"Hidden Children" research

The request was successful.

Dear Perth and Kinross Council,

This FOI request relates to this excerpt (page 18) from the submission in September 2012 by Perth & Kinross Council's Child Protection Committee to the Scottish Government's proposed Children and Young People Bill:

"We are particularly concerned about children and young people educated at home and we consider the current arrangements are inadequate, as evidenced in a number of recent high profile SCRs. Our own research into this entire area of hidden children is nearing completion and we plan to share that with the Scottish Government shortly. We feel that in terms of vulnerability, hidden children present a significant risk and are much broader than the four bullet points highlighted within the document."

Bearing in mind that, in response to this FOI request made in July 2009 (http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...), there were no electively home educated (EHE) children within the Perth & Kinross Council area who were the subject of a SCR, please provide the following information:

1. To which "recent SCRs" in relation to electively home educated (EHE) children (the appropriate definition being "children of compulsory education age whose parents elect to fulfil their direct legal responsibility, not the council's, to educate their children outside school") is the CPC submission referring? Please provide links to all of the SCRs, recent or otherwise, which (according to the CPC submission) provide "evidence" of the (already disproved) claim that EHE children are at disproportionate risk.

2. In relation to the "research into this entire area of hidden children" which was cited as "nearing completion" in September 2012, please provide a list of all the consultees who participated in this research and a copy of the document which was to be shared by the CPC with the Scottish Government.

3. Given that EHE children were specifically referred to as "Hidden Children" in the above submission, which home education organisations and home educating families did Perth & Kinross Council's CPC consult with before coming to this inaccurate, misleading, discriminatory and deeply insulting conclusion in relation to a minority group of children and young people who are educated "by other means" in accordance with the Education (Scotland) Act 1980?

I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Alison Preuss
Press Officer, Schoolhouse HEA

FOI - Generic Email Account, Perth and Kinross Council

Dear Ms Preuss

 

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act  2002

Request for Information – Hidden Children

 

I acknowledge receipt of your request for information dated 30^th January,
2013.

 

I understand that the information you seek is:-

 

     This FOI request relates to this excerpt (page 18) from the

     submission in September 2012 by Perth & Kinross Council's Child

     Protection Committee to the Scottish Government's proposed Children

     and Young People Bill:

    

     "We are particularly concerned about children and young people

     educated at home and we consider the current arrangements are

     inadequate, as evidenced in a number of recent high profile SCRs.

     Our own research into this entire area of hidden children is

     nearing completion and we plan to share that with the Scottish

     Government shortly. We feel that in terms of vulnerability, hidden

     children present a significant risk and are much broader than the

     four bullet points highlighted within the document."

    

     Bearing in mind that, in response to this FOI request made in July

     2009

    
([1]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...),

     there were no electively home educated (EHE) children within the

     Perth & Kinross Council area who were the subject of a SCR, please

     provide the following information:

    

     1. To which "recent SCRs" in relation to electively home educated

     (EHE) children (the appropriate definition being "children of

     compulsory education age whose parents elect to fulfil their direct

     legal responsibility, not the council's, to educate their children

     outside school") is the CPC submission referring? Please provide

     links to all of the SCRs, recent or otherwise, which (according to

     the CPC submission) provide "evidence" of the (already disproved)

     claim that EHE children are at disproportionate risk.

    

     2. In relation to the "research into this entire area of hidden

     children" which was cited as "nearing completion" in September

     2012, please provide a list of all the consultees who participated

     in this research and a copy of the document which was to be shared

     by the CPC with the Scottish Government.

    

     3. Given that EHE children were specifically referred to as "Hidden

     Children" in the above submission, which home education

     organisations and home educating families did Perth & Kinross

     Council's CPC consult with before coming to this inaccurate,

     misleading, discriminatory and deeply insulting conclusion in

     relation to a minority group of children and young people who are

     educated "by other means" in accordance with the Education

     (Scotland) Act 1980?

 

 

I am currently dealing with your request and will issue my response no
later than 27^th February, 2013 which is 20 working days as permitted in
terms of section 10(1) of the above legislation.

 

If you do not agree with my interpretation of your request you should
contact me immediately.

