Home educating a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan is not the same as home educating a child without one, and most of the confusion parents run into comes from that single fact being buried, half explained, or missing entirely from the guidance they read. This is the complete picture: what consent you actually need, what happens to funding and provision, what stays the same, and what the new Children Not in School register will mean specifically for families like yours.
The Question Everyone Gets Wrong First: Do You Need Permission?
The answer depends entirely on where your child is currently on roll, and this single distinction resolves most of the anxiety parents feel before they've even started.
If your child is at a mainstream school, you do not need the Local Authority's consent to deregister and home educate, even if they have an EHCP. The law does not allow a Local Authority to impose a review period, a trial period, or a delay before you can act, and having an EHCP does not change this. You still need to formally notify the school in writing, in the usual way.
If your child is at a special school named in the EHCP, the position is different. Consent from the Local Authority is required before the child's name can be removed from the roll. This is set out under the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2024, Regulation 9. Importantly, this should not be a lengthy or complicated process. It is a formal step, not a barrier designed to keep a family enrolled against their wishes.
There is no provision in law for a trial period of home education. The distinction that matters is not whether your child has an EHCP, it is whether their current placement is mainstream or a named special school.
Do You Need Consent to Deregister?
What Happens to the EHCP Itself
Choosing to home educate does not cancel or pause the EHCP. It remains in force, and the Local Authority is still legally required to review it annually. What changes is what that review actually looks at.
The review continues to examine the plan itself and progress toward the outcomes set out in it, but the short-term targets written for a school placement in Section E generally stop being relevant once a child is home educated, since those were designed around an institutional setting. The Local Authority must gather advice for the review through appropriate alternative means, since the usual school-based reporting is no longer available to them.
One detail that matters and is worth knowing early: home cannot be named as the placement in Section I of the EHCP. This was confirmed in the case of Derbyshire v EM and DM (2019). Home is not a setting or a placement in the way a school is, and a child does not "attend" their own home in the sense the law means. Section I should instead reflect the fact that the family is exercising their right to home educate.
What Happens to Funding, Therapies, and Provision
This is the part that generates the most worry, and the honest answer is that it depends on the choice a family makes, not on the EHCP itself.
By choosing to make your own educational arrangements, you are treated in law as having opted out of the Local Authority's duty to deliver the special educational provision written into the plan, provided the Local Authority is satisfied that the arrangements you are making are suitable. In practice, this means the Local Authority is not automatically obliged to continue funding therapies, specialist input, or provision that was previously delivered through the school placement.
This does not mean nothing is available. Some families are able to access a personal budget or direct payment for elements of provision, but this is not automatic, and it is not the same as ongoing school-based funding. Where a Local Authority instead arranges what is sometimes called otherwise-than-at-school provision, rather than the parent making fully independent arrangements, the authority does remain legally responsible for that part of the provision.
One boundary is worth stating plainly, because it comes up constantly in parent groups: a Local Authority cannot require you, as the parent, to personally deliver the specialist therapeutic or educational provision written into the plan. This was established in the case of DM v Essex (2003). You are responsible for providing a suitable education overall, not for standing in as a qualified therapist.
What Happens to Funding and Provision
What the New Children Not in School Register Means for EHCP Families
The forthcoming Children Not in School register introduces mandatory registration for all home educated children in England, and this applies to children with an EHCP in exactly the same way as any other home educated child. Having an EHCP does not exempt a family from registering, and it does not place a family into a separate or additional register.
What is genuinely worth understanding is how the register interacts with the annual review process. Once registered, a Local Authority already has formal, current confirmation that a child is being home educated, which is the same information it needs to properly arrange the annual EHCP review. Keeping your register entry accurate and up to date is a small task that quietly makes the far more important annual review process run more smoothly, since it removes any ambiguity about a child's current educational arrangement before that conversation even starts.
What You Should Keep as Evidence
Because the annual review will ask for evidence of progress toward the plan's outcomes, families home educating a child with an EHCP benefit from slightly more structured records than families without one. This does not need to be complicated, but it should cover:
- Evidence of progress toward the specific outcomes named in the EHCP, not just general learning activity
- Any therapy, specialist input, or provision arranged independently, including dates and providers
- Correspondence with the Local Authority regarding the plan, consent, or funding decisions
- A simple record of the educational approach and materials being used, in case suitability is ever questioned
Download the free evidence log
A single-page table to record progress toward your child's EHCP outcomes, and any therapy or specialist input you arrange, ready for the annual review. Free, no signup needed.
Download the evidence log (PDF)Frequently Asked Questions
Does having an EHCP mean I cannot home educate my child?
No. An EHCP does not prevent home education. The process and requirements differ depending on whether your child is currently at a mainstream school or a Local Authority-named special school, but home education itself remains your right in either case.
Do I need the Local Authority's permission to deregister a child with an EHCP from a mainstream school?
No. The consent requirement applies specifically to children on roll at a Local Authority-named special school. Deregistering from a mainstream school follows the ordinary process, regardless of whether an EHCP is in place.
Will the Local Authority keep paying for my child's therapies once I home educate?
Not automatically. By making your own educational arrangements, you are generally treated as having opted out of the Local Authority's duty to deliver the provision in the plan, provided it is satisfied your arrangements are suitable. Some funding routes, such as a personal budget, may still be available depending on your circumstances.
Can the Local Authority make me deliver my child's therapy sessions myself?
No. Case law is clear that a parent cannot be required to personally deliver the specialist provision set out in an EHCP. Your responsibility is to provide a suitable education overall.
Does the EHCP get cancelled if I home educate?
No. The plan remains in force and must still be reviewed annually. What the review examines changes to reflect a home education setting rather than a school placement.
Does my child need to be on the Children Not in School register if they have an EHCP?
Yes. The register applies to all home educated children, including those with an EHCP. There is no separate category or exemption.
Summary: What Changes and What Doesn't
| Area | What Changes | What Stays the Same |
|---|---|---|
| Consent to deregister | Required if leaving a named special school | Not required if leaving a mainstream school |
| The EHCP itself | Continues in force | Must still be reviewed annually |
| Section I placement | Home cannot be named as a placement | The plan still names your child's needs and outcomes |
| Funding and therapies | Not automatic once you opt to provide your own arrangements | Otherwise-than-at-school provision arranged by the Local Authority still remains its responsibility |
| Delivering provision | You are not required to deliver specialist therapy yourself | You remain responsible for suitable education overall |
| Children Not in School register | Registration is mandatory, same as any home educated child | No separate register or exemption for EHCP families |
Home educating a child with an EHCP is a genuinely different path from home educating without one, but it is not a closed door, and it is far more workable than the fragmented guidance online often makes it feel. Knowing exactly which consent pathway applies to you, what happens to funding, and what the annual review will actually look at, is most of the battle.
Little Folio is a record-keeping app built for home educating families in England. Log activities, store evidence, manage Local Authority correspondence, and generate professional reports in one place.
Last updated: September 2026. This post is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. Verify against current official guidance and seek independent advice, for example from your Local Authority's SEND team or IPSEA, for your specific circumstances.