Family H. v. United Kingdom, dec., No. 10233/83, ECommHR, 6 March 1984

The provision of compulsory education and the imposition on parents of the obligation to educate their children through public school or private lessons does not breach  art. 2 of the first additional protocol to the ECHR.

Art. 2 Prot. 1 ECHR

1. Article 2 of protocol No. 1 to the ECHR does not guarantee an absolute right to have children educated in accordance with parents' philosophical convictions, but a right to respect for those convictions.

2. Article 2 of protocol No 1 to the ECHR implies a right for the State to establish compulsory schooling, be it in State schools or private tuition of a satisfactory standard. The verification and enforcement of educational standards is an integral part of that right . Therefore, to require the parents to cooperate in the assessment of their children's educational standards by an education authority, in order to ensure a certain level of literacy and numeracy, whilst, nevertheless, allowing them to educate their children at home, cannot be said to constitute a lack of respect for the parents’ rights under Art 2 of protocol No 1.