregister without permission from the school or the council.

A child with an EHC plan can leave a mainstream school the same way, with no council approval. Once the team confirms your child is off roll, it lets the SEN Assessment team know so the plan can be reviewed, and an officer may come to the review if you ask and time allows. Where you'd like minimal contact and there are no other concerns, the plan's annual review can count as the year's home education contact. For how plans work after school, read home education and SEND.

When the council gets in touch

According to the procedures, first contact is normally a phone call or letter offering a visit or asking for more information. You can meet somewhere neutral instead, with or without your child, or not meet at all, and the council says turning down a home visit isn't in itself a ground for concern. You can send a written report or samples of work, or have a third party such as a tutor vouch for the education. Contact after that is normally yearly.

Bradford's guidance notes for parents, issued in 2018 and still linked from the schools page, sound firmer. They say the council asks parents to meet with it, and that an officer will be in touch about coming to see you. The DfE's guidance for parents says education law doesn't oblige you to agree to a meeting (5.4), though it asks you to think carefully before refusing. A full written answer is very different from silence, as how to reply to the council explains.

There's also a Word questionnaire about who'll teach, your plans, resources and social contact, which says it isn't a legal requirement. One line asks why you chose home education. The procedures say the council's primary interest is whether the education is suitable, not your reasons for choosing it.

If the council has concerns, it says it will set them out, give you appropriate time to address them and try to settle things informally. The procedures still carry a Covid-19 section about paused home visits, so ask the team if anything reads as out of date. For what to look for in documents like these, see your council's home education policy.

Exams

Bradford doesn't arrange exams for home-educated children. The procedures say families bear the cost of any public exams, and the guidance notes point you to JCQ and the exam boards. The council's page adds that some further education colleges open courses to home-educated young people, with parents paying the fees. Finding an exam centre covers how to book one.

Support the council lists

• Home-educated young people get contact details for Connexions in Year 11, according to the procedures, because the council's post-16 participation duty sits with that service.
• The home education page lists the Bradford Parent and Young People's Partnership Service on 01274 481183, alongside national home education organisations.
• The same section of the council's site has a page on emotionally based school avoidance, with parent support groups and local services.
• If you want a school place again, the home education page says you can apply at any time and appeal if the school is full. It asks you to let the council know, and says the council and school will help plan the return.

Contacting the home education team

The Elective Home Education Team: phone 01274 439340, or email ElectiveHEducation@bradford.gov.uk.