Elective Home Education team and numbers of children known and deregistered

The request was successful.

Dear Dudley Council,

I am submitting this freedom of information request to find out the following information regarding elective home education. When I refer to 'children', I mean they are either de-registered from a school or have never been registered with a school. Please provide copies of all available documents, research and paperwork.

A) I would like to know which department within Dudley Council local authority deals with elective home education?
1) I would like to know who is currently employed in this team, and who the team leader is.
2) I would like to know who they report to.
3) What form of contact they use with families the first time they contact them.
i) Please supply copies of policies and procedures used for elective home education, for staff use or supplied to Home educators.

B) Has the LA made the team dealing with elective home education aware that there is no requirement to investigate a case or for the LA to seek to satisfy itself that a suitable education is being provided when they know the reason why a child has ceased to attend school? The specified reason being, parents have given legal notification to a school that they are educating otherwise than at school.

C) I would like to know how many children are currently known as being electively home educated in the local authority.

D) How many pupils have been de-registered from school to be electively home educated?
Please provide numbers for: July 2015, July 2016 and July 2017. Please categorise these into:
- Children with no known SEN
- Children with SEN
- Children de-registered from special schools
- Children with care plans
- Children under services such as; CAHMS

Yours faithfully,

Katherine Norman

Dudley Triggers, Dudley Council

Dear Katherine Norman,

Freedom Of Information Act 2000 - Information Request DMBCIR:16735
Description : Elective Home Education team and numbers of children known
and deregistered

I acknowledge your request for information received on 2018-02-05
08:03:00.

Your request is being considered and you will receive the information
requested within the statutory timescale of 20 working days (Freedom of
Information Act 2000/Environmental Information Regulations) or 40 calendar
days (Data Protection access requests).

For your information, the Acts and Regulations define a number of
exemptions which may prevent release of the information you have
requested. There will be an assessment and if any of the exemption
categories apply then the information may not be released. In some
circumstances the decision to release information, or not, will be based
on a public interest test. You will be advised of any considerations,
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If the information you request contains reference to a third party then
they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to
release the information to you. You will be informed if this is the case,
including your rights of appeal.

Unless otherwise requested the information may be provided in paper copy,
normal font size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language,
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be paid before the information is processed and released. The 20 working
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If you have any queries or concerns then please contact the Information
Governance Officer at Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West
Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone 01384 818181, e-mail
[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email] .

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information/Environmental Information requests will be subject to
copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Dudley
MBC. The copyright in other information may be owned by another person or
organisation, as indicated in the information itself. You are free to use
any information supplied for your own use, including for non-commercial
research purposes. The information may also be used for the purposes of
news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by
publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require
the permission of the copyright owner.

For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of the
conditions on re-use can be found on our website at www.dudley.gov.uk.

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organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their
permission.

Yours sincerely,

The Information Governance Team
Council House
Priory Road
Dudley
West Midlands
DY1 1HF
[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]

Information Governance, Dudley Council

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3/5 St James Rd, Dudley, West Midlands DY1 1HP
[1]www.dudley.gov.uk  
 

 

 

  Our ref:                           Service:   Direct Line:       Date:
RFI 16735 Corporate Information Governance 01384 815607 07/02/2018
Team

 
 
Katherine Norman
MySociety Ltd
483 Green Lanes
London
N13 4BS
 
 
 
07/02/2018
 
Dear Katherine Norman,
 
Freedom Of Information Act 2000 - Information Request 16735
 
Your request.
 
I am submitting this freedom of information request to find out the
following information regarding elective home education. When I refer to
'children', I mean they are either de-registered from a school or have
never been registered with a school. Please provide copies of all
available documents, research and paperwork.
 

 A. I would like to know which department within Dudley Council local
authority deals with elective home education?

 
1) I would like to know who is currently employed in this team, and who
the team leader is.
2) I would like to know who they report to.
3) What form of contact they use with families the first time they contact
them.
i) Please supply copies of policies and procedures used for elective home
education, for staff use or supplied to Home educators.
 
