Overview

London Councils recognises that the majority of children who are home educated generally do not present any risk factors in terms of vulnerability, such as safeguarding or radicalisation. However, the current lack of legislative and regulatory oversight means it has become increasingly difficult to ensure that vulnerable children who are being home-educated are identified and protected from harm.

The government consulted on Elective Home Education (EHE) in 2019 but, as far as London Councils is aware, no actions were taken. With additional numbers of families choosing EHE as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic it is more important than ever that the government considers introducing legislation to establish registration and monitoring for all home educated children.

It is important that that the government considers the following steps:

• Introduction of a duty to maintain a register of children who are not registered at specified schools or being educated under s.19 arrangements.
• Making annual monitoring visits by local authorities to home educated children mandatory so local authorities can maintain an accurate register of home educated children and to fully be able to fulfil their safeguarding duties to all children in their local area, and providing local authorities with the resources to be able to do this.
• Ensuring any new duties around elective home education are fully funded and do not create additional burdens on local authorities.

Impact of Covid-19

London boroughs are seeing increases in the number of families choosing to home educate their children this term, in large part as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many schools have reported that the lack of information for parents around home schooling is causing confusion, with many parents expecting the same level of support from schools that they received during the Covid-19 lockdown. Many families have also raised concerns relating to the pandemic around safety or the quality of education on offer. The changes in circumstances have seen some families choosing to leave independent schools in favour of EHE.

Boroughs have been working hard to inform families about their responsibilities around EHE and to allay fears around safety in schools. However, boroughs would value working with the government to be able to improve the quality of communication and to develop and distribute clear messages around home education.

Whilst the cohort of EHE children in each borough is relatively small, an increase could have a significant impact in terms of the level of support and oversight that local authorities can afford to provide to these families. The boroughs have considerable concerns about the implications of this increasing cohort, particularly in terms of safeguarding.

Survey of boroughs

Data from 24 out of 33 boroughs shows that all boroughs have seen an increase in requests for EHE compared to the same time last year. 14 boroughs collectively saw an increase of over 700 additional applications for EHE early in the autumn term.

The most common reasons for new applications included:

• Health (Covid-19 related)
• Anxiety due to the pandemic
• Short term option
• Children had settled well into home education so the families decided to continue
• General dissatisfaction with the school, philosophical/lifestyle choice

In addition to those that have registered for EHE, there has been a further cohort of families who had enquired and had not fully understood what EHE involved. Upon finding out more information they opted to remain at their school. 

Mandatory registration and monitoring

London Councils supported the government’s proposal in July 2019 to introduce a duty to maintain a register of children who are not registered at specified schools or being educated under s.19 arrangements. It is important that local authorities have a register of all the home-educated children in the local area, for the following reasons:

• Children educated outside of mainstream education are likely to have less contact with statutory agencies and, in some cases, no contact all and we are concerned that this poses a risk that abuse or neglect will go unnoticed by those with a responsibility to safeguard children. We recognise that only a minority of home educated children present these risk factors, but it is only by monitoring all home educated children that local authorities can identify those children that are vulnerable to harm and act quickly to protect them. In particular, children on a child protection plan or children in need should only be able to be home educated with the local authority’s support.

• Similarly, the experience from the London boroughs suggests that children being home educated can be isolated from mainstream society and be more vulnerable to extreme views. Some home educated children access illegal unregistered schools. A minority of unregistered schools have been found to promote extremist ideologies including inciting people to violent extremism. It is important that local authorities can monitor children outside of mainstream education to ensure that they are not being subjected to radicalisation. In particular, the boroughs would support any work that the government is undertaking to ensure that any unregistered education settings are permanently closed down.

• We recognise that some children do not have access to good quality education provision through home education. It is important that checks are in place to ensure that all home educated children are accessing a good quality education and can therefore benefit from subsequent employment opportunities.

• We also have concerns about schools off-rolling some pupils, particularly those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and other complex needs. At present it is very hard for local authorities to track where this poor practice is taking place; mandatory registration for home educated children would help identify and deal with instances of unlawful exclusions. This would not only enable families in this situation to get support in finding a school that would meet the child’s needs, but would also act as a deterrent to schools practising off-rolling, due to the increased likelihood of instances of off-rolling being picked up.

As well as mandatory registration London Councils has also been calling for local authorities to be able to make annual monitoring visits to home educated children. Without mandatory monitoring it will be very difficult for local authorities to maintain an accurate register of home educated children in the local area over time. Therefore, London Councils would be keen that the government considers that both duties should be implemented together in order for local authorities to fully be able to fulfil their safeguarding duties to all children in their local areas.

November 2020