Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 5
Third Report - Strengthening Home Education
Published 26 Jul 2021
Paragraph 40
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)
There is no single definitive figure for the number of children and young people being educated at home. The numbers that are available are likely to under-report as parents do not have a duty to tell local authorities that they have chosen EHE, and studies often rely on Freedom of Information responses, which raise questions about data accuracy. This situation is unacceptable and must change. We also believe that collecting more data about children receiving EHE would give the Department a true picture of the level of SEND resourcing needed by local authorities. There is also general consensus that the number of children in EHE has increased dramatically since the 2010–15 Education Committee’s report.
From: Education Committee, Third Report - Strengthening Home Education (HC 84), paragraph 40, 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.