L-03-E · Legal
Legal Compass
England’s framework, without the jargon.
The English home-education legal framework without the jargon — Section 7, deregistration, local authority enquiries, School Attendance Orders, and SEN and EHCP considerations. What the law actually says.
18 min read
England
Updated August 2026
Legal
This guide covers England.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have different legal frameworks. This guide provides general information, not legal advice — for situations involving School Attendance Orders, EHCPs, or LA disputes, seek advice from organisations such as…
The rest of this guide
With an account you get every remaining section, in full — the same headings you see here, written through to the end.
- 02Section 7. This is where everything begins.
- 03What “suitable” actually means.
- 04How to legally leave school.
- 05What local authorities can and cannot do.
- 06How to respond.
- 07What an SAO is and when it happens.
- 08SEN, EHCPs & Special Schools. The specific picture for SEN families.
- 09Where to go from here.
