Independent Review of Home Education in England
Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire about processes for supporting and monitoring home education. You may find it helpful to read through the questionnaire before attempting to complete it. Completion of the questionnaire is entirely voluntary. Responses will be completely confidential and used only for the purposes of the independent review.
The Government is committed to ensuring that systems for keeping children safe are as robust as possible. As part of this continuing commitment, an independent review of home education will assess whether the right systems are in place for ensuring that home educated children have access to the five Every Child Matters outcomes. This includes whether Government should do more to support local authorities in discharging their duties in relation to home educated children. The full terms of reference for the review are available on-line at www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/ete/homeeducation
As organisations responsible for ensuring the safety, wellbeing and education of children and young people in your localities, we very much value your input into this review.
Please note, the Director of Children's Services and Lead Member for Children and Young People are asked to sign off the response to this questionnaire before submitting it.
Please return your completed questionnaire by Friday 6 February to [email address]
Or by post to:
Elizabeth Green
Home Education Review
DCSF
Level 2
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT
Thank you for taking time to respond to these questions.
Section One - About your local authority
Name of LA | Tameside MBC | |
Tel. No of main contact | 0161 342 3302 | |
E-mail of main contact | [email address] | |
Would you be willing to take part in the next phase of the research in March (including in-depth interviews with key personnel in your organisation)? | No | |
1. Who is involved in supporting and monitoring home educated children within the local authority and other agencies?
Team with main responsibility - | |
List all teams / professionals involved | |
Support | Monitoring |
School Admissions School Improvement Education Welfare Service Connexions | School Improvement School Admissions |
Describe how you ensure collaboration and communication between these teams / individuals School Admissions hold a database of all home educated pupils and liaise with all agencies including making appropriate referrals to Connexions. Regular Team Meetings Individual pupil reports shared with teams
| |
Section Two - Data and Tracking
2. How many children are currently home educated in your local authority?
Phase | Registered with LA | Non-registered children |
Primary age | 12 | Not known |
Secondary age | 27 | Not Known |
Total | 39 | No way of knowing |
3. Are these figures accurate or based on estimates?
Accurate
Where do you get this data from?
LA keeps database of those registered
How do you know the data are accurate?
LA keeps database
Estimate
What data have you used to arrive at this figure? (List all sources)
4. How confident are you in the accuracy of this data?
Very confident Fairly confident Don't know
Not very confident Not at all confident
5. How often does the local authority get updated data?
We don't get data - we produce the data
6. Thinking about your home educated population, what proportions have the following characteristics? Please say whether these figures are based on estimates or accurate data.
Characteristic | Proportion | Delete as appropriate |
Statement for SEN | None | /accurate |
Non-statemented SEN | 100% | accurate |
Gypsy, Roma, Traveller heritage | 5% | accurate |
Other BME Group (please state below) | 0 | accurate |
| Estimate / accurate | |
| Estimate / accurate | |
| Estimate / accurate |
7. 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
8. 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
Why do you think that?
No X
Why do you think that?
There is no requirement for parents to inform us that they are home educating if their child has never attended school either from Reception or have moved into the area from abroad or other area. How do we know who these children are?
Don't know
Section Three - Supporting Home Educating Families
9. How does the local authority ensure families know about their rights and responsibilities in relation to home education?
Pack issued to every parent who either requests it or where we are told by school that parents have decided to home educate.
Details available on the LA website
10. What support does your local authority provide to home educating families?
Information pack including Parent Proposal Form.
Parent Proposal Form passed to School Improvement Team
Initial visit by School Improvement Officer
Visits offered every 6 months
Verbal and written advice and guidance from SIO
11. How does the local authority let families know about the services provided to support them in home educating their children?
In initial pack and letter to parents
Section Four - Assessment and Monitoring
12. Following the initial assessment visit, are further monitoring visits made to a home educated child?
Yes No Don't know
12a. If yes, how often, on average, are these carried out?
More than twice a year How often?
