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- Educating your child at home
Pupil Referral UnitsSome parents choose to educate their children at home, for a variety of reasons. Doncaster Council, believes that school is the best place to educate children except for a very small number of pupils. Nevertheless, Doncaster Council fully supports the rights of parents to educate their children at home and seeks to work co-operatively with them for the benefit of their children.
What should you do if you want to educate your son or daughter at home?
Parents making this decision should inform, in writing, the headteacher of the school attended by their child and the school should then inform the Local Authority (LA). Informing the school is important so that the child will be de-registered from school. Parents may contact the LA directly, especially if they wish to discuss the matter informally. If the child has never attended school, parents are asked to inform the LA of their decision to educate at home.
What are parents' responsibilities?
The responsibility of the parent is clearly set out in Section 7 of the Education Act 1996(www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/1996056.htm) which states:
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him or her to receive efficient full time education suitable:
There is no rule about what a suitable education might be but it should prepare a child for life in a modern society and allow the child to reach his or her full potential. It should open opportunities and not foreclose them. It should offer:
Parents who educate their children at home do not have to follow the full National Curriculum. The phrase "full time", usually understood to mean similar in hours to school hours, can be interpreted differently, since a child's education at home is often on an individual basis.
Parents should consider the need for any young person to have formal qualifications for any future role in life.
What should this Council, as the Local Education Authority, do?
The Local Authority has the legal responsibility to satisfy itself that all children educated at home are having a legally adequate and suitable education. In order to carry out our responsibilities, the Consultant for Education at Home, will write to parents seeking to make an initial visit to discuss their plans and strategies, to explain their legal rights and responsibilities, to give advice and make recommendations. Whenever possible, this will happen within 30 working days from when the child is de-registered from school. A report of the meeting will be written and a copy sent to the parents. At the end of the initial meeting, the Consultant will seek agreement to a further visit for assessment purposes when it will be possible to view the evidence of the education being offered. Following this visit, a report will be written, stating whether the provision is suitable.
Should a further visit, or visits, be necessary to see that the education being offered meets the legal requirements, they will be provided. As necessary, further advice and recommendations will be given and assessments made. Should the education be suitable, a visit will be made, at least, on an annual basis.
If, after a number of meetings, the education being provided does not meet the legal requirements, the Local Authority will instruct the parents to register the child at a school. Should they not do that, a School Attendance Order will be sought from the courts. Should, after a number of attempts have been made, it prove impossible to meet the parents it will be presumed that a legally suitable education is not being provided.
What if the child has special educational needs?
For a child with a Statement of Special Educational Needs whose Statement names a special school, the situation is different and the LA must be consulted and must give its permission for education at home. The LA must also take responsibility for ensuring that the Statement is reviewed once a year.
Further information
For further information, see Educating Children at Home, England and Wales (Department for Education and Skills (DfES) 1998). (http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/publications/)
