Councils ignore home educators' needs, find MPs

According to a report by the education select committee, children are currently subject to a “postcode lottery” of support, with some councils working to engage home educators, while others virtually ignoring the group, overlooking the needs of home-educated children with SEN and long-term health problems.

To tackle this, the report recommends that all local authorities produce a "local offer of support" for home educators, stating what services are available and how these differ from those for parents of schooled children, so that home educators are able to compare support in their area with practice elsewhere.

The report also argues that councils should review the support they offer to help children gain accredited qualifications, while government should place a duty on local authorities to make sure that home-educated children are supported with the costs of accessing exams.

Graham Stuart MP, chair of the education select committee chair, said the Department for Education should audit local authorities on their home education support and publish the results to promote consistency across England.

“Local authorities have a duty to see that provisions in statements are met regardless of whether or not the young person attends school,” he said. “We support the right of parents to educate their children at home and accept that home educating families should bear the costs of that provision.

“We don't think it reasonable, however, that it should be so difficult to access an exam centre nor that families should pay exam costs on top of everything else.”

Anne Rix, chair of the home education charity Education Otherwise, said the report showed that the committee had seriously considered home educators’ views.

“Provision of local examination facilities and financial help with exam entry will be of great benefit to home educating families,” said Rix. “We also appreciate the assurance that home-educated young people with SEN or medical conditions should not be discriminated against.”