Recommendation 30

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 places a duty on local authorities to provide children with suitable full-time education. However, there is no Departmental guidance outlining how this responsibility should be implemented, and no clear consequences for non-compliance. Given that Ofsted has identified that 9% of a sample of 2,600 children in children’s homes are attending unregulated ‘education’ provision, and a further 6% are not in education, employment or training, it is clear that the law is not being complied with. (Paragraph 72) 48 Educational poverty: how children in residential care have been let down and what to do about it