Make GCSE exams free for home educated children under 18

We believe all children, regardless of their educational setting, deserve equal opportunities to access higher education and employment. We think that charging fees for GCSE exams for home-educated children creates an unfair disparity, as their peers in state-funded schools have these costs covered.

Parents who home educate their children assume full responsibility for that education and the costs associated with it, including the costs of taking exams. The Government recognises the considerable effort many parents put into ensuring their children receive a full-time, efficient, suitable education and the challenges that can be faced by some home educating families.

We are, as part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introducing a duty on local authorities to support home educating families on their Children Not in School registers by providing advice and information to families who request it. This could include advice and information about how to access and navigate the exams system.

For the first time, this will create an established baseline of support that ensures that, wherever home educating families live, they can have access to a reliable level of support from their local authority.

As part of this duty, some local authorities may choose to offer further support in the form of financial assistance or contributions for the cost of exams. However, this remains a decision for each local authority in respect of their individual circumstances.

Department for Education