Guest Author - Terrie Lynn Bittner

Since I’m not in Scotland, I am relying on other sources for this information. Please verify for currently accurate information.

Homeschooling in Scotland is more or less legal. If a child has attended a traditional school for even one day, the parents must obtain permission to homeschool, and this permission would include getting the curriculum approved. However, it appears that the grounds for approval have not really been court tested. Parents are told that when they withdraw their children from school, they should refer to Section 30 of the Education (Scotland) Act of 1980, which is the section that makes homeschooling legal. It sates that parents must ensure a child is being educated, either in school or by other means. Parents can be forced to prove education is happening, either by submitting a report or showing a lesson in progress.

In 2004, an article in Scotland on Sunday said that the leading cause of homeschooling in Scotland is fear of violence and bullying. The article reports that 47 percent of violent acts against children happen at school.

Education Otherwise states that if your child has never been to school, you don’t have to declare that you will be homeschooling. However, if they find out, they’re entitled to ask you about it, although they are also required to presume you are doing just fine.

Does homeschooling work? An article in the Guardian states that a study done of home educated Scottish children showed that “80.4% of home educated children were at the same level in their studies as the top 16% of school educated children.” Similar results have been established in the United States and other countries. What we’re learning from homeschooling is that the formal training of teachers isn’t particularly important when it comes to educating your own children. After all, parents begin teaching their own children from the moment they’re born. Every good parent is a good teacher, and teaching reading or math is no more difficult than teaching toilet training or manners. When a home is filled with an academically rich environment, and a constant quest for knowledge, homeschooling is often more successful than traditional schooling because it has the factors we already know are most important for educational success: Parental environment, small class size, and personalized education.

There are many support groups for parents all over Scotland and even more resources online. With a few hours of research, you can quickly have at hand all the resources you could want for teaching your child at home. Childhood is short—don’t outsource it!