Issue - meetings

The Children’s Select Committee has received this report in response to a query regarding Wiltshire’s home-schooled children. The report included in this agenda provides information regarding the arrangements for monitoring Elective Home Educated children.

Members are asked to comment on the report and the role of Wiltshire Council in monitoring Elective Home Education and to consider requesting an annual update.

The Committee received a report by the Director, Family and Children’s Services in response to a query regarding arrangements for monitoring Elected Home Educated Children. 

It was explained that Wiltshire Council had specific responsibilities under the Children Act 2004 and the Education Act 2002 to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children that were educated at home. This responsibility was exercised on behalf of the Council by the Support and Safeguarding Service.  It was pointed out that these powers did not bestow on local authorities the ability to see and question children subject to elected home education and establish whether they were receiving a suitable education. Powers were restricted to acting in the best interests of the child where there was a concern that the child was suffering from significant harm. This was noted as the test for all such interventions whether the child was electively home educated or otherwise. 

During discussion, Members questioned why parents elected to home educate their children; it was pointed out that there were a number of reasons why parents came to this decision in particular the inability to obtain a place at the school of their choice.  In a few cases the decision to home educate was to avoid prosecution for unauthorised absences.

It was generally agreed that the current system was not satisfactory, the local authority in many cases being totally unaware of the existence of home educated children.  In order that a local authority could monitor the education, physical and emotional wellbeing of children, ideally there should be a requirement for parents to register their children with the local authority so that annual interviews could take place and the children’s work monitored.

Members recognised that in the majority of cases parents chose home education for their children for the best of reasons and these children were generally performing well but the challenge lay in those few cases where this was not the case.

After further discussion,

Resolved:

(1)          To acknowledge the arrangements for monitoring elective home educated children in Wiltshire.

(2)          To request the Chairman to discuss with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills exactly what concerns should be addressed with the possibility of establishing a Home Education Task Group and to bring back suggestions to the next meeting of this Committee in April for consideration.