Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 27
Third Report - Strengthening Home Education
Published 26 Jul 2021
Paragraph 98
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)
We heard that parents receive more support from networks than they do from local authorities, but without the robust data that a register would provide we cannot know for certain whether everyone who needs support is able to access it. Furthermore, the evidence we received indicated a lack of mutual understanding between home educators and local authorities, and a lack of consistent training in local authorities that encompassed the full range of EHE approaches. This undermined the support that local authorities could and should provide. More consistent and informed training would address the problem of local authorities acting beyond their powers. Better mutual understanding is in everyone’s interests—not least those of home- educated children themselves, who should at all times be our focus.
From: Education Committee, Third Report - Strengthening Home Education (HC 84), paragraph 98, 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.