Elective Home Education (EHE)

FAQ

Q. Do I have to register my child with BELS to home educate?

A. No. There is, currently, no legal requirement for you to register your home educated child with the Local Authority and/or BELS. However, BELS operates a voluntary registration scheme. The benefits of registration include instant access to advice and guidance from the EHE Team. However, where BELS/ the local authority are made aware of a child/ young person who is home educated within the London Borough of Barnet, we will contact the parent/ carer to confirm that this is the case and then register that child/ young person. If a parent/ carer does not confirm that their child is home educated but they are not attending a school, it is likely that the matter will be referred to our Child Missing Education (CME) Officer.

Q. How do I register my child as home educated?

A. Visit the Register tab on this site where you will find the link for registration.

Q. How do I deregister my child from school?

A. If your child is currently in school and you wish to home educate, you will need to inform the school in writing of your decision to home educate and the date from which this will start (this is called a deregistration email.) BELS EHE can not register your child for home education until you have sent the school this email. Once the deregistration email has been received by the school, they will send it to us at BELS EHE along with an off rolling form to register your child as home educated. 

‘If your child has an EHCP and attends a Special School, you will need to obtain consent to home educate from your SEN co-ordinator before you can deregister. You should therefore contact both your SEN co-ordinator at BELS and the school to organise this. If your child has an EHCP and attends a mainstream school, you will not require the consent of the local authority to deregister. However, you should still inform your SEN co-ordinator at BELS that you will be home educating.’
 

Q. My child’s school has told me that I should home educate my child, what should I do?

A. If it is found that a school has encouraged a parent/ carer to remove their child from roll to home educate, this will be challenged by BELS. The child will then be reinstated on roll where appropriate and with parental consent, whether the vacant place has been filled by the school or not.

Q. At what age do BELS start making enquiries about home educated children?

A. If you are educating your child at home then their education should start from the start of the term following their fifth birthday. This is when they reach compulsory school age. This is the point at which BELS EHE will start making enquiries in relation to your child’s elective home education provision.

Q. At what age do BELS stop making enquiries about home educated children?

A. If you are educating your child at home then their education should continue until the last Friday in June of Year 11. This is the point at which BELS EHE will cease making enquiries in relation to your child’s elective home education provision. After this point, young people are expected to be in further education, training or employment. When your child ceases to be of compulsory school age, they will be referred to our Post 16 Team who can support them with careers advice, further and higher education opportunities as well as vocational training opportunities.

Q. Do I have to follow National Curriculum? 

A. No, you do not have to follow the National Curriculum whilst home educating. You should, however, consider carefully the curriculum you will be providing, and whether it will allow your child to reach his/her potential now and in the future. You should have a good idea about what your home education provision will look like, your aims and objectives, before you begin home education. The Government guidance on EHE states:

'families should be aiming to offer satisfactory home education from the outset, and to have made preparations with that aim in view'.

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Q. Do I need to have teaching qualifications to home educate my child?

A. No.

Q. Do I need to recreate school at home for home education? 

A. No. The value in choosing to home educate your child is both the flexibility and that the education that you provide can be developed to meet your child’s needs. However, your child will need input in English and Mathematics and to be making progression. English and Mathematics do not however need to be studied as discrete subjects. Input in these subjects could for example be part of a cross curricular project. Your child will also need to have a place to study which is free of distractions and noise. Your child should also be socialising with other children and young people or working towards socialising if there are difficulties in this area due to their needs.

Q. What information will you ask me to provide?

A. BELS EHE ask home educating parents and carers to provide information to demonstrate that their child is in receipt of a suitable education which meets their needs. Parents and carers can either meet with the EHE team in person or online to provide information on their child’s home education or provide written information in a format of their choice. BELS provide a Statement of Provision form to all parents and carers, however there is no legal requirement to complete this.  All information provided by parents and carers is carefully considered. The EHE team will contact you if they have any further questions.

Please respond promptly to these enquiries as we cannot progress a review of your child’s education where we do not have sufficient information and may have to refer to our Child Missing Education (CME) Officer in the absence of suitable information.

There is currently no legal requirement for parents and carers to respond to enquiries made by BELS EHE, nor agree a meeting or provide written information. However, where a parent/ carer does not provide sufficient information and/or does not respond to enquiries, our default position is that the child is not receiving a suitable education and to move to 'formal enquiries' under section 437. In practice, this means a referral to our Child Missing Education (CME) Officer who may implement a School Attendance Order.

Q. How often will I need to provide this information? 

A. Once it has been established that your child is in receipt of a suitable education, the EHE Team will contact you annually to ask for an update. Annual update information will differ slightly from the initial information request. Whilst contact will be brief, in line with current guidance, the EHE team will ask about your child’s progression whilst home educated as well as their socialisation. The team will also request confirmation that they have a place to study which is free from distractions and noise. All of this information is important as it allows the Local Authority to ensure that the home education in place is meeting the needs of the child and is therefore suitable. If the team identify any challenges or concerns with the home education provided, we will work with you to try and resolve them. During this process we will ask you to provide updated information periodically, to ensure a suitable education is being provided.

