8. What to expect from the Elective Home Education service
Parents considering a decision to EHE
Rotherham Council will offer advice and guidance through the provision of online information, dissemination of information resources to schools and direct contact with parents where service capacity allows.
Children who are new to EHE
Rotherham Council will offer an initial contact to new home educators to offer advice and guidance regarding EHE and seek assurance that the child(ren) is/are in receipt of suitable education. Parents are welcome to contact the EHE Officer at any point to seek advice and support but are aware that there is no direct teaching, assessment of work, provision of learning equipment or examination arrangements available through Rotherham Council’s EHE team.
Children known to be EHE
Timescales for ongoing contact with families are not set in law giving Rotherham Council staff and families the flexibility to work with a child’s best interests in mind.
DfE 2019 Guidance recommends that the Local Authority ‘ordinarily makes contact with home educated parents on at least an annual basis so the authority may reasonably inform itself of the current suitability of the education provided’ and Rotherham Council follows this guidance in undertaking informal enquiries. The purpose of this contact is to maintain a positive relationship, offer ongoing support and communication and seek assurance that the education provided appears suitable for the age, ability, and aptitude of the child.
Home educators are welcome to contact the EHE Officer at any stage throughout their EHE journey to seek advice and support but are aware that there is no direct teaching, assessment of work, provision of learning equipment or examination arrangements available through Rotherham Council’s EHE team.
Situations where EHE is unsuitable
Where, following informal enquiries, Rotherham Council cannot be satisfied that a child is in receipt of suitable education, parents will be asked to either provide further information that gives this assurance or apply for a school place. If neither happens, escalation to the Local Authority School Attendance Panel will take place with the intention of initiating formal action.
This formal action ordinarily takes the form of service of a notice under s.437(1) of the Education Act - "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."
It should be noted that Rotherham Council endeavours to avoid the need to pursue any enforcement by working in partnership with parents with the child’s best interests at heart. A legal enforcement route is only ever pursued in a small percentage of cases, and where all reasonable attempts have been made to seek assurance of the suitability of the education being received by the child(ren).
Children returning to school
Where home educators wish for a child to return to school or EHE is unsuitable, the EHE team will support the process of school applications and will monitor these until a place is made available. Once a school is allocated, support may be available from the EHE team to discuss and agree transition back to school.