B) Has the LA made the team dealing with elective home education aware
that there is no requirement to investigate a case or for the LA to seek
to satisfy itself that a suitable education is being provided when they
know the reason why a child has ceased to attend school? The specified
reason being, parents have given legal notification to a school that they
are educating otherwise than at school.
 
C) I would like to know how many children are currently known as being
electively home educated in the local authority.
 
D) How many pupils have been de-registered from school to be electively
home educated?
 
Please provide numbers for: July 2015, July 2016 and July 2017. Please
categorise these into:
- Children with no known SEN
- Children with SEN
- Children de-registered from special schools
- Children with care plans
- Children under services such as; CAHMS
 
I have been asked to seek clarification on your above request for
information. 
 
The clarification I have been asked to obtain is enclosed below.
 
Does the requestor want to know:
 

* Children de-registered during a particular period OR children who are
home educated during a particular period
* What particular period are they looking for, is it A) the month of
July in each year, B) the academic year i.e. is July 2015 meant to
represent the 2014-15 academic year?

 
 
Your request will be processed upon receipt of this information and you
will receive the information requested within the statutory timescale of
20 working days as defined by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions which may
prevent release of the information you have requested.  There will be an
assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then it cannot be
released.  Similarly if the information you request contains reference to
a third party then they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken
on whether or not to release the information to you.  You will be informed
if this is the case.
 
If appropriate, the information may be provided in paper copy, normal font
size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language, audio, large
print, etc. then please let me know.
 
There may a fee payable for this information.  This will be considered and
you will be informed of the fee payable if this is the case.  In this
event the fee must be paid before the information is processed and
released.  The 20 day time limit for responses is put on hold until
receipt of the payment.
 
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a comment or complaint, or request a review of
the decision, you should write to the Freedom of Information Officer at
Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone
0300 555 2345, e-mail [2][Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]. 
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by Dudley MBC.
 
The Information Commissioner may be contacted at:
 
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow 
Cheshire 
SK9 5AF
Telephone:   01625 545 700
[3]www.ico.org.uk
 
Yours sincerely,
 
M J Guy
 
(Information Governance Officer – Dudley MBC)
 
 
 
 
 
This Email and any attachments contains confidential information and is
intended solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. If this Email
has been misdirected, please notify the author as soon as possible. If
this email has a protective marking of OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE, PROTECT or
RESTRICTED in its title or contents, the information within must be
subject to appropriate safeguards to protect against unauthorised or
unlawful processing and against accidental loss or destruction or damage.
OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE, PROTECT and RESTRICTED information should only be
further shared where there is a legitimate need. If you are not the
intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely
on any of the information contained, and all copies must be deleted
immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any
software viruses, any attachments to this e-mail may nevertheless contain
viruses which our anti- virus software has failed to identify. You should
therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any
documents. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council will not accept any
liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any
attachment or other document supplied with this e-mail.

Please consider the environment - do you need to print this e-mail?

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/
2. mailto:[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear Information Governance,

Clarification:
The number of children deregistered in the academic year e.g. 2014-15

Yours sincerely,

KNorman

Dear Information Governance,

Re: Information Request DMBCIR:16735

I am writing to chase up the FOI request 'Elective Home Education team and numbers of children known and deregistered'. I provided clarification as detailed below on the 7th March, but have not yet received a response.

Yours sincerely,

KNorman

Clarification of the 7th March
The number of children deregistered in the academic year e.g. 2014-15

Information Governance, Dudley Council

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Corporate Information Governance Team
3/5 St James’s Road, Dudley West Midlands. DY1 1HP
Tel: (01384) 815607  Fax: (01384) 815660
Email:[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]
[1]www.dudley.gov.uk
 

Our ref:   RFI 16735 Direct Line: 01384 815607 Date: 11/04/2018

 
 
 
Katherine Norman
MySociety Ltd
483 Green Lanes
London
N13 4BS
 
 
 
11/04/2018
 
Dear Katherine Norman,
 
Freedom Of Information Act 2000 - Information Request 16735
 
Your request and our response.
 
I am submitting this freedom of information request to find out the
following information regarding elective home education. When I refer to
'children', I mean they are either de-registered from a school or have
never been registered with a school. Please provide copies of all
available documents, research and paperwork.
 
