Home education in Leeds

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

After you deregister

If your child is at a mainstream school, Leeds says you must tell the head teacher in writing. The school then fills in a notification form for the council about your child's attainment so far, any agencies supporting your family and any concerns, and it can take your child off roll once it has contacted the council (one minute guide: elective home education, last updated March 2026). The letter itself is covered in our deregistration guide.

The council's home education page asks you to contact the team if you want to teach your child at home. Its one minute guide is plainer about the law: you don't need the council's permission, you don't have to be the one to tell it, and you're under no obligation to keep in regular contact with it.

When a notification arrives, the team checks whether other services are already involved with your family. It then asks you about the education you're providing.

A child who attends a special school (in Leeds, a Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre) under arrangements the council made can't be taken off roll without its consent. The council says you'll need to show how the needs in the EHC plan will be met at home. At a mainstream school you don't need permission, and the EHC plan is reviewed. The team passes the case to your child's SEN caseworker, who assesses your education plans and reviews the EHC plan every year, as they would at school. SEND and home education sets out the duties on both sides.

When the council gets in touch

Leeds asks you to outline your plans, and the local authority assesses whether they're suitable. Its guide says it offers visits when a child first becomes home educated. The home education page goes further: "We will arrange a home visit at least once a year to see you and your child."

That isn't something you have to accept. The DfE's guidance for parents says education law doesn't oblige you to agree to a meeting or to produce specific evidence (paragraph 5.4). The local authority version adds that a council has no right of entry to your home. A written report is a fair answer, and replying to the council shows what one usually covers. To compare Leeds's approach with what national guidance expects of a policy, read what to look for in a council's policy.

If the council decides the education isn't suitable, it can serve a school attendance order.

Exams

Leeds's pages don't name exam centres, and there's no funding: the council says families take full responsibility for access to exams and pay the fees. Our exam centres guide explains how to find a centre that takes private candidates.

Support the council lists

• Information the team may send you on holiday activities, the Youth Offer, parent programmes, and information, advice and guidance.
• The community forum, with meeting dates from the team.
• Leeds SENDIASS, which suggests asking whether an EHC needs assessment would help before you decide, if your child has SEND without a plan. For a child with a plan, its page gives the SENSAP team's contact: sensap@leeds.gov.uk or 0113 3785 256.
• For a return to school, school admissions and the fair access protocol.

You won't get financial help from the council, and there's no money for free school meals while you home educate.

Contacting the home education team

Email ehe@leeds.gov.uk, or phone 0113 378 5028, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.