Home Education Inquiry - Call for Evidence

The UK government has launched an inquiry into Home Education and is currently calling for evidence.

Click HERE for the link to submit your own response.  The deadline is 6th November 2020.

I have been asked to go through this documentation and put together my own thoughts and reasonings, in case they are of use to others, so here goes...

The Call for Evidence introduces itself as:

The Committee invites written submissions addressing any or all of the following points:

• The duties of local authorities with regards to home education, including safeguarding and assuring the quality of home education;
• whether a statutory register of home-educated children is required;
• the benefits children gain from home education, and the potential disadvantages they may face;
• the quality and accessibility of support (including financial support) available for home educators and their children, including those with special educational needs, disabilities, mental health issues, or caring responsibilities, and those making the transition to further and higher education;
• whether the current regulatory framework is sufficient to ensure that the wellbeing and academic achievement of home educated children is safeguarded, including where they may attend unregistered schools, have been formally excluded from school, or have been subject to ‘off-rolling’;
• the role that inspection should play in future regulation of home education;
• what improvements have been made to support home educators since the 2010-15 Education Committee published their report on ‘Support for Home Education’ in 2012; and
• the impact COVID-19 has had on home educated children, and what additional measures might need to be taken in order to mitigate any negative impacts.’

Going through the links, it states that the evidence should be concise, and if it is over 3000 words it should include a summary at the start, and specifies:

Your uploaded file must

• be less than 25MB
• be a single Word, ODT or RTF document
• not contain logos 

And then you get taken through to the place where you can upload your file.

I am not going to share my actual response here, but rather my thoughts and concerns about each of the things mentioned above.

1) The duties of local authorities with regards to home education, including safeguarding and assuring the quality of home education;

The LA has no such duty to assure the quality of home education.  Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act states the responsibility of PARENTS as follows:

Duty of parents to secure education of children of compulsory school age.

The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable —

(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and

(b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

It is the parents responsibility to ensure that the quality of education being provided to their children, whether at school or otherwise, is suitable and efficient.  However, if there is genuine concern that the child is not being given an appropriate education, the LA can make informal enquiries, and if these are not satisfied, then there are further steps that can be taken.  

In fact, the recent Guidance for Parents (published in April 2019, that I have previously gone through HERE) specifically states:

5.1 Your local authority has no formal powers or duty to monitor the provision of education at home.

Regarding Safeguarding, Section 7.3 of the Guidance for LAs explicitly states "There is no proven correlation between home education and safeguarding risk".  Indeed Graham Stuart, MP and previous Chair of the Education Select Committee, stated that home educated children are "peculiarly visible".  There has been a review of all the Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) in the country, and there has never been a case where home education has been a causative factor.  Just because a child is home educated, does not mean they are locked under the stairs, rather they are out and about in society, and very noticeable due to the relative lack of other children who are hidden away in schools...

LAs do have a duty of care regarding the safeguarding of ALL children - and if there are any concerns, then they should get Social Services involved, using the processes and powers that they already have.

2) whether a statutory register of home-educated children is required;

I have talked about whether a register of home educated children is necessary before which you can read HERE.

3) the benefits children gain from home education, and the potential disadvantages they may face;

This is interesting that they have included this here, and it is not something that I have seen asked about before - the benefits of HE!  And there are many.  

Just off the top of my head: freedom to learn, freedom to live, freedom to choose friends who share interests, rather than sharing age.  Being part of society, rather than apart from society.  Following your own interests in as much depth as you want, without being bound by arbitrary bells, signalling the end of a lesson, or arbitrary syllabi stating that it is out of scope of the exam.  Learning life skills, not just cooking and cleaning, but how society works - seeing parents making appointments with the doctor, dentist, optician; going to banks and post offices; paying bills, learning about taxes, learning about budgets and meal planning and shopping accordingly, growing plants from seeds that you care for and can eventually eat the fruits of the harvest.  Discovering your passion in an unusual area, doing your own research to find out what skills and qualifications are required to pursue that career.  Realising that learning is fun and learning is life.  Knowing deep in your soul that learning does not stop at 18years old, and there is no such thing as "too late".  Understanding that if you don't have a passion for a specific career at a young age, it's ok, because you have your whole life ahead of you and you can always go to college or university later in life.  
As I said, that's just off the top of my head.  It wouldn't surprise me if there are many more. Lack of bullying...

