Purple Ruler Academy, a live online school day for home-educating families

We know why you are here

You are carrying the whole education. You do not have to carry the teaching.

Most of the children who join us have been out of school for a long time. Some stopped going because of anxiety, some because school became a battle every morning, some were excluded, and some are simply waiting for a place that has not come. Whatever brought you here, your child is still owed a proper education, and you should not have to teach every subject yourself to give them one.

Purple Ruler Academy is the teaching team you bring in. Your child gets a timetable, a class, and the same teacher week after week. You stay the parent, and if you home educate you stay the home educator. You decide how much of the week we cover.

A real timetable, not a pile of worksheets. Live lessons at set times, taught by experienced teachers who know your child's name.
Small classes. Up to six children, so nobody sits at the back and nobody is lost.
Built for children who found school hard. Calm, quiet, and paced to your child rather than to a bell.
Inspected. We are registered with the Department for Education and inspected by Ofsted, with a report you can read for yourself.

111,700

children in England were being educated at home in autumn 2024, according to the Department for Education

Mental health

is the most common reason families give for home educating

Live

every lesson is taught in real time by a real teacher. Nothing is pre-recorded and nothing is taught by AI

Source: Department for Education, Elective home education, 2024 to 2025.

How it works

Four steps, and none of them involve paperwork.

There is no application, no catchment area and no waiting list. You tell us about your child, we place them in the right class, and they start.

You tell us about your child

Their year group, how they are feeling about learning, and anything that helps us get it right. It takes a couple of minutes.

We find the right class

We match your child to a small class at their level, with an experienced teacher for each subject, and send you the timetable.

They try a free week

Real lessons with their real class. No card details and no obligation. If it is not right, you simply stop.

They keep going

A join link arrives before every lesson. You can see attendance and progress as it happens, and a written report lands every half term.

“Teachers' subject expertise and their effective use of assessment information ensure that each pupil receives carefully tailored, individualised teaching.”Ofsted · Purple Ruler inspection report, 2025

What your child gets

A live online school, not a tutor and not a website.

Academy is our online school. It is the only thing on this page, because for a child at home it is the thing that works: the same class, the same teachers, the same times every week.

📚

15 live lessons a week

English, Maths and Science, following the national curriculum, Monday to Friday inside the school day. A fuller timetable with wider subjects is available too, just ask us for the price.

👥

Classes of up to six

Small enough that the teacher knows your child, hears them, and notices on the day they are struggling.

🎓

A real teacher on screen

Experienced subject teachers, live, every lesson. Nothing pre-recorded, nothing marked by a machine.

📈

Attendance and progress in real time

You can see whether your child joined, and how they are getting on, as it happens rather than months later.

📝

A written report every half term

A proper report on what your child has covered and how they are doing, so you always have something to hold on to.

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Company, not isolation

Your child learns alongside other young people in the same position, which for many families is the part that changes first.

A week at a glance

What the 15 lessons actually look like.

This is an example week, to show the shape of the day. Exact lesson times are set when your child is placed in a class, and they stay the same each week so the routine becomes familiar.

15 live lessons a weekEnglish, Maths, ScienceMonday to Friday

Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
10:00 - 10:50	EnglishLive	MathsLive	ScienceLive	EnglishLive	MathsLive
10:55 - 11:45	MathsLive	ScienceLive	EnglishLive	MathsLive	ScienceLive
11:45 - 12:30	Break
12:30 - 13:20	ScienceLive	EnglishLive	MathsLive	ScienceLive	EnglishLive
13:25 - 14:15	Wider subjects, on the fuller timetableAsk us about adding these

English Maths Science Wider subjects, added on the fuller timetable

The core week is English, Maths and Science. Families who want more than that can add the fuller timetable with wider subjects. Ask us for the full-timetable price and we will send it to you.

A gentle start

Your child does not have to turn their camera on.

If your child has been out of school for a long time, the hardest part is not the Maths. It is being seen. So in the first weeks cameras and microphones can stay off. Your child can sit in the lesson, listen, type in the chat, and take part in the way that feels possible that day. Nobody is put on the spot, and nobody has to explain why.

Most children turn the camera on when they are ready, and some take a while. Both are fine. Coming often, even a little at a time, is what makes the difference.

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What Ofsted said about SEND

“A significant strength of Purple Ruler is the support that staff provide for pupils with SEND.”

Ofsted, 2025

Inspected, not improvised

The reassurance a private tutor cannot give you.

This is the part that matters most when you are letting teaching into your home. Most online tutoring is not inspected by anyone. We are registered with the Department for Education and inspected by Ofsted, and the report is published for anyone to read.

Purple Ruler meets all the standards for online education.

Inspected in October 2025 across curriculum, teaching, welfare and safety, staff suitability and leadership. DfE reference 152279.

Read the report

“Tutors are very responsive to my child's needs and keep them engaged in learning, they make my child feel at ease.”

Parent, quoted by Ofsted

“Teachers make effective use of technology to bring learning to life.”

Ofsted, 2025

Every lesson is taught by a teacher with an enhanced DBS check, and lessons are recorded and reviewed. There is a safeguarding address, safeguarding@purpleruler.com, and a way to report a concern in every email we send you.

How we keep your child safe

What you will see

You will not have to chase us for news.

