ELECTIVE HOME EDUCATION

Guidance

Up-dated – January 2011

CONTENTS

  1. Guidance statement
  1. Context of the guidance
  1. The legal background
  1. Summary of responsibilities:

4a. Responsibilities of parents

4b. Responsibilities of the Local Authority

  1. Children with special educational needs
  1. Safeguarding responsibilities
  1. Children moving to another local authority area
  1. Indicators for assessing the suitability of Elective Home Education
  1. Role of the officer for elective home education
  1. Processes for considering requests for EHE -flowchart

GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURE – Elective Home Education

1. Policy statement

Bedford Borough Council recognises the right of parents/carers to educate their children at home and is committed to working with parents/carers to ensure these children are provided with efficient, effective, full time education suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and individual needs within a safe environment.

2. Context of the policy

This policy has been developed in response to DCSF guidance on Elective Home Education published in 2007, as well as the Report to the Secretary of State on the Review of Elective Home Education in England by Graham Badman and published in June 2009.

The guidance sets out to:

  • Ensure that the Local Authority makes clear its responsibility to children/young people who are electively home educated and fulfils this through the processes detailed below.
  • Clarify expectations across the Local Authority for ‘efficient and suitable full-time home education’ support.
  • Ensure multi-agency good practice in keeping track of pupils educated at home that takes into account the Local Authority responsibilities for safeguarding children and young people.

The objectives of the policy are:

  • To establish clear procedures within the Local Authority for identifying, assessing and tracking the provision of home education.
  • To ensure clear guidance for all Local Authority professionals involved in assessing the suitability of education provided for pupils educated at home.
  • To ensure effective systems for recording information about the assessment and monitoring of suitable elective home education that is available to all relevant Local Authority professionals including those officers with specific responsibility for safeguarding children and young people.

3. The legal background/Current Legislation and Regulation

Parents/carers have a legal duty under 1996 Education Act to ensure their child/children to receive, “efficient, full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs he/she may have either by regular attendance at school or otherwise”. This may mean the child is educated at home if the circumstances allow curriculum access.

  • “Efficient” can be defined as “achieving what it sets out to achieve”.
  • “Suitable” was defined in a judicial review as “if it primarily equips a child for life within the community of which he is a member, rather than the way of life in the country as a whole, as long as it does not foreclose the child’s option in later years to adopt some other form of life”.
  • “Full time” does not need to mirror a school timetable but does mean that the guidance on the minimum hours spent on core subjects, English, Maths and Science is adhered to.

The legislation and/or guidance relevant to this policy are as follows:

  • Education Act 1996
  • Children Act 2004
  • Special Educational Needs Code of Practice
  • Education and Inspections Act 2006
  • Education (Pupil Registration)(England) Regulations 2006
  • Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006
  • Elective Home Education: Guidelines for Local Authorities 2009
  • Report to the Secretary of State on the Review of Elective Home Education in

England by Graham Badman

4. Summary of responsibilities

4a. Responsibilities of parents

  • Parents / carers are required to provide an efficient, full-time education suitable to the age, ability and aptitude of the child. This does not, however, mean that parents / carers must follow the national curriculum or enter their child for national assessments or examinations.
  • Parents / carers who choose to educate their children at home must be prepared to assume full financial responsibility, including bearing the cost of any public examinations.
  • When a child/young person is withdrawn from a school the parents/carers have 20 days in which to inform the Local Authority (Pupil Registration Regulations 1995), if Home Education is deemed appropriate then the child/young person’s name can be taken off the school roll. If at any time Home Education is not deemed appropriate, e.g. the right to education is being withheld or there are safeguarding issues, then the authority will put their concerns in writing to the parent, and note their intention to withdraw approval of the programme and refer to EWO/Children Missing Education Officer who may then start legal prosecution for failure to provide an appropriate education. The authority hopes that in most cases a reasonable resolution can be met through open and honest discussions, with the young person’s needs at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Parents / carers are encouraged to seek approval from The Local Authority to educate their children at home and must if their child attends a special school.

  • When the Local Authority ask parents / carers for information about a child’s education, they should provide it. Parents / carersare requested to provide evidence that would persuade a reasonable person that the child is being educated effectively through evidence such as plans, records of their child’s work and progress made as well as professional reports in some instances.

