I count myself and our family lucky as people who live in the UK and ‘home educate’ we have so much freedom and little regulation in how we do our learning.  The freedom is amazing and I’m thankful we are not burdened with stressful regulations.  It allows us to be us and to focus, change and adapt as we see fit.

I mention this as I came across an interesting summary of a recent report of the state of home education policies across Europe.  The UK and Netherlands are the only two countries without regulation.  

I do worry that my grand kids won’t have the same freedoms and I have to admit that inspires me to continue writing here and to help grow a stronger community around who we are and what we do.

The heading “Home education is authorised at the request of parents in the majority of countries” could be read in a positive light, but it becomes clear as one progresses through the small print that the opening summary was actually more realistic: “In a dozen countries, it [HE] is possible only in exceptional circumstances. In many cases, parents have to ask for authorisation from top level or local authorities. The qualification or the minimum educational level of the educator is defined in half of the countries. Students’ progress is monitored and assessed everywhere except in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom where no regulation exist. Students must pass examinations at the end of the education level in some cases.” 

https://he-byte.uk/gb/home-education-policies-in-europe/

The official Home Education Policies in Europe report/PDF can be downloaded here.