Home Education

(asked on 25th January 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what statutory guidance exists on protecting the welfare of students who are being educated at home.


Answered by
Edward Timpson Portrait
Edward Timpson
This question was answered on 30th January 2017

The Government sets a clear statutory framework for safeguarding and child protection. The statutory framework makes it clear, that local authorities have overarching duties for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of individual children and young people in their area, established through the Children Act 1989.

Specifically, section 17 of that Act requires local authorities to provide services to children in need in their area, no matter where they live or where they are educated. Section 47 of the same Act requires local authorities to investigate whether action should be taken by them to safeguard or promote the welfare of children suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.

The statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015), sets out how these duties should be complied with by local authorities. In addition, the Government has issued separate non-statutory advice for local authorities on elective home education, which contains guidance in relation to safeguarding.

Local authority revenue expenditure on children’s social care is funded from the general local government settlement. Local authority expenditure on children’s services is around £7bn (safeguarding, adoption, looked after children, family services; of which £5.9bn is comprised of safeguarding, adoption and looked after children services).

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