4b.Responsibilities of the Local Authority

  • The Local Authority must publish its policy on Elective Home Education and set out clearly for parents / carers the support that is available, giving guidance where parents / carers / carers seek it. The policy will be published on the internet and will be available in hard copy, on request, from the officer with responsibility for Elective Home Education. There will also be a booklet for parents / carers available which will be reviewed on an annual basis.
  • The Local Authority will provide advice to parents / carers wishing to home educate and offer appropriate support to parents /carers.
  • The Local Authority will aim to establish positive and supportiverelationships with parents / carers to safeguard the educational interests of children and young people.
  • The Local Authority will make arrangements to establish (so far as it is possible to doso) the identities of children in their area who are of

compulsory school age but:

(a)are not registered pupils at a school, and

(b)are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school.

A suitable education, in relation to a child, means efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs he may have. Case law (Phillips v Brown (1980) unreported) established that a The Local Authority may make enquiries of parents / carers who are educating their children at home to establish that a suitable education is being provided.

Where it appears that a suitable education may not being provided, The Local Authority should make inquiries to satisfy itself that a suitable educational provision is made.

If it appears to the Local Authority that a child is not receiving suitable education then the reasons must be stated in writing and time given for parents / carers to meet appropriate standards.

The Local Authority has a duty to take action against the parent or guardian of a child who is not, or does not appear to be, being properly educated. This will be through the issuing of a School Attendance Order.

The officer with responsibility for Elective Home Education will seek the views of the young person and will hold discussions around their perceptions of education, opportunities for social interaction and aims for the future. The officer will refer onto other services and discuss how the young person can be supported further with the parents. Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age maturity of the child. Where the child/young person expresses desire for enrichment activities, such as part attendance at a school, the officer responsible for Home Education will draw up a plan with the parent to ensure the child’s wishes are met as far as is reasonably possible.

The Local Authority officer will visit the home within 20 days of the parents / carers making known their intent to Home Educate. They will then receive a visit within 6 months and another visit 6 months later. After re-registering at the beginning of subsequent years the visits will be annual. Parents / carers will receive a letter no less than 2 weeks before any planned visit. The officer will be able to meet with the parent and the young person. If requested the officer will be able to meet with the young person not in the presence of the parent should they wish to and with another responsible adult present should the parents / carers or young person request this.

At the time of registration parent/carers must provide a clear statement of their educational approach, intent and desired/planned outcomes for the child over the following 12 months.

Guidance should be issued to support parents / carers in this task with an opportunity to meet Local Authority officers to discuss the planned approach to home education and develop the plan before its finalised. The plan should be finalised within 8 weeks of registration.

The Local Authority should establish a Consultative Forum for home educating parents / carers to secure their views and representative opinions. To this end the officer with responsibility for Home Education will plan regular opportunities for the parents / carers to meet and share views, experiences and concerns relating to the support they receive from the authority and in respect to Home Education as a whole. There will be planned meetings once every term (using the 3 term a year model, Autumn, Spring and Summer) The contributions made my parents / carers will be reflected in the Elective Home Education annual report to the Senior Managers in the Local Authority for their consideration.

5. Children with Special Educational Needs

Parents / carers must seek the approval of the Local Authority where they decide to home educate where a child attends a special school.

Where parents’ attempts to educate a child at home fall short of meeting the child’s special educational needs, the Local Authority will be unable to conclude that the parents / carers are making suitable arrangements. It is the authority’s duty to arrange the provision specified in the statement, unless the child’s parent has made suitable provision, for as long as the statement is maintained. (Recommendation18)

The Local Authorities statutory duty to undertake an annual review of special educational needs continues for those who are home educated. This review includes assessing whether the statement is still appropriate, requires amendment or might cease to be maintained. Parents / carers are welcome to attend reviews, but they are not obliged to do so. When the parents / carers of a statemented child makes their intent to home educate known, then an review of the statement will be held as a means of ascertaining need and assessing whether the parents / carers can meet the provision detailed in the statement.

(Recommendation 20) When a pupil is supported in school at School Action Plus and a parent chooses to home educate the local authority should give due consideration to whether that support should continue once the child is educated at home. This decision should be made irrespective of whether or not such consideration requires a new commissioning of services. The child’s opportunities should not be limited due to home education but reflect the support they would receive through their IEP within a school setting.

6. Safeguarding responsibilities

“A local education authority shall make arrangements for ensuring that the functions conferred upon them in their capacity as a local education authority are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children”

(Education Act 2002)

Bedford BoroughCouncil aims to work proactively with all agencies and individuals to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Where a child is subject to a Child Protection Plan, the officer for EHE will discuss the case with the CP lead professional and represent educations views.

