The answer to question 43 also seems to be revealing. It appears to refer to the Elective Home Education Guidelines (which have been in place since Nov 2007) as a draft document. If there is anything that home educators would call for as a result of this review, it is that these guidelines be taken seriously by the LAs.
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Q1 Name of LA
Educational Welfare team
Learning Services
Q6 List all teams / professionals involved in supporting home educating families
Family Services
Child and Family Mental Health team
Youth Offending team
Special Needs team
Vulnerable Children's Service
Connections
Q7 List all teams / professionals involved in monitoring home educating families
Learning Services
Family Services
Educational Welfare Team
Q8 Describe how you ensure collaboration and communication between these teams / individuals
The Educational Welfare team and Learning Services have established roles and procedures for communication between these teams
Q9 How many children are currently home educated in your local authority of primary age (Registered with LA)
Q10 How many children are currently home educated in your local authority of primary age (Non-registered with LA)
Q11 How many children are currently home educated in your local authority of secondary age (Registered with LA)
Q12 How many children are currently home educated in your local authority of secondary age (Non-registered with LA)
Q13 Total (Registered with LA)
Q14 Total (Non-registered with LA)
Q15 Are these figures accurate or based on estimates?
Accurate
Estimate
Q16 If accurate, where do you get this data from?
Learning Services and educational Welfare team databases
Q17 If accurate, how do you know the data is accurate?
The database is updated termly and paper copies are kept with reports of visits.
Q18 If estimated, what data have you used to arrive at this figure? (List all sources)
Q19 How confident is the local authority in the accuracy of this data?
Very confident
Fairly confident
Don't know
Not very confident
Not at all confident
Q20 How often does the local authority get updated data? (List frequency for each source separately)
The educational welfare team refer pupils when necessary and schools are required to notify the EWT within two days of receiving a deregistration letter from parents.
Q21 What proportion (as a percentage) of your home educated population is statemented for SEN? (please state whether accurate or estimate)
Accurate
Q22 What proportion (as a percentage) of your home educated population is non-statemented for SEN (please state whether accurate or estimate)
Q23 What proportion (as a percentage) of your home educated population is from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage (please state whether accurate or estimate)
Q24 What proportion (as a percentage) of your home educated population is made up of other Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups
Q25 Please list which BME groups.
Q26 Do you believe the local authority knows about all the home educated children in your area?
Yes, we are confident we know about all home educated children in the area
We think we know about the vast majority of home educated children in the area
We probably do not know about a fair number of home educated children in the area
We probably do not know about a significant proportion of home educated children in the area
Q27 Do you think that you will be better able to track children in your area in the near future? e.g. planned changes to your own systems, ContactPoint, other system improvements?
yes
no
Q28 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
Many home educating families do not enter the school system and are not obliged to inform the LA but Contact Point will identify those with no place of education.
Q29 How does the local authority ensure families know about their rights and responsibilities in relation to home education? (List all approaches used)
Web site information (To be reviewed)
Initial visit from the Educational Welfare team who supply information on EHE
Q30 What support does your local authority provide to home educating families? (List all forms of support offered)
Monitoring visits
Lists of local and national organisations for EHE
Lists of suggestions for enhancing curriculum provision
Provision of a room facility for half a day a week
Annual review for statemented children
Youth and community service support
Q31 How does the local authority let families know about the services provided to support them in home educating their children? (List all approaches used)
Initial visit by EWT
Annual visit by Learning Services representative (More frequent if required)
Q32 Following the initial assessment visit, are further monitoring visits made to a home educated child?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q33 If yes, how often, on average, are these carried out?
More than twice a year
Twice a year
Once a year
Less than once a year
Q34 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
Visits would be more frequent if there was an identified need.
Q35 On average, how often is the child seen when a visit is made?