A) I would like to know which department within Dudley Council local
authority deals with elective home education?
1) I would like to know who is currently employed in this team, and who
the team leader is.
2) I would like to know who they report to.
3) What form of contact they use with families the first time they contact
them.
i) Please supply copies of policies and procedures used for elective home
education, for staff use or supplied to Home educators.
 
B) Has the LA made the team dealing with elective home education aware
that there is no requirement to investigate a case or for the LA to seek
to satisfy itself that a suitable education is being provided when they
know the reason why a child has ceased to attend school? The specified
reason being, parents have given legal notification to a school that they
are educating otherwise than at school.
 
C) I would like to know how many children are currently known as being
electively home educated in the local authority.
 
D) How many pupils have been de-registered from school to be electively
home educated?
 
Please provide numbers for: July 2015, July 2016 and July 2017. Please
categorise these into:
- Children with no known SEN
- Children with SEN
- Children de-registered from special schools
- Children with care plans
- Children under services such as; CAHMS
 
 
I write to inform you that your request for information will not be
processed.
 
This is because the cost of locating and retrieving the information
exceeds the “appropriate limit” as stated in the Freedom of Information
(Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004 which is currently set at
£450.  This limit represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18
hours in determining whether the Council holds the information, and
locating, retrieving and extracting the information.  Under section 12 of
the Freedom of Information Act the Council is not obliged to comply with
your request and we will not be processing your request further.
 
However, under Section 16 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2000, I can
confirm that we can provide the requested information for Questions A – C
of your above request within the Freedom of Information cost limits.
Please advise if you still require this information.
 
I can confirm that we are currently in the process of implementing a new
system.  Once this system is in place, we will be able to run reports to
provide the above requested information for Question D.  Therefore, we
should be able to comply with similar requests in the near future.
 
Please contact me if you require further assistance in refining your
request.
 
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 this letter acts as
a Refusal Notice.
 
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a comment or complaint, or request a review of
the decision, you should write to the Freedom of Information Officer at
Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone
0300 555 2345, e-mail [2][Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]. 
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by Dudley MBC.
 
The Information Commissioner may be contacted at:
 
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow 
Cheshire 
SK9 5AF
Telephone:   01625 545 700
[3]www.ico.org.uk
 
Yours sincerely,
 
M J Guy
 
(Information Governance Officer – Dudley MBC)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This Email and any attachments contains confidential information and is
intended solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. If this Email
has been misdirected, please notify the author as soon as possible. If
this email has a protective marking of OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE, PROTECT or
RESTRICTED in its title or contents, the information within must be
subject to appropriate safeguards to protect against unauthorised or
unlawful processing and against accidental loss or destruction or damage.
OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE, PROTECT and RESTRICTED information should only be
further shared where there is a legitimate need. If you are not the
intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely
on any of the information contained, and all copies must be deleted
immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any
software viruses, any attachments to this e-mail may nevertheless contain
viruses which our anti- virus software has failed to identify. You should
therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any
documents. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council will not accept any
liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any
attachment or other document supplied with this e-mail.

Please consider the environment - do you need to print this e-mail?

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/
2. mailto:[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear Information Governance,

Please provide the requested information for Questions A – C for FOI request RFI 16735 Elective Home Education team and numbers of children known and deregistered.

Yours sincerely,

KNorman

Information Governance, Dudley Council

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Corporate Information Governance Team
3/5 St James’s Road, Dudley West Midlands. DY1 1HP
Tel: (01384) 815607  Fax: (01384) 815660
Email:[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]
[1]www.dudley.gov.uk
 

Our ref:  RFI 16735 Direct Line: 01384 815607 Date: 02/05/2018

 
 
 
Katherine Norman
MySociety Ltd
483 Green Lanes
London
[2]www.whatdotheyknow.com
N13 4BS
 
 
 
02/05/2018
 
Dear Katherine Norman,
 
Freedom Of Information Act 2000 - Information Request 16735
 
Your follow up request  for information that can be provided within the
Freedom of Information cost limits for the above request is enclosed.
 
Your request and our response.
 
