Do I have to teach RE, British values and PSHE at home?
No. You are allowed to set these aside entirely, and many home educators do. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 (the law requiring you to provide a suitable education, not the National Curriculum) says nothing about Religious Education, British values or PSHE. These are school requirements, not home education requirements.
That said, most families find they are covering much of this ground without calling it by those names. The rest of this article explains what each topic actually involves, where it maps to a Montessori home education and how to describe the coverage if your Local Authority ever asks.
What is RE, and what does it look like in Montessori home education?
In maintained schools, Religious Education follows a locally agreed syllabus covering Christianity and at least five other principal religions. Schools must teach it. Home educators are not required to follow any RE syllabus.
If you choose to introduce world religions at home, a Montessori approach handles it through cultural studies. Classified cards (sets of picture-and-label cards for sorting and naming, a staple Montessori language material) work well here: a set on world religions, a set on festivals, a set on places of worship. Your child sorts, names and discusses without being tested.
Beyond cards, many families mark festivals across the year. Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah, Christmas, Vaisakhi, Chinese New Year. You do not need to celebrate them all. Reading about them, cooking a recipe, making a card for a neighbour who does celebrate, all of this counts.
If there is a mosque, synagogue, temple, church or gurdwara within reach, a visit is worth more than a dozen worksheets. If you live rurally and none of these is nearby, books and online virtual tours fill the gap. The BBC Teach "Religions" series is free and designed for primary-age children.
The point is exposure, not doctrine. A Montessori approach to world religions is non-judgemental: here is what people believe, here is how they worship, here is what matters to them. Your child does not have to agree. They have to know it exists.
What are the fundamental British values, and how does a Montessori family cover them?
The four "fundamental British values" were introduced in 2014 as a statutory requirement for maintained schools and academies. They are: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. Home educators are not subject to this requirement.
That said, if your LA asks about British values, you will want to be able to describe how your child encounters these ideas. Here is where a Montessori home education maps naturally, and where it needs a little deliberate framing.
Democracy. Grace and Courtesy lessons (the Montessori practice of explicitly teaching social skills such as greeting, asking for help, interrupting politely, apologising and declining) include family meetings where everyone has a voice. Voting on which book to read at the library, which park to visit, which recipe to cook for dinner. These are small acts of democracy your child practises daily.
The rule of law. This one is less automatic. Grace and Courtesy covers respecting agreed boundaries, but "the rule of law" in the British values sense means understanding that laws protect people and that everyone is subject to them. A conversation about why traffic lights exist, why libraries have return dates, or why the park has a gate is enough for a primary-age child. For older children, discussing a news story about fairness or justice extends the concept.
Individual liberty. Freedom within limits is a foundational Montessori principle. Your child chooses their work, moves freely within the prepared environment and makes real decisions about their day. This is individual liberty in action. Name it that way in your report.
Mutual respect and tolerance. Classified cards on world religions, visits to places of worship, friendships across your home-ed community. Peace Education (the Montessori practice of teaching conflict resolution, empathy and the study of human cooperation as a daily habit, not a one-off lesson) covers this directly. The peace rose or peace table (a quiet space where children go to resolve a disagreement calmly) is a concrete tool your child uses.
Be honest with yourself and your LA: some of these (specifically democracy and the rule of law as named concepts) benefit from deliberate framing. Your child may be living them daily, but an LA officer reading your report needs to see the connection made explicitly.
What is PSHE in home education, and what about RSE?
PSHE stands for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education. In primary schools it is non-statutory, meaning schools are expected to teach it but it is not a legal requirement. In secondary schools, the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) component became statutory in September 2020. Neither applies to home educators.
A Montessori home education covers a great deal of PSHE territory without naming it:
- Personal development. Practical Life (the Montessori area covering everyday skills such as cooking, cleaning, dressing, pouring, folding and caring for the environment) builds independence, concentration and self-care.
- Social development. Grace and Courtesy lessons build relationship skills: greeting a visitor, asking to borrow something, resolving a disagreement, saying no politely.
- Health. Cooking real food, caring for plants and animals, learning about the body through classified cards and conversation.
- Economic education. Shopping on a budget, handling coins, comparing prices at the supermarket, understanding that electricity costs money. These are practical life activities that happen in every household.
RSE specifically. This is the topic many home-educating parents put off. There is no statutory age or stage for your family, but the conversations are worth having honestly when your child asks or when you judge they are ready. The NHS website has clear, age-appropriate content written for parents.
Two books UK home-educating parents commonly recommend are It's Not the Stork by Robie Harris (written for the American market but covering ground that translates well, aimed at ages 4 and up) and The Care and Keeping of You by American Girl (aimed at older primary and early secondary, covering puberty and body care). If you prefer a UK-published resource, the Usborne What's Happening to My Body? series is widely available.
