Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 3
Third Report - Strengthening Home Education
Published 26 Jul 2021
Paragraph 38
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Home Education All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Committee heard from home educators that home-educated children are not ‘invisible’, and that safeguarding has failed children who were already known to local authorities. However, the relevant authorities cannot begin to reach any children who may be at risk without a consistent and accurate method of knowing who they are. The context has changed dramatically in the last decade, as the number of children receiving EHE has grown. At present, local authorities may only know about home-educated children who have been withdrawn from school, and may lose touch with these children when families move.
From: Education Committee, Third Report - Strengthening Home Education (HC 84), paragraph 38, 26 July 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 October 2021 (deadline 26 September 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government supports parents' right to home educate and "remains committed" to a form of registration for children not in school, but declines or only considers further several of the Committee's other recommendations.
- On registration, the Government "remains committed to a form of local authority administered statutory registration"; further details will be in its response to the Children Not In School consultation, "published in the coming months".
- On a centralised definition of 'suitable' education, the Department "remains of the view" that this would not be in the interests of home educating children, families or local authorities, though it "may be an area the Department considers further" at its next guidance review.
- On an independent SEND coordinating role, the Government states: "We therefore do not consider it necessary to create an additional role in this area."
- On longitudinal research into EHE outcomes, the Department "can see the value" but notes challenges, and "will review potential approaches again" after the consultation response is published.