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A join link before every lesson

Sent to you and to your child, so nobody has to hunt for it at ten to ten.

📊

Attendance as it happens

You can see which lessons your child joined, on the day, not at the end of term.

📋

Progress you can follow

How your child is getting on in each subject, updated as the teachers assess their work.

📧

A written report every half term

What they have covered, how they are doing, and what comes next.

👤

The same teachers

Your child is not passed around. They see the same faces each week, which is most of why the confidence comes back.

☕

Someone to talk to

Email learn@purpleruler.com and a person replies. If something is not working, we would rather hear it early.

What it costs

One price per child, per week. Nothing to pay up front.

These are the prices for the core week of English, Maths and Science: 15 live lessons. You are invoiced monthly, so there is no large payment at the start, and there is no registration fee.

Week by week

Pay as you go

£159 a week

Per child, 15 live lessons a week

Carry on week by week, with one week's notice to stop
English, Maths and Science
Best if you want to keep it open ended

Start this way

Most families A term at a time

Termly

£145 a week

13 weeks, £1,885 in total

A full term, so the routine has time to settle
English, Maths and Science
Invoiced monthly, not in one lump

Start this way

A school year

Annual

£139 a week

39 weeks, £5,421 in total

The whole school year, at the lowest weekly price
English, Maths and Science
Invoiced monthly across the year

Start this way

Work out your own cost

Choose a plan and how many children you are enrolling. The figures come straight from the prices above.

Which plan

How many children

£145

a week, for all the children you entered

£1,885

over a 13 week term

Core week only: English, Maths and Science. The fuller timetable with wider subjects is an extra, ask us for the price.

Prices are per child, per week, for the core week of English, Maths and Science. Invoiced monthly, with nothing to pay up front. Exam entry fees charged by the exam boards are not included. This page is for families paying for a place themselves. If your local authority or your child's school is funding the place, tell us and we will talk to them directly instead.

Your free trial week

Try a real week before you decide anything.

Your child joins their actual class, with their actual teachers, for a full week. You do not give us any card details, and there is nothing to cancel. At the end of the week you tell us whether to carry on.

Tell us about your child

The short form takes about two minutes. No school paperwork needed.

We send the timetable

Their class, their teachers, their lesson times, and how to log in.

They join real lessons

Cameras off if that helps. They can watch and listen for as long as they need to.

You decide

Carry on, change the plan, or stop. No pressure either way.

Questions parents ask

The things families want to know first.

Does this change our home education status?

No. If you home educate, you stay the home educator and you stay responsible for your child's education. Academy is teaching you choose to bring in. You decide how much of the week we cover and you can stop.

My child has been out of school a long time. Is that a problem?

It is the norm here, not the exception. Most children who join us have been out of school for a while, whether that is anxiety, being unable to face the school gate, an exclusion, or waiting for a place. Cameras and microphones can stay off in the first weeks, and teachers build from where your child actually is.

How big are the classes, really?

Up to six children. That is the maximum, not an average, and it is the reason a teacher can notice when one child has gone quiet.

Which subjects are in the weekly price?

The price covers 15 live lessons a week in English, Maths and Science, following the national curriculum. A fuller timetable with wider subjects is available as well. Ask us for the full-timetable price and we will send it.

When do the lessons happen?

Monday to Friday, inside the normal school day. Your child's timetable is set when they are placed, and it stays the same each week.

How do I pay, and can I stop?

You are invoiced monthly and there is nothing to pay up front. Pay as you go is £159 a week and you can stop with one week's notice. Termly is £145 a week for 13 weeks, and annual is £139 a week for 39 weeks.

Is the trial week really free?

Yes. Real lessons with a real class, no card details, no obligation, and nothing to cancel.

Are the teachers real, and are they checked?

Every lesson is taught live by an experienced teacher with an enhanced DBS check. Lessons are recorded and reviewed. Nothing is taught by AI. We are registered with the Department for Education, reference 152279, and inspected by Ofsted.

What if our council or school is paying?

Then this page is not quite the right one, and that is good news: tell us who is funding the place and we will speak to them directly about it.

If someone else is paying

Working with your council?

This page is for families arranging and paying for a place themselves. Some councils fund places with us directly, and if yours is one of them, or if your child has an EHCP and the council is looking at provision, we can talk to them instead of you having to relay it. Tell us who to contact and we will take it from there.

We already have pages set up with these authorities. If you are in one of them, start there.

Bath and North East Somerset

Bedford

Brighton and Hove

Lancashire Isle of Wight CouncilIsle of Wight

Not on the list? That is not a problem, and it does not slow anything down. Families arrange places with us directly every week. If you would like us to approach your council, email learn@purpleruler.com with your child's name and your authority, and we will make the call.

Talk to us

Start with a free week, or just ask us a question.

There is no sales script at the other end of this. Tell us about your child and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.

Book a call

A friendly conversation with a real person. Bring your questions, and we will help you work out whether Academy suits your child.

Choose a time

Enrol for a free trial week

The form takes about two minutes and asks only what we need to place your child in the right class. No card details.

Open the enrolment form

Prefer email? learn@purpleruler.com · Safeguarding: safeguarding@purpleruler.com

Purple Ruler · Ofsted registered and DfE accredited, reference 152279 · Read our report · Our policies