Better monitoring and support for home educated children in England

ENGLAND – Earlier this year Graham Badman – former director of Children’s Services in Kent – was asked to carry out a review of elective home education in England.

The terms of reference for the review emphasised the government’s recognition of parents’ well established right to educate their children at home. They also set out the pre-eminent right of the child to receive a suitable education in a safe environment.

Mr Badman’s key recommendations include:

• that local authorities should provide more support to home educating families, eg. through helping provide access to the national examination system, sports facilities, libraries and music tuition;

• a compulsory annual registration scheme, in which all parents who plan to home educate have to inform their local authority. While around 20,000 children are already registered, the actual number being home educated is unknown and could be more than double this number;

• at the time of registration, parents being asked to submit a statement of their intended approach to the child’s education including what they aim to achieve over the following 12 months;

• giving properly trained local authority officials the right of access to the home, following a minimum two week notification to the parents. They will check that the child is making progress against their learning statement. They will also have the right to speak to the child, to ensure they are safe and well. A written report must then be produced and shared with the parents and child; and

• that local authorities can refuse registration to home educate if there is clear evidence of safeguarding concerns.

The review makes a compelling case for substantial changes to the arrangements for supporting and monitoring home education. As a result a consultation will now begin to ensure children’s rights are met and can help guarantee a good education in a safe environment.

It recognises the wide range of philosophical and practical reasons that lie behind parents’ decisions to home educate. It acknowledges that in some cases home educated children have been withdrawn from school under a range of difficult circumstances: this is reflected in the relatively high proportion of children with special educational needs who are home educated, and other cases where children have been bullied or had other experiences that leave them unable to attend school.

The review took into account the opinions and evidence supplied by home educating parents, local authorities and organisations concerned with child protection.