NOT true. There are plenty of laws regulating homeschoolers.
Responsibility of Parents
The responsibility of parents is clearly established in section 7 of the Education Act 1996 (previously section 36 of the Education Act 1944):
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable
1. to his age, ability and aptitude, and
2. to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
.[/QUOTE]
and here is how the monitoring happens
Definition of Suitable Education
An interpretation of some terminology used in the Education Act 1944 (replaced by the 1996 Act) was provided by an appeal case which was brought at Worcester Crown Court in 1981 (Harrison & Harrison v Stevenson). In this case, the judge defined a ‘suitable education’ as one which was such as:
1. to prepare the children for life in modern civilised society, and
2. to enable them to achieve their full potential.
The diversity of modern society and styles of education give parents considerable freedom of choice in enabling children to achieve their potential. In the case of R v Secretary of State for Education and Science, ex parte Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School Trust (1985) (Times, 12 April 1985) Mr Justice Woolf held that:
education is ‘suitable’ if it primarily equips a child for life within the community of which he 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.
Examining the meaning of the expression full-time shows the hours spent on teaching in schools are not relevant to home education, which generally takes place on a one-to-one basis, or in small groups, in very different conditions.
Provided the child is not a registered pupil at a school, the parent is not required to provide any particular type of education, and is under no obligation to
have premises equipped to any particular standard
have any specific qualifications
cover the same syllabus as any school
adopt the National Curriculum
make detailed plans in advance
observe school hours, days or terms
have a fixed timetable
give formal lessons
reproduce school type peer group socialisation
match school, age-specific standards
seek permission to educate 'otherwise'
take the initiative in informing the local authority
have regular contact with the local authority
Duty of Local Authorities
Sections 437 to 443 of the Education Act 1996 place a duty upon local education authorities to take certain actions if it appears that a child is not being properly educated.
If it appears to a local education authority that a child of compulsory school age in their area is not receiving suitable education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, they shall serve a notice in writing on the parent requiring him to satisfy them within the period specified in the notice that the child is receiving such education. (s 437 (1))
The local authority’s legal duty is concerned solely with children who appear not to be receiving suitable education. Beyond this, nothing in the Act requires a local authority to carry out regular monitoring of provision where a child is receiving education otherwise than at school.
However, case law (Phillips v Brown, Divisional Court [20 June 1980, unreported]) has established that a local authority may initially ask parents who are educating their children at home for information in order to assess whether it appears to the local authority that no suitable education is being provided.
In other words, the UK gov does not step in until there is a suspicion of educational neglect
