Report to the Secretary of State on the review of elective home education in England

Download or read book Report to the Secretary of State on the review of elective home education in England written by Graham Badman and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-06-11 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 19 January 2009 Graham Badman - former Director of Children's Services in Kent - was asked to carry out a review of elective home education in England. The terms of reference for the review emphasised the Government's recognition of parents' well established right to educate their children at home. They also set out the pre-eminent right of the child to receive a suitable education in a safe environment. While around 20,000 children are already registered, the actual number being home educated is unknown and could be more than double this number. The key recommendations include: (1) that local authorities should provide more support to home educating families, eg. through helping provide access to the national examination system, sports facilities, libraries and music tuition; (2) a compulsory annual registration scheme, in which all parents who plan to home educate have to inform their local authority; While around 20,000 children are already registered, the actual number being home educated is unknown and could be more than double this number; (3) at the time of registration, parents being asked to submit a statement of their intended approach to the child's education including what they aim to achieve over the following 12 months; (4) giving properly trained local authority officials the right of access to the home, following a minimum two week notification to the parents, allowing them to check that the child is making progress against their learning statement; they will also have the right to speak to the child, to ensure they are safe and well after which a written report must then be produced and shared with the parents and child; and (4) that local authorities can refuse registration to home educate if there is clear evidence of safeguarding concerns.