What is Suitable Education?

“The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him/her to receive efficient full time education ..”

“Efficient” and “suitable” education are not defined in the Education Act 1996 but “efficient” has been described in case law as an education that “achieves that which it sets out to achieve”, and a “suitable” education is one that “primarily equips a child for life within the community of which he/she is a member, rather than the way of life in the country as a whole, as long as it does not foreclose the child’s options in later years to adopt some other form of life if he wishes to do so and to be capable of living on an autonomous basis as far as he or she chooses to do so.” However, it should enable a child to participate fully in life in the UK by including specific secular education.  

There is no legal definition of what constitutes “Full-time” education, either at school or in the home.  Wokingham Borough Council will view ‘full-time’ on a spectrum whereby education which manifestly is not occupying a significant proportion of a child’s life (with allowances for holiday periods) will probably not meet the section 7 requirement. 

Wokingham believes that school-based education provides a broad and balanced curriculum, which promotes social development, moral and spiritual awareness and equal opportunities. However, Wokingham also values other educational provision available for children, including those arrangements made by parents through Elective Home Education (EHE).  It is recognised that there are many approaches to educational provision and what is suitable for one child may not be for another. The provision will reflect the home educator's philosophy, approach or framework for the education of their child.