Homeschooling in Scotland

Yes. Section 30 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 makes it the duty of every parent of a child of school age to provide efficient education suitable to the child's age, ability and aptitude, either by making sure they attend a public school regularly or "by other means". Home education is one of those other means.

The Scottish Government published updated home education guidance for councils and parents in January 2025. It replaces the 2007 guidance and is the best single place to check how the rules work.

You do not have to follow Curriculum for Excellence, keep school hours or have teaching qualifications. The guidance describes what councils look for when deciding whether an education is efficient and suitable – broadly, that your child is making progress in line with their age, ability and aptitude.

• Never attended a public school. You do not need anyone's consent. This also applies if your child has never attended a public school in your current council's area – for example if you have just moved. Councils encourage you to let them know, but it is not a legal requirement.
• Withdrawing from a council-run school. Section 35 of the 1980 Act says you must ask the council for consent before withdrawing your child. Write to the council (many have a form or a named home education contact) setting out your plans. The council must not unreasonably withhold consent.
• While you wait. Your child stays on the school roll until consent is given. The guidance says councils should generally avoid starting attendance procedures while a request is being considered, and should aim to decide within 6 weeks.
• If consent is refused. The council should give written reasons, and you can ask for an internal review or apply again. There is no statutory right of appeal; the remaining route is judicial review.
• Independent schools. The consent rule applies to public (council-run) schools. If your child is at an independent school, check the current guidance and speak to your council about what to do.

Once your child is home educated, the guidance recommends that councils and families have at least one conversation a year about the child's progress. It is clear that this is good practice, not a statutory requirement, and that contact can take different forms – a meeting, a written report or examples of work.

If the council has good reason to believe a child is not receiving an efficient and suitable education, it can ask the parents for information and, as a last resort, serve an attendance order requiring the child to attend a named school.

Councils' home education pages, and the Scottish Government's list of useful contacts, will tell you who to speak to locally.

You can home educate a child with additional support needs (ASN). The education you provide should be suitable for those needs.

The guidance is frank that councils have very limited legal duties to home educated children with ASN. Any support they offer is at their discretion. If you rely on support your child currently gets at school, talk to the council about what would continue before you decide to withdraw.

You (or, in some cases, your child) can ask the council to find out whether your child has additional support needs, although the council does not have to agree. Enquire, the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning, can explain your options.

Home educated young people can sit Scottish qualifications as private candidates, but they must be entered by an approved centre – such as a school, college or training provider – which acts as the presenting centre and handles registration and exam conditions.

Ask local secondary schools, further education colleges and training providers early whether they will present your child. Subjects with coursework can be harder to arrange. Some families instead enrol their teenager on a part-time college course while home educating.

Qualifications Scotland replaced the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) as the national awarding body in February 2026. Some pages still use the SQA name. Some families also choose GCSEs or International GCSEs through UK exam centres that accept private candidates.

There is no national funding for home education in Scotland. Some councils offer advice or access to local services – check your council's website.

mygov.scot has a short introduction to home education and flexi-schooling. Flexi-schooling (part school, part home) needs the agreement of the council or school.

The Scottish Government's home education guidance lists national contacts, including home education organisations and Enquire.