Are local authority visits compulsory for homeschooling families?

Local authority home visits and home education: what families need to know

Are local authority visits compulsory for home educators? Why many homeschooling families choose not to accept LA visits.

From time to time, local authorities contact home ed families and ask for a home visit, a phone call, or samples of work. These requests are often presented as informal or supportive. Many families agree in good faith. It is important to understand why a large number of experienced home educators choose not to accept these requests, even when they know they have nothing to hide.

📌Voluntary does not mean without consequence.

Home ed families are not legally required to accept home visits, phone calls, or to provide work samples. These forms of engagement are currently voluntary, something the appalling Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill seeks to change. The difficulty is that when voluntary arrangements are widely accepted, they can begin to be treated as expected. Over time, families who choose not to take part may be viewed as uncooperative or suspicious, even though they are acting fully within the law. This shift can lead to increased pressure, inappropriate demands, and in some cases escalation that would not have occurred if clear boundaries had been maintained from the start.

📌Why visits carry particular risk.

Home visits are especially risky because they rely almost entirely on the judgement of one individual officer.

That officer may:

🔹Misunderstand informal or interest led learning

🔹Apply school based expectations that are not required by law

🔹Misinterpret special educational needs or disability

🔹Lack training or up to date knowledge of home education law

During a visit, notes may be taken and reports written. Families are not always shown these records. Concerns can be logged that feel minor at the time but may have serious consequences later, especially if staff change or policies tighten. What feels like a friendly conversation can quietly become part of a permanent record.

📌Written communication protects everyone.

The safest and most widely advised way to respond to local authority contact is in writing, on your own terms. This does not mean ignoring the local authority. It means choosing a form of communication that is clear, accurate, and documented.

Written responses allow families to:

🔹Think carefully about what they share

🔹Stick to what the law requires and no more

🔹Avoid misunderstandings

🔹Keep a record of what was said and when

Clear boundaries reduce risk for families and help prevent informal requests from becoming informal obligations.

📌Individual choices affect the wider community.

What one family agrees to can affect many others. When overreach becomes normalised, it weakens legal protections for all home ed families. This is often used to justify policy changes aimed at increased control, including proposals for mandatory monitoring or forced visits. These arguments are frequently supported by claims that most families already comply voluntarily. Many home education support groups exist because of repeated harm caused by local authority overreach. They continue to support families dealing with intimidation, legal threats, and long term stress that could often have been avoided if firmer boundaries had been in place earlier.

📌“The visit went well” and why that is not the whole picture.

Many families say a visit went well. That can be true in the short term. The problem is that circumstances change. Staff move on. Policies shift. What felt safe one year may be viewed very differently the next. Decisions made early on can resurface later in ways families did not expect. I accepted a visit myself many, many years ago. I felt confident, had nothing to hide, and believed cooperation was the sensible choice. With the knowledge and experience I have now, I would not make the same decision. That reflection comes up often among long term home educators.

📌The core point.

Home educating families have nothing to hide. But they do have everything to protect. Maintaining boundaries is not about secrecy or fear. It is about safeguarding children, preserving legal rights, and protecting the freedom of home education for the whole community. Informed decisions today help prevent harm tomorrow.