Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Duncan Hames and Tim Loughton

Monday 16th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

23. What support his Department provides to children who are home-educated; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Tim Loughton)]

Last but not least, parents who home-educate their children have always taken on the full responsibility for their education and the Department does not provide support for home-educated children. Local authorities have the discretion to provide support for home-educated children with special educational needs or to enable a young person to attend college or access another education provider. Where they provide significant support, they can claim funding through the dedicated schools grant.

[Duncan Hames]

As the Minister says, it has always been so, but given that home-educating parents face a number of logistical challenges in putting children through exams, including with invigilation and coursework evaluation, it is of dismay to them that the cost of entering a child for a single GCSE exam can be as much as £115. Why is it that children who are educated at home do not have their exam entry fees paid for by the Government when the Government do pay those fees for children who are educated at school?

[Tim Loughton]

As I have said, my hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for schools is looking at the whole system of home-educated children, and local authorities have the discretion to make those grants where they think it is appropriate but it has never been the role of Government to provide that support to home-educated children. Perhaps the key to all this is to make sure that every school in this country, in the maintained sector in particular, is so good and there is such a good choice that all parents will want to send their children to the local school and will not feel it necessary to home-educate their children.