Thurrock Council Home education
What it means to home educate
Some families make the carefully considered decision to home educate long before their child reaches compulsory school age. Other families send their children to school but later decide they would prefer like to educate them from home.
When you choose to educate your child at home, it is called 'elective home education'. Only those with parental responsibility can make this decision but it can be very useful to talk to other families with experience of home education.
The commitment to home educate is long-term. It can be financially and personally demanding and also very rewarding. Some parents use their own tutors or classes provided through home education groups.
Finding information
There are several home education websites that may be helpful you:
• Education Otherwise – helpline 0845 478 6345 • Home Education Advisory Service (HEAS) • Educational Freedom • Home Education UK • Ed Yourself home education consultancy • Essex Home Education group Home education Responsibilities
By law, you must provide an efficient, full-time education suitable to the age, ability and aptitude of your child. There is no legal definition of full-time.
Children who attend school normally do so for between 22 and 25 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. These periods are not applicable to home education, where:
• there is often almost continuous one-to-one contact • education may take place outside normal school hours • the type of educational activity can be varied and flexible
Parents who education their child at home do not have to:
• teach the National Curriculum • provide a broad and balanced education • have a timetable • have premises equipped to any particular standard • set hours during which education will take place • have any specific qualifications • make detailed plans in advance • observe school hours, days or terms • give formal lessons • mark work done by their child • formally assess progress or set development objectives • reproduce school-type peer group socialising • match school-based, age-specific standards
You should consider, however, whether or not you would be able to show:
• the consistent involvement of parents or other significant carers • recognition of the child's needs, attitudes and aspirations • opportunities for the child to be stimulated by their learning experiences • access to resources and materials required to provide home education for the child, such as paper and pens, books and libraries, arts and crafts materials, physical activity and ICT • the opportunity for appropriate interaction with other children and other adults
These are the things that the government's Elective Home Education guidelines say we may reasonably expect your home education to include. Home education Getting started
If your child is on a school roll and you decide to educate him or her at home, you should write to the school to say you wish your child's name to be removed from the admission register.
The school will remove the child's name from the register and tell us immediately.
If your decision to educate at home is taken before your child has entered the school system, it would be helpful if you would let us know by email so we can put you in touch with our home education consultant.
Our home education consultant is an experienced teacher able to offer the benefit of advice and support on a wide range of education and teaching matters, including help with access to a centre for your child to sit public examinations.
Home education consultant e: homeeducation@thurrock.gov.uk Home education Special education needs
If your child has special educational needs (SEN) there are a few extra things you need to take into account.
Statements of SEN are converting to a new system of more comprehensive Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP), covering special educational needs and disability (SEND).
Legal guidance on home education for children with SEN is set out in the SEND Code of Practice, paragraphs 10.30 to 10.38, published by the government in January 2015.
Getting advice
If your child has a statement of SEN or an EHCP, or your child is already home educated and you have concerns about SEN your child may have, you may find it helpful to contact our SEN team.
Special Education Needs team t: 01375 652 555 e: [email protected]
We will work with you to see how your child's needs can be met and what the support and review arrangements will be. We will also give advice on other agencies that may be able to help.
Before deciding to educate your child at home it is useful to discuss this in detail with their school, pre-school or nursery, and in particular with their special education needs co-ordinator (SENCO), or at an annual review. If your child is not already in a school or pre-school then our SEN team can offer advice.
Removing your child from school
If your child has an EHCP and is attending a mainstream school, you should write to the school stating that your child will be attending education otherwise than at school and the school will remove your child from the school register.
If your child is attending a special school, we must give consent before the child's name can be removed from the special school's register. If this is your intention, then we will work closely with you to make sure it is carried out quickly.
When home educated, the EHCP remains in place to make sure your child's needs are met and that the right support is in place. We will review this with you annually.
Funding
In some situations we can fund or provide for the special educational needs of home educated children. You should consult the SEND Code of Practice or contact the SEN Service for a full explanation. Broadly, however:
• where the EHCP does not name a school or a type of school but states that the child or young person will be educated at home, then we will arrange for SEN provision within the EHCP
• where we name a school or a type of school in the EHCP but state that parents have made their own arrangements to home educate, we do not have a duty to make SEN provision as long as we are satisfied that the arrangements are suitable, although we must continue to review the plan annually
Young people with SEN can also be educated at home to make sure they participate in education and training until the age of 18. The above arrangements will apply while their EHCP is in place. Home education Support we can offer
Our home education consultant can give advice and support to home educating families who request it. Once you have decided to home educate you can contact us and, if you wish, we will put you in touch with our consultant.
Home education consultant e: [email protected]
Thurrock libraries – places to study and resources to use
Thurrock Libraries offer a wide range of services for children, young people and their families. Books and story CDs encourage reading and enhance reading for pleasure at all ages. Your library can also provide public computer access.
You and your children can access the full range of our library services with a ticket allowing you each to borrow up to 14 items at any one time. Our reservation system can get items for you from other libraries, even those outside Thurrock, and have them delivered to your local library.
Public examinations
Our Pupil Support Service can help parents of home educated children in accessing public examinations. The Pupil Support Service is a registered examination centre for all of the main examination boards. A fee is payable by you for this service.
