The DfE 18 hours figure explained

The DfE 18-hour figure is used when considering whether a setting provides education on a full-time basis. It comes from operational guidance. This page gives general information, not legal advice.

Where does the 18-hour figure come from?

The figure is not defined in the Education and Skills Act 2008. The offence appears in Section 96, but that provision does not define a weekly number.

The Department for Education's registration guidance uses eighteen hours per child each week as a practical threshold. Although it is guidance rather than legislation, it matters because regulators use it when assessing actual provision.

Why is the measure per child?

The question is how long each child attends, not how many hours a setting opens. A setting may open for thirty hours while an individual child attends twelve. Registers should show each child's actual attendance.

The wider registration test also considers the child's age, the number of children served, whether they receive their main education there and whether any child has an EHCP or is looked after by a local authority.

What if a family uses more than one setting?

Families may combine sessions at home, co-ops, community groups and specialist activities. Each provider should be clear about the time each child attends.

The parent's Section 7 duty continues across the whole week. Read the home-education centre versus unregistered school guide for the broader statutory boundary.

The centre's 16-hour ceiling

Alamiyah Home Education Centre limits each child to sixteen hours per week. Members may attend four morning sessions from Monday to Thursday, each lasting four hours and ending before lunch. Friday is not a session day.

The limit sits two hours below the Department for Education's eighteen-hour working threshold. It applies only to attendance at the centre. The family's wider plan and legal duty under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 remain with the parent. Read your legal position and our approach.

What changes when a child has an EHCP?

The registration threshold can change when a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan. A single child with an EHCP may bring a setting within the registration regime even when fewer than five children attend and their hours are below the 18-hour threshold.

Alamiyah Home Education Centre does not provide EHCP placements. Families should speak to their local authority about registered provision able to support the Plan.

Does the figure apply to home education itself?

No. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 places responsibility on parents for an efficient and suitable education, but does not set a numerical minimum or maximum for the family's week.

The eighteen-hour figure helps regulators assess a setting. It does not prescribe a parent's home-education timetable. For a plain-English account of Section 7 read Section 7 explained.

Check current guidance

This page gives general information, not legal advice. Guidance and legislation can change, so compare this explanation with the latest official sources. The central parent duty remains in Section 7 of the Act. For general information, see gov.uk/home-education.