If they never go to school they are off radar, so to speak, and you won't get bother by the ed department, but taking a kid out of school once they are in it.....now thats another story!
I just wanted to say that this is probably a good thing (to be 'bothered' by the education department), kids get taken out of school for more sinister reasons than to be home schooled and the education department need to follow it up just in case. It worries me quite a lot that kids might be off the radar if they're home schooled from the start.
But the vast majority of reports to child protection services come from within the community, not from schools and the education department.
Plus home educated children are not 'off the radar' they are registered with doctors, HVs, dentists, brownies etc.
The education departments often don't like home education as you cannot show a set curriculum and the children sitting down at set times to do set lessons. Instead it's a much more fluid experience.
Education departments can be very awkward and put a lot of obstacles in your way, which is why the home education community fights so hard to not have to be 'registered' with the education depts.
The fact of the matter is that if you are an abusive of neglectful parent it's a lot easier to send your child to school than to have them underfoot all day every day.