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Free guides for UK home-educating families — written by people who've been there. No sign-up required. Browse before you commit.
The essentials
Where every home-educating family should startDeregistration Guide
How to leave school properly.
What deregistration actually means, how to do it correctly, what you don't have to say, and what comes next once the letter is sent.
Read the guide → F1 F · Foundations · F-02The Great Reset
How to deschool — and find your confidence.
Why deschooling matters, how long it takes, and how to build a structure that works without recreating school at home.
Read the guide → F2 F · Foundations · F-03 · EnglandLegal Compass
England — your rights. Simply stated.
Section 7, deregistration, LA enquiries, School Attendance Orders, and SEN & EHCPs — the English home-education legal framework without the jargon.
Read the guide → F3 F · Foundations · F-03b · ScotlandLegal Compass — Scotland
Scotland — collaborative, rights-based, distinct.
Scotland's framework is meaningfully different — s.30 Education (Scotland) Act 1980, UNCRC incorporated in law, consent to withdraw, and a collaborative LA relationship built into the guidance.
Read the guide → F3b F · Foundations · F-03c · WalesLegal Compass — Wales
Wales — ALN, IDPs, Estyn, and Curriculum for Wales.
Wales uses different terminology — ALN not SEN, IDP not EHCP, Estyn not Ofsted. The Curriculum for Wales exists, and you are not required to follow it. What the law actually says for Welsh families.
Read the guide → F3c F · Foundations · F-04The Wellbeing Act
What just changed, and what hasn't yet.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 — what it says, what's in force now, and what doesn't apply until 2027 at the earliest.
Read the guide → F4 F · Foundations · F-05Finding Your Why
Find your why before your what.
Charlotte Mason, Montessori, unschooling, eclectic — an honest tour of philosophies to help you find what fits your family's values.
Read the guide → F5Know your rights, keep your records
Compliance portfolio · LA written response · Council reportsThe Compliance Portfolio
Records, without the dread.
How to track learning, document progress, and produce reports that satisfy local authorities without turning your home into an admin office.
Read the guide → R1 R · Records · R-02The Written Response
Replying to the LA, on the page.
A complete template for your LA's annual enquiry — what to include, what to leave out, and sample phrasing for everything they're allowed to ask.
Read the guide → R2 R · Records · R-03Council Reports
Cooperative without capitulating.
What to send when the council asks about your provision — a full template, tone guidance, what to include, and six things to leave out.
Read the guide → R3Get out into the world
Village · outdoor learning · real-world projectsThe Village
It takes a village. Even when you're the school.
Why home education works best as a community endeavour, and how to build the network of people, places, and connections that make it sustainable.
Read the guide → C1 C · Community · C-02Beyond the Four Walls
Why context beats curriculum.
How home education works best when it uses the world as a classroom — and the practical case for getting outside, visiting places, and learning on location.
Read the guide → C2🚀 Looking for real-world learning?
Child-led projects and Into Industry visits live outside the library — they're things you do, not guides you read.
Specific needs and finding providers
SEN & home education · vetted directorySEN & Home Education
When you remove the barriers.
What actually changes when a SEN child starts being educated at home — why so many families see significant differences in weeks, and how to build the right team.
Read the guide → S1 S · Specialist · S-02The Vetted Directory
Trusted providers, ready to help.
Find DBS-checked, insured, parent-reviewed home-ed providers across the UK — tutors, classes, workshops, and project leaders, all in one place.
Browse the directory → S2GCSEs and formal qualifications
AQA Maths · AQA English · more comingGCSE Access for Home Educators
Costs, centres, and the free GCSEs question.
The real cost of sitting GCSEs as a private candidate, how to find an exam centre, key deadlines, the government's current position on free exams, and why most home educators choose iGCSEs.
Read the guide → Q0 Q · Qualifications · Q-01AQA Maths
AQA Maths, demystified.
What's actually examined, how the grading system works, how to enter as a private candidate, and what good preparation looks like for home-educated students.
Read the guide → Q1 Q · Qualifications · Q-02AQA English Language & Literature
AQA English, demystified.
What's actually examined in both English GCSEs, the speaking complication for home-educators, and when an IGCSE alternative serves you better.
Read the guide → Q2 Q · Qualifications · Q-03AQA Food Preparation & Nutrition
Growing, cooking, and the GCSE that connects them.
The organic farming content that maps directly onto home-ed projects, the coursework complication for private candidates, and why home educators are often ahead of school pupils on this qualification.
Read the guide → Q3Project briefings
Pre-visit reading for families joining LifeLearn projects
🚀 Pilot project
Water Purification Plant Tour
A pre-visit briefing for families joining LifeLearn's first Into Industry pilot. Six stages, five sciences, one morning.
Read the briefing →More briefings coming
Into Industry visits are being planned across the UK. Briefings are published here for registered families.
See upcoming visits →Ready to find your people?
Join the community — groups, conversations, and a growing programme of real-world projects. Free for home-educating families, always.