Agenda item

(a) That the Committee recognise the importance of ongoing dedicated officer time to support and monitor provision for this particular cohort of children; and

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

            The Senior Manager, Inclusion & Progression presented the report which contained information on the number of children who were being electively home schooled.  The report provided information on the ate and numbers for Flintshire, which was below the Welsh average at present and an outline was provided of the percentage of pupils becoming Elective Home Educated (EHE) and when this happened with year 7 a pivotal year for this when children moved to secondary school.  

              The Senior Manager reported that parents were not required to seek approval or notify the Authority that they were electively home educating their child.   There were processes to enable questions to be asked of parents and provide advice and support to them and she outlined some of the reasons given by parents.   The Authority was not required to provide financial support to parents but grant funding had been made available to support this and work was ongoing with families to determine how best to use that resource. The Authority had a duty to monitor the families, and if concerns were raised it could issue a School Attendance Order and nominate a school which the child must attend.  No Orders had been issued during the last year.   Information was provided on the monitoring role of the service and appointment of the Education Support Officer who was supported by the Education Welfare Service when raising concerns.  The Education Support Officer had received positive responses to meetings, and she highlighted some of the issues raised by parents and resolutions made.  The Authority was part of the regional and national forums and reassurance had been provided that revised guidance would be provided next year.  A mandatory database of all pupils who were EHE had been proposed by Welsh Government (WG) but this was being resisted by the EHE community so guidance on this was being awaited. 

            In response to questions from Councillor Dave Mackie, the Senior Manager thanked him for his positive comments which she would feed back to the team.  With regards to groups or similarities she said that this varied with some still experiencing high levels of anxiety and these children were able to access their education outside of school.  She explained some parents chose to do this because of pressure being put on them because of school attendance.  This was where the Education Welfare Service challenged parents to find out if this was right for the young person and the young person’s comments and involvement were part of this process.   She then highlighted the number of pupils who had returned to school following the proactive work undertaken by schools and the team. 

            In response to a question from Councillor Andrew Parkhurst on the monitoring of children who were not in education, the Senior Manager reported that previously colleagues in health notified the Authority for children in nursery and reception years.  This enabled contact with those parents when the children did not enrol in a school, but the Authority was challenged on this and told it was not entitled to this information.  There was no requirement for a parent to register with the Authority if they had not been in school.  WG hoped to remedy this through the national database but there was a strong lobby from the EHE community against this.

            In response to a question from Councillor Parkhurst on joint working, the Senior Manager confirmed there were very strong relationships across Council services with an Education Welfare Officer part of the Early Help Hub.  Contact would be made with the parents to discuss the education that was being provided but had no right to enter a property.  Any concerns would be raised with colleagues in Social Services for them to visit

            The Senior Learning Adviser – Engagement confirmed that there were several partner agencies and other Local Authorities across Wales involved ensuring anyone who moved into the area could be identified.  There was also a substantive, coordinated partnership with the Community Team, Youth Service and Progression Team who were constantly out in the community talking to young people and it was sometimes the children who were not in school who were identified which enabled steps to be taken to make the safeguarding enquires.

            In response to concerns raised by Councillor Bill Crease on children falling through the process when moving from one Authority area to another, the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) said the portfolio shared these concerns.   She reported that the previous Committee had written to WG specifically asking the question around their intention to create a national database.  Many parents made this choice and were protective of their right to make that choice which had to be respected.  The Authority also had significant responsibilities around the safeguarding of children and young people and felt the systems were as robust as possible within the absence of that database.

            In response to questions from Councillor Gladys Healey around safeguarding and the level of education provided, the Chief Officer said the portfolio also shared these concerns, but that Members had been provided with that re-assurance from the report by the Senior Manager and the Senior Learning Advisor.  She said that within the remit and powers available the Authority was endeavouring to work constructively with families who had made those choices and were undertaking that monitoring role and any safeguarding concerns were raised with the Children’s Services team.  The Authority was continuing to press WG for that national database and agreed with Councillor Healey’s comments that every child developed the skills and knowledge to achieve their potential later in life with core skills vital for that.  

            The Chair thanked the Senior Manager and her team and commented that she was not surprised by the increase in numbers in secondary schools with pupils transitioning from primary.  She reported on her visits to primary schools to visit pupils who were moving up and felt that it was often the parents who were very concerned.  It was understandable that the past two years had heightened those concerns and the impacts had been felt with the children spending less time with their peers.  The work the team carried out was extremely important. 

The Chair suggested that the Committee write to the WG to outline their concerns around the need for a national database.  This suggestion was supported by Members of the Committee. 

            The recommendation, as outlined within the report, together with an additional recommendation that a letter be written to the WG to encourage the creation of a national register database for children who were home educated, was moved by Councillor Bill Crease and seconded by Councillor Gladys Healey.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the Committee recognise the importance of ongoing dedicated officer time to support and monitor provision for this particular cohort of children; and

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