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SEND and home education

Some pupils who are electively home educated will have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The right for parents to home educate remains the same, even if their child has SEND. But there are some additional factors to consider.

If a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), they may be home educated. However, the council is still responsible for ensuring that the education provision in the plan is provided to your child. The council also conduct annual reviews. Any engagement that you have with an Education Access Officer may be scheduled to happen alongside your child’s annual review. This is to not add more oversight than is necessary.

If your child has an EHCP and they have been enrolled at a special school through the council, you must get the permission of the council before they can be removed to be home educated. You should speak to your SEND Case Officer is this is relevant.

If you are home educating your child and feel they require the support of an EHCP, the first steps will be to request an EHC assessment. Further information in relation to this can be found in our SEND section.

For free and impartial advice, you may wish to contact the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS). They provide advice to children and young people with SEND and their parents or carers. They also have useful online factsheets and resources. The service is for people who live in Southampton and they can be contacted in the following ways:

Southampton SENDIASS have produced a document listing online SEND resources for home education.

The government recognised that staying at home can be more disruptive to the lives and routines of children with SEND. They produced advice to support parents and carers looking after children with SEND during the coronavirus. Whilst this guidance has now been withdrawn the following links are to resources recommended by the government which are still active: