Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the High Court decision in Goodred v Portsmouth City Council [2021] EWHC 3057, what steps they are taking to ensure that local authorities are aware of their powers to carry out inquiries to check that home schooled children are receiving "a suitable education", as required by the Education Act 1996.

The department intervened in the Goodred v Portsmouth City Council judicial review as a neutral party to assist the court in understanding relevant guidance and legislation. A judgment was handed down on 16 November 2021, where the claim was dismissed on all grounds.

The government has substantially strengthened its guidance to local authorities on exercising their powers in relation to elective home education. The revised guidance, which was published in April 2019, sets out the steps that local authorities should take to satisfy themselves that the education provided by parents at home is suitable, and the actions that they can take if they are not satisfied. This guidance will be reviewed again in due course.