Potential disadvantages of HE:

Honestly? The only one I can think of is "computer says no".  DD1 is now in school, and DD2 has started showing interest in following her, but when I was imagining/anticipating HEing throughout their childhood, I would have strongly encouraged them to get their maths and English GCSEs.  Not because I think they hold any particular value - quite the contrary. But because I can honestly imagine (and having an engineering degree myself, so knowing some programmers it is not a stretch of the imagination by any means!) the situation where a HE child with a passion for maths, for example, skips GCSEs and maybe A-Levels too, studies a maths degree with the OU, then goes to a brick university for Masters or PhD in a maths discipline, decides academia isn't for them, so wants to be get a job somewhere, and despite being the world expert in their particular field, because they don't have maths GCSEs, they can't "tick the box" on an online recruitment form, and so are denied a myriad of jobs that they would be brilliant at.

Other "potential" disadvantages sound like you are scraping the barrel to come up with hypothetical scenarios, and then twist them into "proof" that HE is bad.  Everyone knows about the S-word (socialisation) and how untrue it actually is for people who home educate. Lack of breadth of learning - but the same can be said for schools, for kids who are not into academics, but would rather do something practical, and perhaps learn business alongside where the maths/english etc has relevance.  

But as I said, the fact it has asked for potential disadvantages, makes me feel like they are clasping at straws, so other than the one above I mentioned, I'm inclined to not reply to this section.

4) the quality and accessibility of support (including financial support) available for home educators and their children, including those with special educational needs, disabilities, mental health issues, or caring responsibilities, and those making the transition to further and higher education;

When parents opt to home educate their children, they opt to take on all financial responsibility for their children's education - much like when a parent opts to use a private or independent school.  As such, there is no financial support available for the majority of HErs.  

Other than the obvious impact if a parent decides to stop working in order to facilitate HE, the main financial concern comes surrounding exams.  Parents need to find an exam board, pay for the exam, find a centre to sit the exam, and pay the centre for the privilege of sitting the exam, at the minimum. For example, if it is impossible to find a local exam centre that accepts external candidates, the cost of transport and accommodation, food and other sundries, needs to be taken into account for every exam.

Some HE parents want the government to provide free exams (usually GCSEs) for HE kids, whilst other HE parents are rightly concerned about what "strings" will be attached for such an arrangement.  If such an arrangement were possible, I would want it optional, and parents still be able to choose to arrange exams without governmental control.  My preference, rather, is that all HE colleges must accept external candidate, without charge for using the premises, if they are already sitting an exam on that date.  So, the exam itself could still cost money, but everyone will be able to find somewhere local to them in order to sit the exam.  In the rare case where the college cannot accommodate an external student, they have to be able to justify it.  (For example, I have heard some smaller colleges do not accept external candidates for summer exams, because they are full to capacity, but do accept them in November and January because fewer of their students are doing resits.)

Care and support for people with SEN - legally there should be no difference whether the child is at school or otherwise.  However, anecdotally, this is not always the case.  Many people pursuing EHCPs for their children get told that this can only be done in a school environment (untrue) or conversely that because their child has an EHCP that they cannot HE (also untrue).  The same is often true for people looking for official diagnosis of autism or ADD, GPs will tell parents that they have to go through the school for referral (untrue).  Referral to CAMHS, TAMHS and other children's mental health support, can also be difficult when HE, not least because parents try to mitigate any factors automatically as part of their parenting, so the children may appear to have milder symptoms compared to others at school, when they do indeed need high levels of support.

Though not SEN related, there are other disparities between care for schooled and home-educated children, eg use of a school nurse (who legal is responsibly for the care of all school-aged children) or getting vaccinations and being told by doctor's receptionists that HE kids cannot book into the surgery because they will be done at school!

Transition to further and higher education doesn't seem to be a problem; generally educational establishments liaise with parents as they would with a schooled kids' teachers.

5) whether the current regulatory framework is sufficient to ensure that the wellbeing and academic achievement of home educated children is safeguarded, including where they may attend unregistered schools, have been formally excluded from school, or have been subject to ‘off-rolling’;

I've already talked about the first half of this, though when I write the report I'll probably just C&P what I wrote above.  I'll also add in/ask how they ensure the academic achievement of schooled children is safe guarded, when too many children come out of school without reaching the government's "minimum standards"?

Attending unregistered schools isn't home education. I'm trying to think of a good analogy but my brain isn't working this morning, so I hope this suffices: Most people use banks or building societies for their money; however some people prefer to save up in piggy banks at home.  This question is the equivalent of asking whether the current frame work is sufficient for people who save at home, including those who invest in dodgy deals?!  If you are investing in dodgy deals, you are not saving at home.  If your child is attending an unregistered school, then you are not educating at home!

Similarly, I have to ask if being formally excluded from school the same as home education?  Surely that's a totally separate thing, and because it's the parent's choice to register their child in school, if their child is excluded, then it is the LAs responsibility for finding another school place or ensuring the child is educated.

