Agenda item

To receive a report of the Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform setting out the background and rationale for the revised Elective Home Education (EHE) policy.

(Report of the Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform, Mr Roger Gough and Corporate Director for Education and Young People’s Services)

Cabinet received a report containing a revised Elective Home Education policy for consideration and approval.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform introduced the report for Cabinet.  He described the recent development of the area of Elective Home Education and the growth in the number of children now classed as being educated at home.  The draft Elective Home Education Policy therefore dealt with a range of complex and serious issues.

Mr Gough reported that a number of representations had been made in relation to the draft policy, since its publication as part of the Cabinet agenda and as such he proposed a two stage approach to agreement of the document in order that further debate and investigation could take place.  The matter would be considered here for noting and returned for further consideration and agreement in the autumn following discussion at Cabinet Committee and further investigation of points raised by members of the public.

The Corporate Director for Education and Young People’s Services, Patrick Leeson, was asked to comment.  He spoke of the very clear duty on the Local Authorities to ascertain whether children educated at home were receiving a suitable education and described the draft policy as being designed to help and support parents who chose to educate their children at home, to provide that suitable education.

Mr Leeson also commented on the growth in numbers to which Mr Gough had made reference.  This growth, he reported, had seen the numbers of children in Kent being educated at home almost double over the last 4-5years to just under 1400.  Of these children approximately one third were aged 14 and 15 and therefore at a critical stage of both their development and their education.

It was important that the policy allowed the Council to assess the suitability of education being received so that where it was needed support could be offered.

To evidence the difficulties that children educated at home sometimes face and the importance of a policy that allowed the Council to properly fulfil its duty to ascertain that children are suitably educated Mr Leeson reported to members:

·         That a sizeable number of those children who become home educated are already regarded as needing additional support.

·         That 45% of those children home educated had persistent absence in the year before they were removed and overall the average attendance of home schooled children in the year before they became home educated was 59%

·         That 15% of home educated children in the County were already known to Children’s social services and almost 20% of home educated children go on to become NEET.

Finally Mr Leeson reminded Members that many parents who elected to home educate their children, did so for very principled reasons and delivered an excellent education.  The Council’s policy would not seek to interfere or intervene where this was the case. 

The Leader agreed with the final comments made by Mr Leeson and assured Members that families who provided a suitable education at home for reasons of personal choice need not be concerned by the proposed changes.  However the number and age profile of children educated at home in Kent meant that the Council must have in place a policy that allowed identification of those, often vulnerable, young people who were not receiving such an education at home.  

Mr Leeson added that in the last year where advice and support has been offered to those families who wished to receive it, 25% of children had now returned to school as a result of particular issues of concern being addressed.

Mr Cooke commented to support the approach of the draft policy as described by the Cabinet Member and Corporate Director and echoed the comments of the Leader; that it would be imperative to the success of the policy that parents were clear that any changes were motivated by a need to fulfil statutory duties and a desire to support families, when that support is wanted.  He asked Mr Gough and Mr Leeson to engage with the Elective Home School groups in order to disseminate this message.

It was RESOLVED that the information be noted and the decision deferred until October.