Lambeth Council is seeking additional funding from the Department for Education (DfE) to support its work with electively home educated (EHE) children, as it prepares for the implementation of the Children's Wellbeing and School Bill, which will introduce compulsory Children Not in School registers. The council has requested additional funding to support the increased workload associated with the bill's implementation. The specific amount of funding requested was not disclosed during the meeting.
The Children's Services Scrutiny Sub-Committee discussed the matter at its meeting on Tuesday, noting the balance between parental rights, safeguarding, and educational quality. Councillor Ben Kind, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, highlighted the government's promise of a national register for children not in school, which has yet to be delivered. He also noted the importance of not letting any child slip through the system
, adding that the legislation is progressing to enable a more robust system.
Sophie Garner, Interim Director of Education and Learning, explained that the council's focus is on supporting families to transition back into mainstream education, as children are more vulnerable when electively home educated. The council provides individualised support for children transitioning back into school, including phased transitions and support from education welfare officers. According to Ms. Garner, education welfare officers work with families after their child is enrolled in school to ensure attendance and provide support, addressing any challenges that may arise. She highlighted the importance of joint working with children's social care to safeguard children and the success of the audit in identifying children whose vulnerability meant they needed to attend school. The audit resulted in nine school attendance orders, supporting those children to return to mainstream education.
Councillor Armstrong asked about the preparations being made for the implementation of the Children's Wellbeing and School Bill. Sophie Garner responded that the council has had recent meetings with the DfE and is aware that the new register will be enforceable. The DfE has indicated that the register will be termly. While the exact timeline for implementation remains unclear, the council is actively preparing for the changes.
Currently, the council is aware of 277 children being electively home educated. Councillor Bryant asked whether the council has any estimates of the number of children who are being home-educated but are not known to the council. Sophie Garner responded that the council believes this number is small due to the due diligence it carries out with every child registered for a school place. This due diligence includes conversations with families about their reasons for choosing elective home education, recording their responses to annual reviews, and escalating concerns to children's social care when necessary. Ms. Garner noted that while home visits are offered, they cannot be enforced at this stage.
The committee requested that safeguarding training should include this particular scenario and asked to see a breakdown of the data on the 277 children currently known to be electively home educated.
The council's approach to elective home education is detailed in Lambeth's Elective Home Education Guidance for Parents and Carers.
