Home Education

(asked on 4th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on their consultation on elective home education.


Answered by
Baroness Berridge Portrait
Baroness Berridge
This question was answered on 18th March 2021

Parents have a right to educate their children at home, and the government wants the many parents who do it well to be supported. Most parents who take up the weighty responsibility of home education do a very good job, and many children benefit from being educated at home.

However, others are deemed to be ‘home educated’ but, in reality, such education provided is inappropriate, ineffective or through unsuitable settings (such as unregistered independent schools).

In the spring of 2019, a consultation was held on proposals for: a mandatory register of children not attending state or registered independent schools to help local authorities carry out their responsibilities in relation to children not in school, a duty on parents to register their child with the local authority if not registered at specified types of schools; a duty on proprietors of certain education settings to respond to enquiries from local authorities; and a duty on local authorities to provide support to parents who educate children at home.

The consultation closed on 24 June 2019 with nearly 5000 responses. Responses to the consultation have been considered and the government are committed to publishing the response in due course.

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