The Council and democracy Elective Home Education Policy and Procedure

7. The Local Authority's responsibilities

7.1 The Local Authority (LA) has a statutory duty under Section 436 (A) of the Education Act 1966 to make arrangements to enable them to establish (so far as it is possible) the identities of children of compulsory school age in their area who are not receiving a suitable education. 

7.2 The LA has a statutory duty under Section 437(1) of the Education Act 1996 to intervene if it appears that a parent is not providing a suitable education to the age, ability, aptitude and special educational needs of the child. This section states that: ‘If it appears to a local authority that a child of compulsory school age in their area is not receiving suitable education,  either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, they shall serve a notice in writing on the parent requiring him to satisfy them within the period specified in the notice that the child is receiving such education.’ If evidence of a suitable education is not received, the LA may then commence statutory action, including the issuing of a School Attendance Order (SAO), penalty notices and fines.

7.3 LAs have a duty, as in 5.1 and 5.2 above, to make enquiries if it is not clear that a child is receiving a suitable education and, in line with the DfE Guidance for LAs, the MCC process is to engage with new home educating families and then at least annually (see Section 9).

7.4 The LA, in partnership with other agencies, including Social Care and Health, has a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children resident in the city under Section 175 (1) of the Education Act 2002 and under the statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, updated February 2019.

7.5 The LA monitors trends in EHE in a wider strategic context and has a key role in identifying any shortcomings in local school provision and in challenging failures by schools to manage attendance and behaviour properly.

7.6 The LA is monitored by Ofsted, which looks at the way that LAs identify children who may not be receiving a suitable education and what steps they take to deal with this. When a LA inspection of Education is scheduled to take place, home educators will be informed and may be approached in order to share their views. 

Was this page helpful?

Fields marked * cannot be left blank

Feedback submitted to us on this form is monitored but you won’t receive a reply. In an emergency, visit our emergency contact details page. Please don't include any personal or financial information, for example your National Insurance or credit card numbers.