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Personal Details

John

Smail

xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Children Young People and Families Directorate

Respondent Information Questions

Please specify in what capacity you are responding to this questionnaire

I am the lead officer for all arangements for education other than at school (EOTAS)

Consultation Questions

1

Do you think the current system for safeguarding children who are educated at home is adequate?  Please let us know why you think that.

We are seriously concerned that an opportunity has been missed to safeguard these children to achieve the Every Child Matters outcomes. Children educated otherwise are held effectively outside the protections that we provide for other children in our schools. The existing EHE guidelines fudge the real issues, including the conflict that can arise when considering the rights of the child, (where the LA would place the priority), against the rights of the parent. The identification of neglect is known to be particularly difficult (intentional or otherwise) and early identification is dependent upon observation of the child that is able to identify the incremental harm to a child over a period of time. The ability schools provide in regular sight of the child is therefore most helpful in protecting against neglect. This regular sight of the child is not available in home educated cases. No resources have been provided to LAs to deliver services to EHE parents and children. The national picture reveals LAs struggling to resource a duty which is fundamentally flawed. We are seriously concerned that previous and recent consultation has completely ignored the concerns of this LA and others in this respect. We are also concerned that alternative education provisions (often utilised by EHE parents) fall between DCSF and LA powers where these provisions do not qualify for registration as an independent school; or have failed to satisfy OFSTED in this respect, but where DCSF and the LA have no current powers to intervene or close that provision where teaching provision is inedequate.

Do you think that home educated children are able to achieve the following five Every Child Matters outcomes? Please let us know why you think that.

2 a)

Be healthy

EHE children are not provided with the health services currently allocated through schools. It is clearly possible for parents to seek guidance from their GP on how to ensure immunisations and routine checks. But an equitable level of monitoring is not possible. Guidance should be cognisant of the ECM outcomes and the right of all children to routine health and development checks. EHE parents responsibilities in this respect should be made clear in the absence of school focused health interventions. Consideration should be given to the provision of routine nurse checks.

2 b)

Stay safe

We are seriously concerned that safeguarding has been given little consideration in the current guidance and regulations. Children educated otherwise are held effectively outside the protections and checks that we give to other children. Other than in extreme and visible cases, it is difficult to see how the LA would be made aware of concerns about a child’s welfare, without there being introduced some form of direct ongoing assessment and routine monitoring. The guidelines fudge the real issues, including the conflict that can arise when considering the rights of the child, (where the LA would place the priority), against the rights of the parent (prioritised in the guidance).

2 c)

Enjoy and achieve

It is astonishing that the EHE regulations and guidance were published in direct contradiction of the governments otherwise relentless drive to improve standards of education, training and entry to employment. In short parents are left free to devise any model of education they deem fit to prepare their child for life in their community. There is very little that empowers a local authority to act where they suspect a child is receiving a minimal, or disfunctional education at home. It is quite amazing that we have no measurable standards for local authorities to use to define “efficient full time education…. suitable to age, ability and aptitude”. The current quidelines are contradictory and confusing, such as … "where parents do not want any involvement with the local authority, the LA should not automatically assume that there is a problem which needs investigating. Instead, the LA should take a risk based approach, taking into consideration the individual and community’s circumstances”. It is more straightforward to deal with the crisis situations, but much more difficult in the many cases where the LA has concerns, but the evidence is “a lack of evidence”, ie little or no information about the educational plans, no evidence of real teaching and learning, and no way of assessing progress being made by the child. Home schooling parents in this LA rarely produce plans, and the guidance suggests they are not essential. Given the minimal requirements placed on home schooling families, the reasonable concerns of the LA may well conflict with parents who may have different aims and priorities for their children. Why are home educating parents not required to provide even their plans and intentions? And why are EO parents set as a unique grouping who are not held accountable for the decisions they are making for the educational outcomes of their children? The absence of clear answers in this guidance leaves many parents able to neglect their children’s education. Further it leaves the LA powerless to safeguard a number of children whose education is being prevented or neglected.

2 d)

Make a positive contribution.

EHE children will not receive the access to positive contribution accessible through schools. They may well however be involved in positive activities out of school.

2 e)

achieve economic well-being

The outcomes for the vast majority of EHE children are known locally and nationally to be extremely poor in terms of accredited qualifications that will provide future opportunities and choices in training and employment. The few isolated examples of excellent attainment achieved by EHE pupils do not reflect the fact that the large majority of EHE cases known in this LA will achieve no accredited qualification at age 16.

3

Do you think that Government and local authorities have an obligation to ensure that all children in this country are able to achieve the five outcomes?  If you answered yes, how do you think Government should ensure this?.

Parents should have the right to Educate their children otherwise than at a school. But with this right must come clear responsibilities to ensure equitable outcomes in line with national standards. The ability of parents to meet these responsibilities must be open for external assessment, and the progress of pupils monitored at regular intervals through approved standard measures. Health and wellbeing responsibilities should also be identified in a code of conduct for EHE parents. Milestones for health checks etc could then readily be monitored. The duties for LAs should be made absolutely clear, and powers provided to enable these to be fulfilled. Proportional funding should be provided to LAs to support their implementation of new requirements. A process for fast track to School Attendance Order should be included as a national guidance.

4

Do you think there should be any changes made to the current system for supporting home educating families? If you answered yes, what should they be?  If you answered no, why do you think that?

The support that LAs should provide as outlined in current guidance depends upon EHE organisations wanting engagement with the LA. We do not find this often to be the case. The support LAs can provide to EHE families should be prescribed within the same regualtions that require a higher standard of EHE provision and should be subject to a realistic consideration of the funding allocated to LAs for this purpose, This could include- - A Library and resource centre provision. - Model teaching programmes and materials. - Part time arrangements with schools to be supported through changing legislation in order to encourage schools to provide flexible learning programmes whilst not as a result being penalised in their attendance and attainment outcomes. - Access to examinations

5

Do you think there should be any changes made to the current system for monitoring home educating families? If you answered yes, what should they be?  If you answered no, why do you think that?

Covered substantially in previous responses.

6

Some people have expressed concern that home education could be used as a cover for child abuse, forced marriage, domestic servitude or other forms of child neglect.  What do you think Government should do to ensure this does not happen?

Covered substantially in previous sections. EHE families must be subject to clear standards and requirement for EHE, and open to regular monitoring including the child's development. This could include visits by school nurses in addition to EHE advisors.