Increasing risks for children who are Home Educated

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Department for Education should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Department for Education,

I would be grateful for the following information:

Please provide me with:

1). a). the Authorities’ and Service’s names (i.e. which Local Authority, NHS, Social Services, Police Division, etc.) as source(s) of ‘considerable evidence’ within the following quotation from your recently published Guidelines for Home Education 2019, that “there is considerable evidence that many of these children are not receiving a suitable education”,

b). the evidence which constitutes ‘considerable evidence’, and

c). the number of children from ‘many of these children’ within the above quote whom you have stated are not receiving a suitable education.

2) a). “There is a less well evidenced but increasing concern that some children educated at home may not be in safe environments” in your recently published Guidelines for Home Education 2019. Please provide me with the Authorities’ and Service’s names (Authorities, Services, Key Partners, 3rd sector organisations, etc.) as source(s) where these ‘increasing concerns’ have originated,

b). concerns would have to be evidenced in such a statement, please provide me with the lesser volume of evidence you hold ‘that some children educated at home ‘may’ not be in safe environments’,

c). please provide me with the reasoning behind ‘increasing concerns’ without increased evidence being available.

I understand that you have 20 working days in which to provide me with this information.

I look forward to receiving your response.

Yours faithfully,

V. Colvin

MINISTERS, Department for Education

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear V Colvin

Thank you for your recent enquiry. A reply will be sent to you as soon as possible. For information; the departmental standard for correspondence received is that responses should be sent within 20 working days as you are requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2019-0015117.

Thank you

Department for Education
Ministerial and Public Communications Division
Tel: 0370 000 2288

show quoted sections

BISHOP, Stephen, Department for Education

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Dear Ms Colvin

 

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on 13
April.

 

You requested:

 

I would be grateful for the following information:

 

Please provide me with:

 

1). a). the Authorities’ and Service’s names (i.e. which Local Authority,
NHS, Social Services, Police Division, etc.) as source(s) of 
‘considerable evidence’ within the following quotation from your recently
published Guidelines for Home Education 2019, that “there is considerable
evidence that many of these children are not receiving a suitable
education”,

 

b). the evidence which constitutes ‘considerable evidence’, and

 

c). the number of children from ‘many of these children’ within the above
quote whom you have stated are not receiving a suitable education.

 

2) a). “There is a less well evidenced but increasing concern that some
children educated at home may not be in safe environments” in your
recently published Guidelines for Home Education 2019. Please provide me
with the Authorities’ and Service’s names (Authorities, Services, Key
Partners, 3rd sector organisations, etc.) as source(s) where these
‘increasing concerns’ have originated,

 

b). concerns would have to be evidenced in such a statement, please
provide me with the lesser volume of evidence you hold ‘that some children
educated at home ‘may’ not be in safe environments’,

 

c). please provide me with the reasoning behind ‘increasing concerns’
without increased evidence being available.

 

I understand that you have 20 working days in which to provide me with
this information.

 

I have dealt with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The information you requested is not held by this department. Although the
2018 ADCS survey on home education contains details of local authorities’
concerns about a trend for children known to social services to be
educated at home, the statements made in the guidance document are not the
result of a systematic survey or record. They are based on communications
over several years with local authorities and other bodies about the work
they do from day to day with families who have children who are deemed to
be educated at home. It is not possible to attribute these to particular
authorities or give specific numbers but the department is in no doubt
that the statements are true, based on the experience of the bodies in
question. The evidence is therefore accumulated testimony from local
authorities, other public bodies, and parents and grandparents of children
who are ostensibly home educated.

 

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

 

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you should
make a complaint to the department by writing to me within two calendar
months of the date of this email. Your complaint will be considered by an
independent review panel, which were not involved in the original
consideration of your request. 

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint to the
department, you may then contact the Information Commissioner’s Office

 

 

 

Stephen Bishop

Independent Education and Boarding Team

Department for Education

[1][email address]

01325 340440 (int x640440)

 

 

 

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