Agenda item

The report outlines the key legislation and guidance governing how the Council works with parents and carers who have elected to home educate their children. The report also discusses the impact of the pandemic on the numbers of children being electively home educated and the resource implications.

Elizabeth Spearman (Head of ACE and School Admissions) presented the report that outlined the key legislation and guidance governing how the Council works with parents and carers who have elected to home educate their children. The report also discussed the impact of the pandemic on the numbers of children being electively home educated and the resource implications.

Elizabeth Spearman noted that any family can elect to home educate their children. The Council has a duty to put support in place but has no right to inspect or assess. In H&F the team has taken a robust approach – contacting all families as soon as it’s known they intend to home educate and setting out our expectations on how we can work together to ensure a suitable education. The Council has a very experienced home education advisor and families worked constructively with us. She added that since the beginning of the pandemic there had been a significant increase in numbers, up to 190 at present, which may create capacity issues.

Councillor Lucy Richardson asked if officers felt the sudden rise in figures was a temporary or permanent change. And what would be the impact on resources? Elizabeth Spearman said initially officers expected the numbers to reduce over time, but they hadn’t yet. And it was the same picture across the country. Officers had been encouraging parents to consider returning to school, but it was a balance – parents views had to be respected. Regarding resources, the home education advisor had been managing while discussions were online, but officers wanted to reinstate in-person contact for new families.

Nandini Ganesh noted that at the national level there were several pressure groups encouraging parents to home educate and avoid contact with the councils. She asked if that was happening in H&F. Elizabeth Spearman said most families did cooperate. Home educating families often feel passionately that they don’t want state involvement. She gave a recent example of a family who were told not to engage with the Council because it might lead to us taking their children into care. Officers were working to dispel those myths. Prior to the pandemic the team held an annual event to engage families and they also organised family events like days out, theatre trips etc.

Councillor Asif Siddique asked if there was any mechanism in place to reliably communicate with the parents about key issues. Elizabeth Spearman said there was a lot of guidance online. Officers also gave parents ideas about using local and resources, and textbooks to support their children’s education. The team was keen not to recommend other providers because it wasn’t possible to quality control them. But the advisor would look for gaps and steer families towards resources.

Councillor Siddique suggested putting a secure online portal for families in place. Elizabeth Spearman said officers would give it consideration. But she noted that many families wouldn’t even provide the Council with an email address.

Councillor Mark Loveday asked what level of Section 437 orders the team were making – and if those number had changed since the pandemic. Elizabeth Spearman said taking legal action in the form of a school attendance order was a decision the Council didn’t take lightly. To do so the Council had to prove families weren’t educating children which was often very hard to do. The team did raise it as a tool to engage parents. At present there was only one order ongoing. The most during the period was six and two of those went to court.

Councillor Loveday noted the low level and asked if it was something the team wanted to use more often, or if they felt those powers should only be for very rare cases. Elizabeth Spearman said they tried to avoid them as it often wasn’t in the best interests of the child. Officers made families aware of the legal framework, but their preference was to work with parents to resolve any issues. Officers weren’t looking to increase the numbers, but it was important to have the option there when it as required. Elizabeth Spearman added that she would like the Department for Education (DfE) guidance around home education tightened-up. Different boroughs had quite different approaches and that could cause issues when families move.

Councillor Loveday asked if there was an opportunity for London-level coordination of home education policy. Elizabeth Spearman said she had personally pushed for greater coordination at a national level. The latest DfE guidance was partially based on H&F’s guidance.

Nandini Ganesh asked if parents of children with education health and care plans could home educate and still retain access to therapies and other support. Mandy Lawson added that, if parents could meet the specification of the plan, the local authority would support them with resources as required.

Councillor Mercy Umeh asked if there had been safeguarding issues and if officers worked closely with social care colleagues to look for issues.

Elizabeth Spearman said there was no evidence that children who were home educated were more at risk than those in school. The home education advisor was trained in safeguarding, but social care would have to act on any safeguarding issues.

Councillor Loveday suggested the following recommendations:

·      That the Committee endorsed the Council’s efforts to lobby government to improve the guidance and legal framework around elective home education.

·      That the Committee endorsed greater coordination of elective home education policies between London boroughs and asked the Cabinet Member for Education to raise the issue as London Councils.

The recommendations were agreed.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Committee endorsed the Council’s efforts to lobby government to improve the guidance and legal framework around elective home education.

2.    That the Committee endorsed greater coordination of elective home education policies between London boroughs and asked the Cabinet Member for Education to raise the issue as London Councils.