This publication provides data reported by local authorities on children of compulsory school age (opens in a new tab) in elective home education (EHE) in England.
EHE is a term used to describe a choice by parents to provide education for their children at home instead of sending them to school full-time.
EHE is different to Education provided by a local authority Otherwise Than At a School (i.e. EOTAS) - for example, tuition for children who are too ill to attend school. Such children are not counted in these figures. EHE is also different to children missing education (CME) who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. A separate release has been published relating to CME.
The information in this release is based on the Elective Home Education and Children Missing Education data collection. The collection from local authorities started in autumn 2022 and became mandatory in autumn 2024. The proportion of local authorities providing data reached 100% for the first time in summer 2024. As a relatively new data collection we expect the quality of the data returns to continue to improve over time as the collection becomes established.
This release is published as official statistics in development, which means that these statistics are undergoing evaluation for quality and user need. We welcome feedback on these statistics via the details in the “contact us” section below.
This publication is updated annually, the next release in winter 2025 will include termly data collected up to autumn 2025.
As at census date in autumn 2024, local authorities reported 111,700 children in elective home education (EHE). This is an increase from an estimated 92,000 in the previous autumn term. (The proportion of local authorities providing data reached 100% for the first time in summer 2024, the previous autumn term estimate includes adjustments made for non-response and is based on a figure of 87,700 reported by 95% of local authorities.)
During autumn 2024, local authorities also reported the total number of EHE children over the 2023/24 academic year; where a child was in EHE more than once during the year, they should only be recorded once. A reported 153,300 children were EHE at any point during the 2023/24 academic year, increasing from an estimated 126,100 in the previous academic year.
As this is a relatively new data collection, which first became mandatory in autumn 2024, increases are likely to be in part due to improvements in data quality. Please see the Data Quality section for further information.
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Includes responses to the question - What support does your local authority offer to EHE children and their families?
Local authorities reported 111,700 children in elective home education on census day in autumn 2024. This includes children of compulsory school age (opens in a new tab) who are resident in the local authority and the local authority are aware of being electively home educated on census date. The rate of EHE was 1.4% of the population of comparable ages (based on ONS mid-year population estimates (opens in a new tab) for children aged 5 to 16 years).
In autumn 2024/25, EHE increased by an estimated 19,700 compared to the previous autumn term. However, EHE decreased by 6,200 compared to summer term 2023/24. The number of EHE children has increased each autumn since the start of the data collection and the seasonal decrease from the summer term is as expected as some EHE children obtain their school preference, and the cohort of previous year 11 children cease to be of compulsory school age.
As this is a relatively new data collection, which first started in autumn 2022 and became mandatory in autumn 2024, increases are likely to be in part due to improvements in data quality. Please see the Data Quality section for further information.
The table below provides the primary reason why a pupil was EHE. Of those reasons known or provided, the most reported in autumn 2024 were ‘mental health’ (14%) and ‘philosophical or preferential reasons’ (14%), followed by ‘lifestyle choice’ (9%).
Of the primary reasons given, more than 4 in 10 continued to be recorded under ‘unknown to the LA’, ‘other’, or ‘parent did not provide a reason’.
The proportion of children in EHE varies by characteristics. The figures below relate to autumn 2024 but trends remain similar to previous years.
Sex - 51% of EHE children were reported as female and 48% of EHE children were reported as male (the rest were unknown). This compares to 49% of the overall school population as female and 51% male as at January 2024.
Year group – The number of EHE children increased as the expected year group increased, from 3% expected to be in year group 1 to 19% expected to be in year group 11. Over a third of EHE children were expected to be in either year groups 10 or 11.
Ethnicity - 64% of EHE were of White ethnicity, 5% were of Mixed ethnicity, 4% were of Asian ethnicity, 3% were of Black ethnicity and 2% other ethnicity. The remaining 22% had refused to provide their ethnicity or were unknown.
Special educational needs (SEN) *- 16% of EHE children had an additional requirement of SEN support, while 6% of EHE children had an education, health and care plan. This compares with 14% and 5% respectively for the overall school population.
