HE & the LA

This is Cambridgeshire specific, so does not apply to the country as a whole, where many LAs have very different approaches. It is, therefore, not to be used as an indication of how any other HE community and their LA operates.

Cambridgeshire HEors generally have a very good working relationship with the Local Authority (LA). Historically, this has not always been the case, but over the last 17 or so years, both the Cambridgeshire Local Authority (LA) and the Cambridgeshire HEing community have been working very hard to improve things.

It is often estimated that about half of all HEors are ‘unknown’ to the Local Authority, so many will never come into contact with the LA. Therefore, just as many are going to have to work with the LA at some point throughout their HEing journey, so it is nice to know what to expect.

This page gives you information on how contact with the LA is usually made, how confirmation of HEIng is given, the pros and cons of communicating with the LA and relevant links.

Connecting with Other HEors

You can connect with other HEors either in the real world or the virtual one, nationally or locally, depending on what you need. These are not definitive lists, but they should get you started.

With 1000+ home educated children in Cambridgeshire alone, and a figure that is constantly rising year on year, it is easier now than ever to make connections with other HEors… just so long as you know where to find them.

Most start by joining the internet HE forums. Nearly all the forums are on Facebook these days, although one or two are still email based.

The national groups are great if you are wanting to chat online, or find out HE things of a legal or technical nature, but people tend to head for the local lists if they are wanting to meet up with others face-to-face or ask area specific questions.

This page gives you information on the main groups to join, how to get into groups and where to find out about organised school trips.

HE Links

There are loads of fantastic sites out there, so far from being a definitive lists, this is just a taste of what information is available, and the ones people regularly use and look for.

A mixture of local and national sites, and HE specific and more general sites. This page shares links to some of the most requested information required by home educators.

Many of the HE specific sites are more suited to some than others, so the links are accompanied by teeny, tiny reviews to help differentiate one from another, but if they’re not helpful, just ignore them and they might go away.

This page gives you information on local and national HE sites, sites for HEors with SEND, exam sites and healthcare & self-referral.

Local Resources and Trips

A huge chunk of these are national trips and resources, but due to a heavy focus on Cambridge based things, ‘local’ wins over ‘national’. Again, these are not definitive lists, but just a place to start. 

The aim of this page is to give you a little bit of inspiration and a place to start when embarking on new projects with your children or if you have just hit a ‘stale’ spot and want to be reminded of old resources that spur you on again.

This page gives you information on local and national organisations that organise groups specifically for HEed children, local events of interest to HEors, school trip ideas and sites that are handy for general learning.