Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee was assured about the Council’s discharge of its duties in relation to Elective Home Education;

(b)       That the Committee acknowledged the challenges faced by the Education Welfare Team in fulfilling their statutory functions with rising numbers of EHE pupils in Flintshire;

(c)        That the Committee reinforce the need for continued financial support from Welsh Government to further develop and secure the Council’s services and resources in relation to Elective Home Education; and

(d)       That a letter be written to the WG to encourage the creation of a national register for children who were educated at home.

The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) introduced the report which provided an overview of Elective Home Education (EHE) picture across Flintshire and the role undertaken by the Council with regards to monitoring and support. 

            The Senior Manager (Inclusion and Progression) explained education was compulsory but that parents had a choice on how that was delivered with some choosing to send their children to school and others choosing to electively home educate their child.  There was no responsibility placed on parents to inform the authority that they would be electively home educating their child.  If a child had not entered the education system then the authority would not be aware of that child.  There were processes in place if a child was removed from school and the authority would be informed and a pack would be sent to the parents for completion.

The Senior Manager explained that children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) was potentially an area of concern and that the authority did have some powers in this regard to ensure the education met the requirements of any statements of SEN.   She confirmed that parents did not have to follow the national curriculum and the authority did not have any powers to see the child or view what education was provided.  The responsibility to monitor this sat with the Education Welfare Service partly because of their expertise around safeguarding.  The officers play a key role visiting homes annually as part of the monitoring process and raising any safeguarding concerns where necessary.  Since 2020 funding had been received for this and Welsh Government (WG) had confirmed that they would be considering on-going funding on a 3 year basis.  The funding, which had not been provided before, allowed for some officer support to enable the authority to discharge its responsibility.  This provided £14,000 for parents to purchase specific items such as laptops and desks and funding for educational visits.  This year junior passes for Aura were purchased to support these children to engage in activity and meet other children.  The Senior Manager reported that WG had been looking at their policy for Elective Home Education for a number of years but as yet had not provided the authority with the statutory powers required to monitor this area fully. 

            Councillor Tudor Jones commented on the reasons for becoming home educated as shown in the WG data, attached at appendix 1 of the report, and said that two of the top reasons contained the word ‘anxiety’.  He asked whether the SHEP programme, as discussed earlier in the meeting, would assist in reducing anxiety for children transitioning from primary to secondary school.  In response, the Senior Manager confirmed that the TRAC Programme was extended to cover year 6 pupils and identified children who were anxious about transitioning to year 7.  Primary Schools identified children who had high levels of anxiety and individual programmes were put in place for those pupils.  The Chairman commented that it was important that parents were made aware of the TRAC and SHEP programmes which could assist in reducing their child’s anxiety in attending high school.

            In response to concerns raised by the Chairman around home educated children following the national curriculum and gaining qualifications, the Senior Manager confirmed that a proposal currently being considered by WG was around the creation of a national register so that all parents had to register their child but that there was some opposition to this.  She added that some children were receiving an excellent programme of education tailored to their needs.  Safeguarding sat with the Education Welfare Service who were able to identify this when they made their visits.

            Councillor Gladys Healey commented that if a child was in school but did not attend then parents could be prosecuted and asked how this would be enforced with home educated children.   In response the Senior Manager confirmed that the authority had powers to address this as part of the School Attendance Order which could be used if the right provision of education was not provided. 

            Councillor Dave Mackie referred to the monitoring role of the authority to ensure the child was receiving a suitable education and asked how this could be achieved if no additional funding to support EHE was available, particularly given the high number of children being educated at home.  He also raised concerns around the lack of social interaction that children being education at home were exposed to. 

            In response, the Senior Manager outlined the challenges for the authority to carry out their monitoring role, if parents did not wish to share information or engage with the authority.  With regards to funding, this could be used to appoint a dedicated officer to engage with families and arrange joint events with other families. The current Welsh government grant funding was guaranteed until March 2022 but it was not clear from WG if it would continue following this date. 

            Mrs. Lynne Bartlett gave examples of parents who had withdrawn their children from her school due to health or anxiety issues.  She explained that these parents had been well meaning and had provided an excellent balanced education for their children.  She also provided examples of where, together with the Education Welfare Officer, she had offered support to families who had decided to home educate their children.  Referring to the data provided to the Committee and the high numbers of EHE in Carmarthen, she said that there was a well organised group who supported these families.  She was surprised that the numbers had not increased because of Covid, which was a credit to the teachers across Flintshire.  She was slightly concerned around the EHE numbers for children transitioning from primary to secondary school and said that there was a need to improve transition programmes but felt reassured by the presentation of the report by officers. 

            The Chief Officer thanked Mrs Lynne Bartlett for her comments as it was important to show that the authority were not critical of parents who wished to educate their children at home.  Some parents chose this option for the right reasons and enable their children to emerge as well rounded successful adults.  She hoped that this report had provided some reassurance especially with regard to the impact of the pandemic on transition programmes which had not been able to happen in person. Schools had worked very hard digitally to bridge that move from years 6 to 7 but it was not the same as being in the building.

            Recommendations 1 and 2, as outlined within the report, were moved by Councillors Tudor Jones and Councillor Gladys Healey. 

            Councillor Tudor Jones suggested an amendment to recommendation 3 as outlined within the report.  He suggested that the recommendation be amended to read “Members to reinforce the need for continued financial support from Welsh Government to further develop and secure the Council’s services in relation to Elective Home Education”.

Mrs. Lynne Bartlett suggested that recommendation 3 be amended to read “Members to reinforce the need for continued financial support from Welsh Government to further develop and secure the Council’s services and resources in relation to Elective Home Education”.  Councillor Tudor Jones agreed to this amendment. 

The third recommendations, as outlined above, was moved by Councillor Tudor Jones and seconded by Councillor Gladys Healey.

Councillor Dave Mackie proposed an additional recommendation that a letter be written to the WG to encourage the creation of a national register for children who were educated at home.  This was seconded by Councillor Paul Cunningham.  

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee was assured about the Council’s discharge of its duties in relation to Elective Home Education;

(b)       That the Committee acknowledged the challenges faced by the Education Welfare Team in fulfilling their statutory functions with rising numbers of EHE pupils in Flintshire;

(c)        That the Committee reinforce the need for continued financial support from Welsh Government to further develop and secure the Council’s services and resources in relation to Elective Home Education; and

(d)       That a letter be written to the WG to encourage the creation of a national register for children who were educated at home.