Thurrock Pupil Support Service Culver Centre, Daiglen Drive, South Ockendon, RM15 5RR t: 01708 853 781 e: [email protected]
Further education, careers advice and work
Thurrock Careers service offers impartial information and advice. Young people can talk to personal advisors about career pathways, including routes into further education, apprenticeships or work with training. We offer a drop-in service that helps young people to make informed choices about their future.
Thurrock Careers Inspire Youth Hub, 24-28 Orsett Road, Grays, RM17 5EB t: 01375 413 735
Deciding to have your child educated at school
If your child was in a school previously our School Admissions team will look first to see if a place can be offered at the school he or she was in before.
Similarly, if your child has not been in the school system and you now want them to be, you can find out about the availability of places by contacting our School Admissions team. Home education Staying healthy and safe
The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) is delivered by specialist nurses and health visitors, and is available to children educated from home. It is provided by the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT).
The service offer includes immunisations at a clinic. You should inform them that your child is being educated at home and needs an immunisation.
Our Public Health team is reviewing the HCP to make sure that the service is available to all children wherever they are educated. Children who need therapy or specialist children's nursing will be able to gain access through NELFT.
Protecting your child when using the internet
The internet provides a valuable resource for children and young people's education, but it does also have a darker side. It is important your child both understands the benefits and is safe online.
Thurrock Local Safeguarding Children Board provides information for parents and children on safety settings for social media sites and links about keeping safe.
What to do if you are worried about a child's safety
If you are worried at all about a child's safety you can phone our Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). Phone immediately if you believe it is urgent.
Children's Services initial response Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, RM17 6SL t: 01375 652 802
Emergency contact outside of office hours t: 01375 372 468 For use outside of normal office hours: Monday to Thursday, 4:30pm to 9am Friday, from 4:30pm through the weekend until 9am on Monday public holidays
Home education Home education and the law
Most of the law covering home education is contained in the Education Act 1996. The main sections are set out below, along with other important provisions and a note explaining each one.
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 says:
“It shall be the duty of the parent of every child of compulsory school age to cause him receive efficient full-time education, suitable to his age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs he may have either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.”
This means that while education is compulsory, schooling is not. Parents must make sure their children get a suitable education either at school or at home.
Section 13a of the Education Act 1996 says:
“(1) A local education authority shall ensure that their functions relating to the provision of education to which this section applies are (so far as they are capable of being so exercised) exercised by the authority with a view to promoting high standards.
(2) This section applies to education for –
(a) persons of compulsory school age (whether at school or otherwise); and
(b) persons of any age above or below that age who are registered as pupils at schools maintained by the authority.”
This means we are responsible for promoting high standards for all children of school age in Thurrock, including children educated at school and at home.
Section 436a of the Education Act 1996 says:
“A local education authority must make arrangements to enable them to establish (so far as it is possible to do so) the identities of children in their area who are of compulsory school age but-
(a) are not registered pupils at a school, and
(b) are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school”
This means we must try to identify children who are not receiving a suitable education. We ask you to let us know when you decide to home educate so that it does not appear that your child is not receiving education.
Section 437 of the 1996 Education Act says:
“If it appears to a local authority that a child of compulsory school age is not receiving suitable education either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, they shall serve notice in writing on the parent requiring him/her to satisfy them within the period specified in the notice that the child is receiving such education.”
This means we must make sure that, where it appears that a child of school age is not receiving a suitable education, the child's parents show that the child is receiving a suitable education.
Section 175(1) of the Education Act 2002 says: "A local education authority shall make arrangements for ensuring that the functions conferred upon them in their capacity as a local education authority are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children."
This means we have a duty to safeguard all children in Thurrock in all education matters for which we are responsible.
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 says:
“...the name of a child who has under arrangements made by a local education authority become a registered pupil at a special school shall not be removed from the admission register of that school without the consent of that authority, or if that authority refuse to give consent, without a direction of the Secretary of State.”
This means that if your child is in a special school you must seek permission from us to withdraw your child. You do not need our permission to withdraw your child from a school that is not a special school. Home education Prevention of terrorism
By law, schools, colleges and other public organisations must have "due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". This is known as the 'Prevent Duty'.
Out-of-school settings supporting children
The government's 'Prevent duty guidance' contains the following in relation to children educated from home:
"51. Many children attend a range of out-of-school settings other than childcare including supplementary schools, and tuition centres to support home education. These settings are not regulated under education law.
Local authorities should take steps to understand the range of activity and settings in their areas and take appropriate and proportionate steps to ensure that children attending such settings are properly safeguarded (which should include considering whether children attending such settings are at risk of being drawn into extremism or terrorism).
In assessing the risks associated with such settings, local authorities should have regard to whether the settings subscribe to voluntary accreditation schemes and any other evidence about the extent to which the providers are taking steps to safeguard the children in their care.
Where safeguarding concerns arise, local authorities should actively consider how to make use of the full range of powers available to them to reduce the risks to children, including relevant planning and health and safety powers."
The government's Educate against hate website has information to help parents understand the issues and protect their children.
The risk of extremism in our area
There is no evidence that children educated from home in Thurrock are at greater risk than any other group of children, or that Thurrock children in general are at greater risk than in other parts of the country, but that is not a reason to be complacent.
Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others. We want to support you in making sure your children are protected from extremist views and the dangers of radicalisation.
The threat to children's safety posed by terrorist groups via the internet and social media is real and present. It is important that all parents and children know how to be safe online. Thurrock Local Safeguarding Children Board provides information for parents and children on safety settings for social media sites and links about keeping safe.