As good practice guidelines the LA will request all members of the household to undertake CRB clearance.

The LA has a duty to ensure that safeguarding issues are properly monitored and acted upon. Therefore, where there are Child Protection concerns relating to the safety, effective parenting and care of a child Home Education will not be agreed. Following support from Social Services only when the child is removed from the Child Protection register and no longer considered a Child In Need will Home Education be supported by the Local Authority.

As with school educated children, child protection issues may arise in relation to home educated children. If any child protection concerns come to light in the course of engagement with children and families, or otherwise, these concerns will immediately be referred to the appropriate services using established protocols.

The procedures for assessing and monitoring elective home education(Appendix 1) illustrate the ways in which the Local Authority aims to be proactive in discharging its safeguarding responsibilities through effective communication procedures between services. Where appropriate, social care services will contribute to the assessment, monitoring and support of provision for children who are elective home educated. Once the local authority is made aware of the parents’ intention to home education the elective home education (EHE) officer will check whether social care services are involved with the child. If the child is known to social care, the social worker will participate in the local authority’s decision to assess the appropriateness of the intention to home educate. The named social worker may also be asked to contribute to the monitoring arrangements put in place by the EHE officer.

7. Children moving to another local authority area

The EHE officer will advise other LA’s when they become aware that a child who is educated otherwise than in school has moved to within the area of another authority. Where it is appropriate and they have been involved the EWS will alert their colleagues in the other LA.

8. Indicators for assessing the suitability of Elective Home Education

The Local Authority believe that it is helpful to provide indicators for assessing the suitability of elective home education that are open and transparent for use by parents, local authority staff and others. However, the indicators below are guidelines and there may be other indicators of both satisfactory and/or unsatisfactory home education that arise in individual cases.

Indicators – suitable Elective Home Education:

  • Evidence of consistent involvement of parents / carers or other significant carers. It is expected that parents / carers or significant adults will play a substantial role in providing education. Support may be sought from schemes such as The PLACE or by tutors but it lies with the main care-giver and at their own expense to ensure an appropriate education is delivered to the child/young person.
  • Evidence of recognition of the child’s needs aptitudes and aspirations.
  • Planned opportunities for the young person to develop as an individual, fostering their own interests and promoting social interaction with a range of peers by attending clubs and groups of interest.
  • Evidence that opportunity is being planned for appropriate interaction with other children and other adults.
  • Evidence of planned opportunities for the child to be stimulated by their learning experiences.
  • Use of the local environment, such as the library and visits to places of interest, such as historical buildings.
  • Evidence of access to resources/materials required to provide home education for the child such as paper and pens, books and libraries, arts and crafts materials, physical activity and ICT.
  • Show that the young person is being prepared for future life in the community and is able to become a fully functional member of the adult community.

Some examples of forms of evidence include:

- Child’s work diary

- A video or CD the child has made

- The EHE Co-ordinator talking to the child

- Examples of the child’s work

- Photographs or drawings the child has made following outings etc

- Schedules or timetables to show when a child is attending clubs or activities with peers.

Other forms of evidence can be agreed between the EHE officer and parents.

Indicators – unsuitable Elective Home Education:

  • Evidence that a parent has been persuaded to choose home education as a way to avoid exclusion or where there are unresolved issues relating to the child/young person’s education that could reasonably be met by either party through mediation. (Recommendation15)
  • Evidence that a parent has chosen home education because of poor attendance or as a means to escape prosecution or investigation, especially in the case of Child Protection concerns.
  • Evidence of school failure to meet the special educational needs indicated on a Statement of Special Educational Needs.
  • Information from Social Care that the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan. i.e. on Child Protection Register, Child In Need or where there are concerns regarding safety/appropriate parenting.
  • Failure to respond to requests for information about the home education provision after repeated attempts by the EHE officer to gain that information.
  • Failure to meet the standards of a fulltime, efficient and suitable educational provision taking account of the age, ability and aptitude of the child.
  • Clear indications from parents/carers that they cannot manage the home education, child/young person’s behaviour or if the child/young person is refusing to work for their parent.
  • Other signs may be agreed with families or be recognised and reported on by the Local Authority such as that any educational provision does not deny the child the ability to live in the wider community.
  • Where there are safeguarding concerns the Officer has the responsibility to contact appropriate services, such as EWO and social services.

Role of the officer for Elective Home Education