And again, Off-rolling Prevention should be an LA/Ofsted joint initiative, and though the parents/child have been forced to home educate, really this situation should not have anything to do with HE regs or guidance, but all within the monitoring of the behaviour of schools.

6) the role that inspection should play in future regulation of home education;

Define "inspection". LAs have no duty to monitor HE (C&P from above).

The government does not inspect the kitchens of all parents to ensure they are feeding their children a balanced/government approved diet; they only go in to inspect when there is cause for concern.  The same should be for home education.

In fact, the time of year when most child abuse instances occur is over the summer holidays, and the government does not routinely inspect parents homes whose kids are out of school, yet there is statistical proof that these children are the most at risk.

7) what improvements have been made to support home educators since the 2010-15 Education Committee published their report on ‘Support for Home Education’ in 2012; 

This is a 112 page document, and can be found HERE though the main document is only the first 25 pages, the rest being annexes.

This question asks what improvements have been made since this report, and judging by the summary that I'll copy below, the answer is Zero improvements.

Summary

In England, the responsibility for a child’s education rests with his or her parents: education is compulsory, but school is not. Our inquiry sought to look specifically at the support which is available to home educators, and at the relationships between home educators and local authorities.

Whilst Government guidance sets out the role of local authorities with regard to home education, we heard evidence that some authorities are acting outside the law. We urge all local authorities to undertake a swift review of their own material, including websites, and to ensure that their policies reflect the guidance available. Some aspects of existing guidance require clarification, and we recommend that the Department for Education undertakes a review of guidance relating to home education.

We saw some examples of outstanding practice, where local authorities have made real efforts to improve their behaviour, structures and accessibility better to work with and for home educators. However, we also saw evidence of inconsistency across the country, leading to a ‘postcode lottery’ for home educators. A number of innovative models for remedying this were described to us, and we are pleased to support those. The development of a more formalised professional association of, and/or annual conference for, home education officers could be a welcome step in terms of sharing best practice nationally. Local authorities might also improve their relationships with home educators by ensuring officers dealing with these issues are placed in a dedicated or neutral team: locating home education officers with those working on, for example, attendance, children in care or safeguarding gives an unhelpful impression.

We also recommend that the Department for Education carries out an audit of local authorities’ performance regarding home education. Publishing the results, showing which local authorities are performing well, would fit well with the Government’s transparency drive. We received little evidence from home educators arguing for increased financial support, but we heard many calls for better or fairer provision of services. We have not, therefore, recommended any system-wide changes to financial support for home educators, although we call on central Government to explain better how available funding might be obtained and utilised, and on local authorities to utilise and claim such funding. We do, however, make a number of recommendations regarding the provision of services for home educators and their families. At present, some home-educated young people experience difficulties in accessing and affording public examinations which are readily available to others. We recommend that the Government places a duty on every local authorities to ensure access to local centres for home-educated young people to sit accredited public exams. We further recommend—given the contribution that many home educators make through their taxes—that the costs of sitting public examinations (to an appropriate level of entitlement) be met by the State.

In other areas, such as transition to further education, and access to cultural and leisure services, we heard of patchy provision across the country. Whilst we agree with the 4 Support for Home Education Minister that local authorities, and not central Government, must be responsible for service provision in their area, it is not acceptable that home-educated young people receive such different levels and quality of support dependent purely upon their postcode. Local authorities should produce ‘local offers of support’, stating what services are available to home-educating families, and the Department for Education should support pilots for such a scheme. We also look forward to the outcomes of the Department’s investigations into allegations of malpractice around young people with SEN or health needs who are home-educated: we heard some worrying evidence that provisions were not being fully met as they would be for schooled children.

It is clear from the evidence we received that many parties, both home educators and local authorities, have made real efforts to engage, to understand each other’s motivations and constraints, and to ensure more constructive relationships and better support. We acknowledge that there is some way to go, and look forward to seeing a more consistent approach to home education across the country. 

Many LAs still act outside the law, demand to visit homes, meet the children and see examples of work - all of which are unnecessary according the the Guidance for LAs (2019) and the Guidance for Parents (2019).  Some LAs refuse to given give new HErs information about local peer support, such as groups on Facebook.

LAs still do not have adequate training of their EHEOs.  Many are still ex teachers (so expect to see school-at-home), or have no knowledge of HE, education, pedagogy or any relevant qualifications.  Attempts for HErs to educate and work alongside their LA have mixed results.  Locally we have been going through a cycle of getting to an agreement, and then the EHEOs find new jobs, so we have to start again; and worse, we've been told, verbally, "yes" and the right sounds, only for nothing to actually change in reality. And there is still the overlap (ie the literal same people) being EHEOs and EWOs.  Paragraph 28 of the aforementioned document states "The team within which local authority home education officers sit can give out an important message about that authority’s view of home education. For example, it is inappropriate for such officers to be located with those working on attendance, children in care or safeguarding" - this hasn't changed at all.