You do not need to teach a scheme. The earlier you have the conversations, the more you are setting the context rather than correcting it later.
How do I report this to my Local Authority?
The principle is the same as for every other subject: record in your own terms, translate in the report. Write the Montessori or home-ed name first, then add the NC area in brackets.
Here are some examples:
- "World religions classified cards and a visit to a local gurdwara (RE)."
- "Family meetings, voting on weekly plans, discussing rules and why they exist (British values: democracy, rule of law)."
- "Grace and Courtesy lessons, conflict resolution with the peace rose, discussing kindness and difference (PSHE, British values: mutual respect and tolerance)."
- "Honest age-appropriate conversations about the body, puberty and relationships, supported by NHS resources (RSE)."
You are not claiming to follow the school PSHE syllabus or the RE locally agreed syllabus. You are showing your LA that your child is encountering these ideas in a thoughtful, age-appropriate way. Whether you call it homeschool RE or Montessori cultural studies, the evidence speaks for itself. That is what "suitable" looks like in practice.
If your LA officer insists that British values teaching is a legal requirement for home educators, they are wrong. Calmly point them to the 2019 DfE guidance on elective home education, which makes no such requirement. If the pressure continues, contact IPSEA or Education Otherwise (see the help links below).
What does this look like in practice?
Aisha home-educates two children in Leicester: Yusuf (Year 3, age 7) and Maryam (Year 6, age 10). The family is Muslim, and Aisha was worried about how to handle RE and British values after a neighbour mentioned they were "mandatory".
One Saturday in October, a Hindu neighbour invites Yusuf and Maryam to her family's Diwali celebration. Aisha says yes. Before the visit, they look at a set of world religions classified cards together and find the Hinduism set.
Yusuf sorts the cards by "festival", "place of worship" and "symbol". Maryam reads the label cards aloud and asks about the difference between a mandir and a temple. Aisha does not have all the answers, so they look it up together.
The following week, the family holds their usual Monday meeting. They vote on which book to borrow from the library (Maryam wants a graphic novel about space; Yusuf wants a book about volcanoes; they compromise by getting both). Aisha uses this as a quiet example of democracy and records it in her notes.
In November, Aisha plans a visit to the local Sikh gurdwara. Leicester has several, and the nearest one offers open tours. Yusuf is curious about the langar (the communal kitchen). Maryam asks why everyone covers their head.
Aisha records the visit and the questions the children asked. That same month, Maryam, who is approaching puberty, asks Aisha a direct question about body changes. Aisha sits down with her that evening, uses the NHS website to answer the factual parts and reads a chapter of The Care and Keeping of You together. No fuss, no ceremony. The conversation happens because Maryam asked and Aisha was ready.
When the LA letter arrives in January, Aisha writes one paragraph per topic: "RE: world religions classified cards, a Diwali invitation and celebration with a Hindu neighbour, a visit to a Sikh gurdwara with follow-up discussion. British values: weekly family meetings with voting, discussion of rules and fairness, community involvement across faiths. PSHE: Grace and Courtesy lessons covering greeting, asking for help and resolving disagreements; honest RSE conversations using NHS resources."
The report takes twenty minutes to write. The coverage was already there.
Frequently asked.
- Is British values teaching a legal requirement for home educators?
- No. The fundamental British values requirement was introduced in 2014 for schools, not for home educators. You are not subject to it. If your LA suggests otherwise, they are mistaken, and you can point them to the 2019 DfE elective home education guidance.
- What if my Local Authority asks how I am teaching British values?
- Describe what you actually do. Family meetings, voting on choices, discussing fairness, community involvement and respect for others all count. You do not need to name British values as a subject. In your report, you can add a short note: 'Covered through family governance, Grace and Courtesy and community involvement (British values).'
- I am not religious. Do I have to teach RE?
- No, and even families who follow a faith are not required to teach a school-style RE syllabus at home. If you choose to introduce world religions, it is because you believe it broadens your child's understanding, not because the law demands it.
- When and how do I do RSE?
- When your child asks, or when you judge the time is right. There is no statutory age for home-educated children. The NHS website has clear, age-appropriate resources. Many UK parents also use books such as 'It's Not the Stork' (Robie Harris) for younger children and 'The Care and Keeping of You' (American Girl) for older ones.
- Are PSHE and Peace Education the same thing?
- Not exactly. PSHE is a school subject covering personal, social, health and economic topics. Peace Education is a Montessori practice centred on conflict resolution, empathy and interdependence. They overlap heavily (relationships, emotional regulation, community) but Peace Education also reaches into ecology, global awareness and the study of cooperation, which PSHE does not.
- How do I show RE coverage in my LA report?
- Name the Montessori or home-ed activity first, then add the NC area in brackets. For example: 'World religions classified cards and a visit to a local gurdwara (RE).' The LA wants to see that your child is encountering diverse perspectives, not that you have followed a syllabus.