Always, at each visit
Usually, but not always
Sometimes
Never
Depends on the child / circumstances
Q36 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
Sometimes the child is severely autistic and meeting them is not appropriate
Sometimes the child is emotionally or mentally scarred and has issues with authority so it may be necessary to meet parents away from the home.
Q37 If the child is seen, where is s/he usually seen?
In the home
At the home, but do not go inside
Another venue
Depends on the child / circumstances
Q38 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
Q39 If you are not permitted access to a child, is any further action taken?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q40 If yes, what further steps are taken?
EWT team may be informed if this is deemed appropriate.
Q41 How is the suitability of the education provided to the child assessed? (Please describe
Through home visits and by using the authority's checklist and report pro-forma.
Q42 Is the local authority clear about what the definition of a 'suitable education' is?
yes
no
Q43 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
As defined in the draft guidelines for LAs paragraph 3.15
Q44 Does the local authority have systems in place to track the educational progress of home educated children?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q45 Please use this space to add further detail to the answer you have just given
The LA monitors the provision but does not at present have any system for the assessment of pupils except for those on statements
Q46 Of the home educated children in your area of whom you have knowledge, what proportion (as a percentage) in your estimation is receiving a suitable, full time (20hrs a week) education? (Please describe)
93%
Q47 Does the local authority take any further steps if a home educated child's education was found to be unsuitable or not full time?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q48 Please use this space to add further detail to the answer you have just given
Recommendations are made to parents to improve and develop provision but if they do not respond the case is referred back to EWT
Q49 Does the local authority face any challenges in assessing whether home educated children receive a suitable education?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q50 If you answered yes to Q49, please describe the challenges and what you think could be done to overcome these
If parents ignore communications or do not allow visits and fail to provide detail of educational provision.
Q51 Thinking about your local area, in the last five years, how many cases have you come across that use the premise of home education as a 'cover' for child abuse, forced marriage or other aspects of child neglect?
None
Q52 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given. Please include the number of Serious Case Reviews you know about that have a home education element.
None
Q53 Do you think the current system for safeguarding children who are educated at home is adequate?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q54 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
TThe children who are not known to the LA because they have never attended school are not monitored.
Q55 Do you think that home educated children in your local authority are able to achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes? Please say why you think that for each of the five outcomes
Be healthy - Yes -The home visits by Learning Services
Stay safe - Yes -The home visits by Learning Services
Enjoy and achieve - Yes -The home visits by Learning Services, links to Youth Service and monitoring of GCSE outcomes and tracking of NEETs.
Make a positive contribution - Yes -The home visits by Learning Services and monitoring of GCSE outcomes and tracking of NEETs.
Achieve economic well-being - Yes -The home visits by Learning Services and monitoring of GCSE outcomes and tracking of NEETs.
Q56 Do you think there should be any changes made to the current system for supporting home educating families?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q57 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
Development of the LA website and the provision a more detailed parental guidance policy.
Q58 Do you think there should be any changes made to the current system for monitoring home educating families and ensuring that home educated children are able to achieve the five outcomes?
Yes
No
Don't know
Q59 Please use this space to add detail to the answer you have just given
A review of policies and procedures is being undertaken to ensure appropriate provision and to more closely monitor the progress of individuals
Q60 Has the Director of Children's Services and the Lead Member for Children and Young People seen and agreed with the answers you have given above?
DCS
Lead member
6 comments:
Wow these responses sure do show the LEAs don't understand the Law.
The review really does need to target that.
Elizabeth
I don't think they give a damn about the law. They think they can change it perhaps.
Hmm. This is my LA. I think a meeting might be in order, don't you?! We're discussing it on the local list: I'd just like a name to go with the response. The body of officials tends to separate into separate little globules like quicksilver whenever it's poked. Dunno whether that's a typical LA characteristic, but I suspect it is.
"separate into separate..."?
Doh, brain is mush today.
Lol..am actually relieved to hear you have days like that too, G!! I've been feeling very addled recently.
Me too! I blame review fatigue.
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