Key Facts
| Legal status in England | Most pupils at full-time online schools are registered as electively home educated; the parent keeps the section 7 duty |
|---|---|
| Accreditation | Voluntary DfE online education accreditation scheme for England; Ofsted visits; accredited providers listed on Get Information About Schools |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly.
Online homeschooling in the UK usually means one of three things: enrolling a child in a full-time online school, building a home education around one-to-one online tutors, or a parent leading the education with online courses and resources. All three are legal ways to home educate, and they suit different children and families. Below are how online schools work and what their legal status is, how tutor-led home education compares, what to check before choosing a provider, and how to combine the approaches.
The three main approaches
| Feature | Full-time online school | Tutor-led home education | Parent-led with online resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who plans the curriculum | The school | The parent, with the tutors | The parent |
| Teaching format | Live or recorded group lessons on a timetable | One-to-one or small-group sessions, booked as needed | Courses, videos and practice platforms |
| Pace | Set by the class | Set by the child | Set by the child |
| Subject choice | The school's curriculum and options | Any subject a tutor can teach | Any subject with suitable resources |
| Exams | Some schools act as, or arrange, an exam centre | The family arranges a centre as private candidates | The family arranges a centre as private candidates |
| Social contact | Classmates online; some schools run clubs and meet-ups | Through activities and groups the family arranges | Through activities and groups the family arranges |
| Parent's role | Supervision and support | Coordination, with less direct teaching | Teaching and planning |
How online schools work
A full-time online school teaches a timetable of live lessons, usually in classes, with homework, reports and often a route to GCSEs, IGCSEs or A-levels. Some follow the English national curriculum, and others teach a British-style curriculum for international families. Lessons may be live, recorded, or a mix, and class sizes, contact hours and support vary widely between providers.
Online schools suit children who want the structure of a timetable and a class, and families where the parent cannot lead the teaching. They are less flexible on pace and subject choice, since the child follows the class.
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Enquire about this tutorThe legal position of online schools
In England, most children who attend a full-time online school are legally home educated, since the online school is not a registered school. Ofsted's accreditation reports on online schools note that the majority of their pupils are registered as electively home educated and placed by their parents. The parent therefore keeps the legal duty to make sure the child receives a suitable full-time education, and the council can make the same informal enquiries it would for any home-educated child. Both are explained on the home education in England page.
The Department for Education runs a voluntary accreditation scheme for online providers of full-time education in England. Under the scheme, Ofsted visits providers and checks them against a set of online education standards, and the Department decides whether to accredit them. Accredited providers are listed on Get Information About Schools, and a provider should not claim to be accredited until the Department has confirmed it. The scheme is non-statutory, so an online school can operate without accreditation, and families should check the provider's status on Get Information About Schools before enrolling.
How tutor-led home education works
In tutor-led home education, the parent keeps the role of planning the education and brings in tutors for some or all subjects, often online. Sessions are usually one to one, so the work can follow the child's pace and interests, and the parent can choose a specialist for each subject. Many families combine tutors for the subjects a parent prefers not to teach, such as GCSE sciences or a modern language, with parent-led learning in others.
This approach suits children who learn best one to one, children with special educational needs who need a tailored pace, and students working towards exams as private candidates who need specialist preparation. It takes more coordination from the parent than an online school, since the parent arranges the timetable, the tutors and the exam centre.
Questions to ask before choosing a provider
- Is it accredited, or has it been visited by Ofsted under the accreditation scheme? Check Get Information About Schools and read any published report.
- How much live teaching is there each week, and in what class sizes?
- Which curriculum and exam boards does it follow, and does it arrange exam entries?
- How does it support special educational needs and access arrangements?
- How are safeguarding and online safety handled?
- What reports and feedback do parents receive?
- What are the fees, the notice period and any extra costs, such as exam entries?
For tutors, the questions are similar: qualifications and subject experience, DBS checks, how progress is reported, and how sessions are run online.
Combining the approaches
Many families combine approaches over time. A child might start with parent-led learning in primary years, add tutors for mathematics and English, and move to a mix of online courses and specialist tutors for GCSEs. Others use an online school for a core timetable and add a tutor for a subject that needs extra support or for exam technique. The home education curriculum page suggests what to cover at each age, and the home education resources page lists free and paid materials.
Costs
Online school fees, tutor fees and resource costs vary widely, and the right comparison depends on how many subjects and hours a family needs. The home schooling costs page sets out the main costs, including exam entries, and the home schooling funding guide explains what financial help exists.
Related guides
- Home schooling in the UK: the law, deregistration and how to start
- Home education in England
- Home education curriculum by age
- Home education resources
- Pros and cons of home education
- Exam centres for private candidates
Tutoring for home-educated children with Taylor Tuition
Families who home educate often bring in an online tutor for the subjects a parent prefers not to teach, or alongside an online school for a subject that needs one-to-one support. More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and tutors who work with children hold an enhanced DBS check, and most are registered on the DBS Update Service.
Sessions run online for families across the UK and internationally, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject; there is no registration fee and the initial consultation is free.
Read more about our home education tutors, or send an enquiry and we reply with tutor recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
- Is online school legal in the UK?
- Yes. In England, a child at a full-time online school that is not a registered school is legally home educated, so the parent keeps the duty to make sure the education is suitable.
- Are online schools accredited in the UK?
- The Department for Education runs a voluntary accreditation scheme for online providers in England, with Ofsted visits. Accredited providers are listed on Get Information About Schools, and families can check a provider there.
- Is online school better than a tutor?
- They suit different children. An online school gives a timetable and a class, while tutor-led home education gives one-to-one teaching at the child's pace and a free choice of subjects, with more coordination from the parent.
- Can my child sit GCSEs through an online school?
- Some online schools act as, or arrange, an exam centre. Otherwise the family enters the child as a private candidate at a centre that accepts private entries.
- Does the council check on children at online schools?
- In England, children at unregistered online schools are home educated, so the council can make the same informal enquiries about the suitability of their education as for any home-educated child.
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