Home education in the Isle of Man: what the law says

This is where we live. When our son left school we mostly winged it, and it was fine. Having since read the law properly, here is what it actually asks of you.

You don't need anyone's permission for an ordinary school place. There is no routine monitoring or home visit in the law. The Department can step in if it appears your child isn't getting a suitable education.

Under section 24 of the Education Act 2001, it is the duty of every parent of a child of compulsory school age to cause them “to receive suitable education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise”. Home education is “otherwise”. Compulsory school age is 5 to 16.

1. 1Write to the school saying your child will be educated at home. Under regulation 12 of the Education (Registration of Pupils) Regulations 2016, your child counts as withdrawn once they have stopped attending and the school has your written notice.
2. 2The school must then take your child's name off its register (regulation 13). No consent is needed for an ordinary school place.

The exceptions:if the Department arranged a special school place, the name can't come off “without the consent of the Department”. The same applies to a “guest pupil” placed elsewhere by the Department or the school. And if a school attendance order is in force, you need to apply to the Department to revoke it first. It must agree unless it thinks your arrangements aren't satisfactory, and a refusal can be appealed to the court.

This is the big difference from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Section 24A of the Education Act 2001says the parent of a child who isn't at a Department school “must notify the Department in writing of the arrangements made for” their education.

• When: within 3 months of your child leaving a Department school, reaching compulsory school age, or moving to the Island. The Department can also ask you at any time, and then you have 21 days.
• What:your child's full name, address and date of birth, your name and address, and the name and address of whoever is doing the educating (usually you).
• How: DESC has a Home or Private Education Registration Form that asks for exactly this. It goes onto the Department's home and private education register. Tell them if anything changes, such as a new address or your child going back to school.
• If you don't: failing to notify without a reasonable excuse is an offence, with a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale.

The letter to the school and the notice to the Department are separate. We found nothing saying the school passes your notice on, so do both.

We found no power in the law for routine checks, annual reports or home visits, and the Island has no home education guidance of its own yet. The Department has said it “will produce and provide guidance for home education”.

What the law does have is section 25 of the 2001 Act. If it appears to the Department that your child isn't getting a suitable education, it must serve you a written notice giving you at least 15 days to show that they are, and it can ask for your child to be examined or assessed. If it still isn't satisfied, it can move to a school attendance order. It is a defence to show your child is getting a suitable education otherwise than at school.

The Act defines it: “suitable education” means “efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs”.

That is as far as Manx law goes. We found no definition of “efficient” or “full-time”, no required hours, and nothing applying the Island's curriculum to home education. In England and Wales those words are explained by court cases, but they aren't Manx law, so we won't present them as if they were.

Exams are a subject of their own, and we'll cover them separately.