Children in need * - 1% of EHE children were recorded as a child in need, while 0.5% were recorded as having a child protection plan and <0.5% were a looked after child. This compares with 3% children in need, 0.4% having a child protection plan and 0.7% looked after children amongst the overall child population.
*SEN provision and Child in need status was as known to the local authority as at the census day and therefore may exclude children who previously held these additional requirements and those for whom these requirements were not known.
The number and rate of elective home education varies across local authorities. Counts will vary depending on the population within the local authority, which may change over time, for example there can be higher numbers of EHE at the start of a school year as parents await their preferred school place and EHE in the meantime. High or low counts should not be used as a reflection of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ practice.
In autumn 2024 data was also collected on the number of children reported by local authorities as being EHE at any point during the previous academic year. Where a child was reported as EHE more than once, they are only recorded once. These are cumulative counts of all children reported by local authorities as EHE at some point in the academic year and are not directly comparable to the point in time figures presented as at census day each term.
Local authorities identified 153,300 EHE children, at any point during the 2023/24 academic year, increasing from an estimated 126,100 in 2022/23 and 116,300 in 2021/22.
As this is a relatively new data collection, which first became mandatory in autumn 2024, increases are likely to be in part due to improvements in data quality. Please see the Data Quality section for further information.
There were 71,500 children reported as starting in EHE during the 2023/24 academic year, increasing from an estimated 53,200 during 2022/23. An estimated 21,500 EHE children returned to a school setting during the 2023/24 academic year, increasing from 19,800 in 2022/23.
The table below shows, of those pupils who started EHE during the academic year, the previous school type attended by those pupils. The largest proportion of children in EHE had previously been in academies. This is reflective of the fact that a large proportion of secondary schools are academies and that a higher proportion of older children are EHE.
| School type | % |
|---|---|
| Academy | 49% |
| Local authority maintained | 25% |
| Home educated outside the local authority | 2% |
| Independent | 2% |
| Free school | 2% |
| None (previously not of compulsory school age) | 1% |
| Early years | 1% |
| Pupil referral unit | 1% |
| Alternative provision | <0.5% |
| Special | <0.5% |
| Elsewhere/unknown | 17% |
Source: EHE and CME census
A section 437(1) notice is issued by a local authority in advance of a school attendance order. Where it appears to the local authority that a child of compulsory school age is not receiving a suitable education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, then they must begin procedures for issuing a school attendance order (under section 437 of the Education Act 1996 (opens in a new tab)). The order will require the child’s parents to register their child at a named school. If they fail to comply with the order the parent can be prosecuted.
In the 2023/24 academic year, an estimated 7,000 section 437(1) notices were issued, an increase of almost 80% from the previous academic year. An estimated 2,100 school attendance orders were issued and 400 school attendance orders revoked in this period, both an increase from the previous year estimates. School attendance orders may be revoked because local authorities are able to conclude that the child is receiving suitable education, a court acquits a parent who had been prosecuted for breaching a school attendance order, the local authority applies for an education supervision order, or the child becomes no longer of compulsory school age.
Usage of section 437(1) notices and school attendance orders varied across the country. 30 local authorities reported issuing no section 437(1) notices whilst 54 local authorities reported issuing no school attendance orders.
The EHE data collection has been developed to:
The following considerations should be noted when using this data:
However, recording practices for EHE within local authorities are well established. As an indication, estimates in this release closely align with previous estimates produced by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (opens in a new tab) (ADCS), noting that this release uses a different uprating methodology so is not directly comparable.
EHE counts will vary depending on the population within the local authority, which may change over time, for example there can be higher numbers of EHE at the start of a school year as parents await their preferred school place and EHE in the meantime. High or low counts should not be used as a reflection of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ practice.
As this is a new data collection since 2022/23, we expect the quality of the data returns to continue to improve over time as the collection becomes established. For example, reductions in the number of unknown values for detailed breakdowns and increased response rates.
Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.
These statistics are undergoing a development. They have been developed under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics and published to involve users and stakeholders at an early stage in assessing their suitability and quality.
They have been produced as far as possible in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:
Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.
If you have a specific enquiry about Elective home education statistics and data:
If you have a media enquiry:
Telephone: 020 7783 8300
If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:
Telephone: 037 0000 2288
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