 

Please use the reference number ATI 2013 01 30 002  in any future
correspondence relating to this request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Jill Walker

Freedom of Information Officer

Chief Executive’s Service

Perth and Kinross Council

Tel 01738 477955

Fax 01738 477939

 

 

Securing the future... - Improving services - Enhancing quality of life -
Making best use of public resources. The information in this email is
solely for the intended recipients. If you are not an intended recipient,
you must not disclose, copy, or distribute its contents or use them in any
way: please advise the sender immediately and delete this email. Perth &
Kinross Council, Live Active Leisure Limited and TACTRAN do not warrant
that this email or any attachments are virus-free and does not accept any
liability for any loss or damage resulting from any virus infection. Perth
& Kinross Council may monitor or examine any emails received by its email
system. The information contained in this email may not be the views of
Perth & Kinross Council, Live Active Leisure Limited or TACTRAN. It is
possible for email to be falsified and the sender cannot be held
responsible for the integrity of the information contained in it. Requests
to Perth & Kinross Council under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
should be directed to the Freedom of Information Team - email:
[Perth and Kinross Council request email] General enquiries to Perth & Kinross Council should be made
to [email address] or 01738 475000. General enquiries to Live Active
Leisure Limited should be made to [email address] or 01738
492440. General enquiries to TACTRAN should be made to [email address]
or 01738 475775. Securing the future... - Improving services - Enhancing
quality of life - Making best use of public resources.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...

FOI - Generic Email Account, Perth and Kinross Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Preuss

 

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Request for Information – Hidden Children

 

I refer to your request for information dated 30^th January, 2013.

 

The information you requested was:-

 

This FOI request relates to this excerpt (page 18) from the

     submission in September 2012 by Perth & Kinross Council's Child

     Protection Committee to the Scottish Government's proposed Children

     and Young People Bill:

    

     "We are particularly concerned about children and young people

     educated at home and we consider the current arrangements are

     inadequate, as evidenced in a number of recent high profile SCRs.

     Our own research into this entire area of hidden children is

     nearing completion and we plan to share that with the Scottish

     Government shortly. We feel that in terms of vulnerability, hidden

     children present a significant risk and are much broader than the

     four bullet points highlighted within the document."

    

     Bearing in mind that, in response to this FOI request made in July

     2009

    
([1]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...),

     there were no electively home educated (EHE) children within the

     Perth & Kinross Council area who were the subject of a SCR, please

     provide the following information:

    

     1. To which "recent SCRs" in relation to electively home educated

     (EHE) children (the appropriate definition being "children of

     compulsory education age whose parents elect to fulfil their direct

     legal responsibility, not the council's, to educate their children

     outside school") is the CPC submission referring? Please provide

     links to all of the SCRs, recent or otherwise, which (according to

     the CPC submission) provide "evidence" of the (already disproved)

     claim that EHE children are at disproportionate risk.

    

     2. In relation to the "research into this entire area of hidden

     children" which was cited as "nearing completion" in September

     2012, please provide a list of all the consultees who participated

     in this research and a copy of the document which was to be shared

     by the CPC with the Scottish Government.

    

     3. Given that EHE children were specifically referred to as "Hidden

     Children" in the above submission, which home education

     organisations and home educating families did Perth & Kinross

     Council's CPC consult with before coming to this inaccurate,

     misleading, discriminatory and deeply insulting conclusion in

     relation to a minority group of children and young people who are

     educated "by other means" in accordance with the Education

     (Scotland) Act 1980?

 

Please find attached the information requested.

 

You have a right to request a review of the Council’s decision. Please
click [2]here to view a copy of our information leaflet which explains the
right of review.

 

Should you require any further explanation or assistance please do not
hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Jill Walker

Freedom of Information Officer

Chief Executive’s Service

Perth and Kinross Council

Tel 01738 477955

Fax 01738 477939

 

 

Securing the future... - Improving services - Enhancing quality of life -
Making best use of public resources. The information in this email is
solely for the intended recipients. If you are not an intended recipient,
you must not disclose, copy, or distribute its contents or use them in any
way: please advise the sender immediately and delete this email. Perth &
Kinross Council, Live Active Leisure Limited and TACTRAN do not warrant
that this email or any attachments are virus-free and does not accept any
liability for any loss or damage resulting from any virus infection. Perth
& Kinross Council may monitor or examine any emails received by its email
system. The information contained in this email may not be the views of
Perth & Kinross Council, Live Active Leisure Limited or TACTRAN. It is
possible for email to be falsified and the sender cannot be held
responsible for the integrity of the information contained in it. Requests
to Perth & Kinross Council under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
should be directed to the Freedom of Information Team - email:
[Perth and Kinross Council request email] General enquiries to Perth & Kinross Council should be made
to [email address] or 01738 475000. General enquiries to Live Active
Leisure Limited should be made to [email address] or 01738
454654. General enquiries to TACTRAN should be made to [email address]
or 01738 475775. Securing the future... - Improving services - Enhancing
quality of life - Making best use of public resources.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...
2. http://www.pkc.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?...

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Comment on the information can be found in this article: http://www.schoolhouse.org.uk/home-ed-in...