I am submitting this freedom of information request to find out the
following information regarding elective home education. When I refer to
'children', I mean they are either de-registered from a school or have
never been registered with a school. Please provide copies of all
available documents, research and paperwork.
 

 A. I would like to know which department within Dudley Council local
authority deals with elective home education?

 
People Directorate, Children’s Services, Family Solutions, Adolescent
Response Team.
 
1) I would like to know who is currently employed in this team, and who
the team leader is.
 
Team consists of 1 x Officer for Elective Home Education (EHE) , supported
on an informal basis by another officer.  Team Leader is a Senior
Practitioner for Education Services.
 
2) I would like to know who they report to.
 
They report to the Service Lead for the Adolescent Response Team.
 
3) What form of contact they use with families the first time they contact
them.
 
A mixture of home visits, letters, telephone calls, emails and other
methods, dependant on the needs of the family and the child.
 
 
i) Please supply copies of policies and procedures used for elective home
education, for staff use or supplied to Home educators.
 
All can be accessed via
[3]http://www.dudley.gov.uk/resident/learni...
 
 

 B. Has the LA made the team dealing with elective home education aware
that there is no requirement to investigate a case or for the LA to
seek to satisfy itself that a suitable education is being provided
when they know the reason why a child has ceased to attend school? The
specified reason being, parents have given legal notification to a
school that they are educating otherwise than at school.

 
This is not the case – LA’s have a duty under Section 436a to...
 
“make arrangements to identify children not receiving education - A local
education authority must make arrangements to enable them to establish (so
far as it is possible to do so) the identities of children in their area
who are of compulsory school age but—
 
(a)are not registered pupils at a school, and
(b)are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school.
“suitable education”, in relation to a child, means efficient full-time
education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude and to any special
educational needs he may have.”
 
In this situation, governmental guidance on Elective Home Education
suggests an informal approach is adopted by the LA to try and support and
engage with families prior to any enforcement action via a School
Attendance Order.
 
C) I would like to know how many children are currently known as being
electively home educated in the local authority.
 
We have 253 children recorded as EHE as of 6^th February 2018, however
families are not required to inform the LA that they are home educating,
therefore this number is likely to be higher.
 
 
If you have any queries or concerns then please contact me.
 
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a comment or complaint, or request a review of
the decision, you should write to the Freedom of Information Officer at
Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone
0300 555 2345, e-mail [4][Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]. 
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by Dudley MBC.
 
The Information Commissioner may be contacted at:
 
Information Commissioner's Office
 
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow 
Cheshire 
SK9 5AF
Telephone:   01625 545 700
[5]www.ico.org.uk
 
Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information Act 2000 requests will be subject to copyright protection.  In
most cases the copyright will be owned by Dudley MBC. The copyright in
other information may be owned by another person or organisation, as
indicated in the information itself. You are free to use any information
supplied for your own use, including for non-commercial research purposes.
The information may also be used for the purposes of news reporting.
However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the
information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of
the copyright owner.
 
For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of
the conditions on re-use can be found on our website at
[6]www.dudley.gov.uk.
 
For information where the copyright is owned by another person or
organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their
permission.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
M J Guy
 
(Informati9on Governance Officer – Dudley MBC)
 
 
 
 
 
 
This Email and any attachments contains confidential information and is
intended solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. If this Email
has been misdirected, please notify the author as soon as possible. If
this email has a protective marking of OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE, PROTECT or
RESTRICTED in its title or contents, the information within must be
subject to appropriate safeguards to protect against unauthorised or
unlawful processing and against accidental loss or destruction or damage.
OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE, PROTECT and RESTRICTED information should only be
further shared where there is a legitimate need. If you are not the
intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely
on any of the information contained, and all copies must be deleted
immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any
software viruses, any attachments to this e-mail may nevertheless contain
viruses which our anti- virus software has failed to identify. You should
therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any
documents. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council will not accept any
liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any
attachment or other document supplied with this e-mail.

Please consider the environment - do you need to print this e-mail?

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/
2. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/
3. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/resident/learni...
4. mailto:[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]
5. http://www.ico.org.uk/
6. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/