Home educating in Tower Hamlets and Redbridge: what families need to know

Families in Tower Hamlets and Redbridge home educate for the same reasons as everywhere else: a child who is unhappy at school, a family that has moved, or a parent who simply wants to teach their child their own way. Here is what applies in these two boroughs.

The legal basics in both boroughs

Both boroughs sit under the same English law: parents must provide a suitable full-time education, and school is only one way of doing it. You do not need permission from either council, and there is no registration to complete.

Withdrawing from a school in Tower Hamlets or Redbridge

If your child is on the roll at a school in either borough, write to the headteacher asking for them to be taken off the admissions register. The school must accept it and will tell the local authority. You do not need the council's consent, and there is no interview or approval process.

What the councils can ask

Both authorities can make informal enquiries to satisfy themselves that a suitable education is taking place. You decide how to respond — usually a short written summary of your approach is plenty. Neither council can insist you follow the National Curriculum, keep school hours, or allow a visit to your home.

Free learning on your doorstep

Tower Hamlets gives you the Museum of London Docklands, Whitechapel Gallery and Spitalfields for history, art and migration studies. Redbridge has the Redbridge Museum and library in Ilford, Gidea Park, and Hainault Forest Country Park for science and geography days. Library activity sessions are free in both boroughs and are an easy way to add structure to a week.

Meeting other home-ed families

There is no single register of local home educators, so the council's home education team is the best first ask, along with East London home-education groups on social media and noticeboards at libraries and children's centres.

GCSEs and exam centres

Home-educated students in both boroughs sit GCSEs as private candidates at approved centres. Centres across East London take private candidates, but places fill quickly, so start looking 12–18 months before the exams. Our private-candidate GCSE guide for London families walks through subjects, deadlines and costs.

Next step

Growing Roots Academy is based in Newham, just over the border from both boroughs, and teaches live online from Key Stage 1 to GCSE. Tower Hamlets and Redbridge families join the same small-group classes as everyone else — browse our courses and fees, or register your interest and we will talk it through.