Paragraph 34 on funding available for HE kids: "However, where funding is available, central Government needs to explain better how this can be obtained and utilised. We cannot understand why some local authorities refuse to utilise or claim such funding, and urge those that have done so to change their position."; in from Para 33 "Alison Sauer, who has conducted audits of local authorities, wrote that “many have decided that they will not be offering this funding”; Swindon and Poole were cited as having adopted this policy,".

Paragraph 43 on access to exam centres: "It does not seem reasonable to us that home educators in some areas have such a struggle accessing examinations centres for their children. We recommend that the Government place a duty on every local authority to ensure access to local centres for home-educated young people to sit accredited public examinations."  AFAIK people are still having to travel across the country in order to access and sit various examinations.

Paragraph 47 on access to college: "We congratulate the Government on giving further education colleges the power to admit 14 to 15-year-olds directly, and welcome this policy move, which we hope might benefit home educators as well as others." Whilst admittance of pre-16s to college is a good thing, some colleges have determined that it is too much of a hassle, some will only allow HE students to study specific subjects, or a narrow range of qualifications within that subject.  Some also will not allow all 14yos to study there, citing that the child "must be in years 10 or 11", meaning that kids who turn 14 at the start of September, have to wait a whole year before being allowed to enroll in a course.

Para 52 on local support: "Whilst we agree with the Minister’s view that local authorities, and not central Government, must be responsible for service provision in their area, we do not consider it acceptable that home-educated young people receive such different levels and quality of support dependent purely upon their postcode. Local authorities should be expected to produce a ‘local offer of support’ for home educators, stating what services are available, how these differ from those for parents of schooled children, and enabling home educators to compare with practice elsewhere. Critically, local offers must be developed in consultation with home educators and their families. We recommend that the Department for Education support pilots for such a scheme, and play a role in monitoring the quality of local offers and the adherence applied to them by local authorities. " - I haven't seen any evidence of this happening at all.

Para 57 is about children with SEN and EHCPs: "We are pleased that the Minister confirmed, in her evidence to us, that local authorities remain responsible for ensuring that provisions in Statements are met, and were equally pleased that she agreed the issues relating to home-educated young people with SEN or complex health needs, but without Statements, should be investigated. We look forward to the outcomes of the Department for Education’s investigations in this area. In the meantime we urge local authorities to comply with statutory guidance and ensure that home-educated young people with SEN or medical conditions are not being discriminated against" - this isn't my area of expertise, tbh, but this paragraph doesn't seem to say very much, other than "don't discriminate".

I'm not going to go through the Annexes of that document, but the link is just above in case you did want to read it through.

8) the impact COVID-19 has had on home educated children, and what additional measures might need to be taken in order to mitigate any negative impacts.

The main two impacts (off the top of my head - I'm getting tired now!) are about exams and groups/meets.

There are many HE students who were due to take exams over the summer that were cancelled due to covid. The parents had already paid for the examinations, and have received no refund.  And because the candidates were home educated, they could not be examined based on continuous assessment, because (somewhat understandably) so have been left with no grades. Link to Independent Article

Whilst some lucky students have been accepted on courses without their grades (see Section 3 above for potential problems facing people without grades), and some have been allowed to "resit" the exams in the November exam period, others have been left floundering with nothing, and no way to change it.

Similarly, there is still uncertainty about 2021 exams due to covid, and some parents are not entering their children in to exams for fear of having the same issues as this year's cohort.

Groups and meets are the other main issue due to covid.  Larger meets generally haven't had any problems, especially those provided by local businesses, because they have large enough premises to be socially distant, are fully insured, and are large enough that they have enough business to keep running in these unprecedented times.  Smaller meets, that are run for free in each others homes, are the ones that have had to stop.  Due to the Rule of 6, only smaller families can meet socially with one another.  It's not all loss - thankfully due to advances in technology, zoom, discord etc, kids can still access various online groups, they can still FaceTime each other, spend time with friends etc, but this has had an impact on HE families.

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I've been at this a while so I'm going to stop there for today.  I'll leave writing my actual response to a different day - as a reminder, we have until 6th November 2020.

I hope this has at least prompted some thoughts about they type of thing you can include, if you wish.  I don't claim this is exhaustive, or that it is the perfect response, but merely provide it as a help for you to write your own.