Twice a year Once a year
Less than once a year
Additional comments
1 visit by school improvement officer
1 visit by education welfare officer
13. 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 Please describe
14. If the child is seen, where is s/he usually seen?
In the home At the home, but do not go inside
Another venue Please specifiy
Depends on the child / circumstances Please describe
15. If you are not permitted access to a child, is any further action taken?
Yes No Don't know
15a. If yes, what further steps are taken?
Please describe
16. How is the `suitability' of the education provided to the child assessed?
Carried out by School Improvement Officers. Judgement based on officers' experience as teachers.
17. Is the local authority clear about what the definition of a `suitable education' is?
Yes
A programme that helps the child develop according to his/her age, ability and aptitude and any special education needs he/she may have..
No
Why is that?
18. Does the local authority have systems in place to track the educational progress of home educated children?
Yes No Don't know
If yes, please describe the system
19. Of the home educated children in your area of whom you have knowledge, what proportion in your estimation are receiving a suitable, full time (20hrs a week) education?
85%
20. 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
20a. If yes, what steps are then taken?
Follow-up letters and visit advising parents what is needed for them to provide suitable education.
If provision continues to be unsuitable - issue school attendance order.
21. Does the local authority face any challenges in assessing whether home educated children receive a suitable education?
Yes No Don't know
If yes, please describe challenges and what you think could be done to overcome these
Our responsibility for all children is not supported by Home Education Legislation and guidance. There is no requirement for parents to inform LA if a child has never been in school. Parents can and do refuse visits. A report provided by the parent on the education being received is no substitute for seeing the child. Can't assess if we don't know they exist.
Place a duty on parents to inform us and then comply with assessment visits including seeing the child.
22. 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
Please specify number
Additional comments
Please include the number of Serious Case Reviews you know about that have a home education element
23. Do you think the current system for safeguarding children who are educated at home is adequate?
Yes Why do you think that?
No Why do you think that?
Families on the verge of prosecution for non-attendance use home education to avoid prosecution. This is a particular issue for year 10 and 11 pupils, where the possibility of getting an attendance order enforced by the courts is difficult.
No legal powers to assess conditions under which home education is provided
Don't know
22. Do you think that home educated children in your local authority are able to achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes?
Yes Please say why for each of the five outcomes.
Be healthy - The majority of home educated children in our area will achieve this outcome but as there is no formal framework for assessing home educated children, this is not easy to quantify.
Stay safe - as above
Enjoy and achieve - as above
Make a positive contribution - as above
Achieve economic well-being - as above
No Please say why for each of the five outcomes.
Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
Achieve economic well-being
23. Do you think there should be any changes made to the current system for supporting home educated families?
Yes What should they be?
The current system works adequately and could be improved with additional resources to local authorities. For example, parents could be advised on how to effectively measure their child's progress and set appropriate targets for further improvements.
No Why do you think that?
Don't know
24. 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 What should they be?
Our responsibility for all children is not adequately supported by current legislation and guidance on home education. Parents should be required to inform the local authority that they are home educating their child and should be required to comply with reasonable requests for visits by professionals. A report provided by the parent on the education being received by their child is no substitute for actually seeing the child.
No Why do you think that?
Don't know
Thank you for taking time to respond to these questions.
Please return your completed questionnaire, by Friday 6 February to [email address] or by post to the address on page one. If you are returning the questionnaire electronically, please add the name of the DCS and Lead Member in the signature box.
Declaration
I agree that the information supplied in this questionnaire is a true reflection of practice in this local authority.
Jim Taylor 20/02/09
Signed Date
Director of Children's Services
Councillor Cooney 20/02/09
Signed Date
Cabinet Deputy Lifelong Learning
The information you have provided may be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This does not necessarily mean that your response can be made available to the public as there are exemptions relating to information provided in confidence and information to which the Data Protection Act 1998 applies. You may request confidentiality by ticking the box provided, but you should note that this may not exclude the public right of access.
Please tick if you want to keep your response confidential | |
Since January 2003
NB - this data will not be aggregated or used in any other way. This data will provide an overall sense of the scale of this issue.
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