Definitions

Some commonly used words and terms

These terms have been sorted in alphabetical order

• Autonomous education

An autonomous approach to learning allows the children to follow their own interests entirely while parents provide support and encouragement. It assumes that children are rational and creative by nature and know what interests them better than anyone else. In this way parents do not restrict their children's learning to particular times or places, nor do they prescribe any particular topic theme or subject matter.

• 'Efficient and suitable'

The Education Act does not define these words. However, at Worcester Crown Court in Harrison & Harrison v Stevenson (1981), parents appealed against their convictions for failure to comply with school attendance orders. The Court held that education is suitable to a child's age, ability and aptitude 'if, and only if, the education is such as:

• to prepare the child for life in modern civilised society, and
• to enable the child to achieve his full potential.
  In another court case DfES, ex parte Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School Trust (1985) a definition of suitable education was offered as follows:

' Education is 'suitable' if it primarily equips a child for life within the community of which he is a member, rather than the way of life in the country as whole, as long as it does not foreclose the child's options in later years to adopt some other form of life if he wishes to do so.'

• Flexi-schooling

Flexi-schooling is the term given to an arrangement between parents and their child's school, which allows the child to be educated part time at school and part time at home. This can be a short or long-term measure and is legal so long as the head teacher agrees to the arrangement. Your child will follow the National Curriculum at school but you will not have to use it at home unless you chose to.

• Full time education

 There is no legal definition of full-time education. The hours set for children to be in school do not apply to children educated at home. Children are often taught on a one-to-one basis, or in small groups at home, in conditions very different to schools.

• Parent

In education law the definition of 'parent' includes natural parents as well as anyone who has parental responsibility as defined by the 1989 Children Act, or who has care of a child. There may be people other than natural parents who have responsibility for, and are entitled to be consulted about, a child's education.

• Statutory school age

The compulsory age for a child to start full time education in the UK is at the beginning of the school term after the child's fifth birthday

Your child is still of compulsory school age until the last Friday in June in the school year in which they turn 16. The government recently announced plans to change the school leaving age. From the school year 2013/14 every child will need to be in education or training until the age of 18.