Q. Why is my home education provision being reviewed again when I only provided information a few months ago?

A. If the BELS EHE team are alerted to concerns regarding a home education provision by another professional e.g. a Social Worker, Early Help practitioner, Education Welfare Officer, school etc., we will contact you and ask to review the provision again. We will work with you to try and resolve these concerns. During this process we will ask you to provide updated information periodically, to ensure a suitable education is being provided.

Q. Do I have to provide any information to BELS/ the Local Authority?

A. No. You do not have to provide any information to the Local Authority/ BELS or respond to our enquiries regarding your child’s home education. However, the Local Authority has a legal duty under section 436a of the Education Act 1996 to establish the identities of those children not in receipt of an education and to act under Section 437 if it is found that a child is not in receipt of a suitable education. Therefore, the Local Authority/BELS make 'informal enquiries' of parents and carers to establish whether or not their child is in receipt of a suitable education. If the Local Authority/ BELS do not receive sufficient information and/or the parent/ carer does not respond to our enquiries, our default position is to assume a suitable education is not in place and move to 'formal enquiries' under section 437. In practice, this means a referral to our Child Missing Education (CME) Officer who may implement a School Attendance Order.

Q. Do I have to show you my child's work? 

​A. No. Again, there is no legal requirement for you to share examples of children's work, however many families find that sharing work helps them to describe and discuss their home education provision with BELS EHE. This enables BELS EHE to see how a child is progressing and allows for a more in-depth discussion on moving forward. 

Q. Will you be undertaking a home visit to review my child’s home education? 

A. BELS EHE offers home visits to all home educating families, however there is no legal requirement for families to accept one. Alternative options include a meeting in the community (library, café etc.), a Teams meeting online, completing a BELS Statement of Provision form, providing a written report or information in a format of your choice. There is also no legal requirement for parents/ carers to attend any meeting with their home educated child.

Q. What will happen if I choose not to respond to your informal enquiries? 

A. The Local Authority has a legal duty under section 436a of the Education Act 1996 to establish the identities of those children not in receipt of an education and to act under Section 437 if it is found that a child is not in receipt of a suitable education. There is no legal requirement to respond to informal requests made by BELS EHE regarding your child’s home education. However, by not doing so, and/or not providing sufficient information, BELS EHE will adopt its default position and assume that your child is not in receipt of an education and move to 'formal enquiries' under section 437. In practice, this means a referral to our Child Missing Education (CME) Officer who may implement a School Attendance Order (SAO.) It is in no one’s best interests to make this referral and potentially issue an SAO where a suitable education may be in place, therefore we respectfully request that you consider carefully your reasons for not responding to our enquiries. 

Q. I cannot cope with home educating my child, what should I do?

A. Home educating families should not worry about contacting BELS/ the local authority if they are struggling with their home education. We can offer support and guidance to ensure your child is in receipt of a suitable education or advise you in relation to making a school application to return your child to school. The EHE Team's aim is to work collaboratively with all home educating families for the sake of the child.

Q. Am I entitled to any financial support from the London Borough of Barnet and/or BELS to home educate my child?

A. No. As a home educating parent/ carer you take on full financial responsibility for your child's education as soon as you elect to home educate. This financial responsibility includes the cost of any examinations and all resources used such as private tutors, online school costs, subscriptions, books, workbooks, stationery, educational outings and social opportunities. BELS, the local authority and your child’s previous school will not organise, provide or pay for resources, tutors, teaching, and examinations for your home educated child.

Q. Will you provide me with a laptop for my child’s home education?

A. No. As a home educating parent/ carer you take on full financial responsibility for your child's education as soon as you elect to home educate.

Q. Does my child have to sit exams?

A. No. Your child does not have to sit any examinations, including GCSE's or Functional Skills. Primary aged children will be unable to sit SATs, as they are not in school. If you would like your child to attend an Independent school, they may still be required to sit 11+ tests or entrance tests, however this will need to be discussed and arranged directly with the school by the parent/carer. BELS and the local authority will not be involved. You should consider whether or not your child will need formal qualifications when you begin home education, as this will impact the education provided for your child and whether they need to sit examinations.

Q. How does my child sit exams when they are home educated? 

A. If your child needs or wants to sit formal exams, visit the Learning tab of this website, where you will find all of the information you need about locating an exam centre, entering your child as a private candidate, exam boards etc. Please note that BELS, the local authority and your child’s previous school will not organise and/or pay and/or organise venues for your child’s examinations or alert you to the need for you to organise examinations for your child. Parents/ carers of home educated children/ young people are responsible for organising and paying for their child’s examinations.​​

Q. Does the London Borough of Barnet and/or BELS think home education is a safeguarding concern? 

A. No. We understand that Elective Home Education is not in itself a safeguarding concern.

Q. I have a social worker and home educate my child. What will happen now?

A. Some families who require and are in receipt of, additional support from the London Borough of Barnet’s Family Services teams also home educate their children. These situations are often a little more complex and require a multi-agency approach to support the family. In these cases, the EHE team and Barnet’s Family Services teams work together, sharing relevant information so as to fully understand the needs of the family and to support as appropriate. This may mean that the local authority will contact these families more regularly and require information more often to ensure the child consistently receives a suitable, efficient and full-time education whilst home educated.

Q. My child has an EHCP and is home educated. What will happen now?

A. The EHE team will ordinarily attend the EHCP annual review to understand the child’s needs. EHE reviews will continue alongside the EHCP reviews.