Home education in Scotland: what the law actually requires

Scotland treats two situations differently, and mixing them up is the single most common confusion new home educators run into. If your child has never been enrolled at a local authority school, you don't need anyone's permission to educate them at home; it's simply your right as a parent. If your child is currently enrolled and you want to withdraw them to home educate, you need your local authority's consent to deregister them first.

That second point catches people out because it feels backwards compared to England, where you just notify the school. In Scotland, the council has a say in whether the deregistration itself goes ahead, though a straightforward, genuine home education plan is very rarely refused in practice.

Beyond that starting point, your council may ask for information about how you intend to educate your child, and most (not all) expect some form of annual update; see our piece on writing that report for what's actually expected.

None of this is legal advice, and every council administers the details slightly differently. The Scottish Government publishes home education guidance directly, and your own council's home education contact is the right first call if anything here doesn't match what you're being told locally.