Article: Educating your child at home Article Body Also known as elective home education Parents have a right to educate their children at home. They may decide to exercise their right to home educate their child from a very early age and so the child may not have been previously enrolled at school. They may also choose to home educate their child at any stage up to the end of compulsory school age by withdrawing their child(ren) from mainstream education. Where children are home educated the council has a statutory duty to ensure that the education provision is suitable. Where a child has been enrolled at school and parents are considering withdrawing that child to home educate, it is advised that discussions take place between the parents, the child's school and the education welfare officer about the merits and drawbacks of withdrawing the pupil from mainstream education. If parents have chosen to educate their children at home because of issues with a particular school, they are advised to firstly consider alternative placements in another mainstream school. Support could be given by Springwell central services (see below). However, once parents have made the decision to withdraw their child from school, they must then write a letter to their child's school indicating their intention to withdraw their child from school to home educate. The school will then inform Education Welfare. The school will not remove the child from their school roll until 10 working days have elapsed and the Education Welfare Service has carried out statutory checks (Child Protection Register, Supervision Orders, Statement of SEN). If notification of the parents' intention to withdraw their child is received by the school during term-time, an education welfare officer from the inclusion/intervention team will visit the home of the pupil who has been withdrawn within 10 working days. Any relevant information emerging from the meeting will be passed to the assessor for elective home education. The assessor needs to be satisfied that the child will receive suitable education, so usually about two months after the parent has written to the school to inform them of their decision to withdraw the child from the school roll, the assessor will arrange a meeting to talk to the parents and look at examples of work and learning. If the assessor finds anything unsatisfactory about the educational provision, he will pass this information on to the Education Welfare Service in a written report, together with a copy of the assessment form. Parents will receive a copy of the report, which summarises the assessment and makes recommendations for improvements. In circumstances where improvement is needed, the assessor will visit parents again approximately four to six weeks later to give them the opportunity to put the improvements in place.In particular instances, the local authority may provide support for Traveller children. The whole process will be subject to constant review and modification, particularly with regard to examining and benefiting from best practice elsewhere. How parents/carers can support the process If you decide to withdraw your child from school to educate them at home, please make sure you provide full details to your child's school: child's date of birth, address, your telephone number, precise date of withdrawal etc. Related documents Elective home education assessment form Elective home education leaflet Elective Home Education by Parents - Policy Guidance for Schools Equalities impact assessment Equalities impact assessment of elective home education Related links Government response to the public consultation on home education: registration and monitoring proposals (11 January 2010) Elective home education: guidelines for local authorities Local organisations/contacts Education Welfare Service Children, Young People and Families Postal address: PO Box 634, Barnsley S70 9GG Telephone: 01226 773545 School Improvement and Support (Cultural Diversity) Postal address: PO Box 634, Barnsley S70 9GG Telephone: 01226 281961 Assessor for Elective Home Education c/o Springwell School St Helens Boulevard, Carlton Road, Barnsley S71 2AY Telephone: 01226 291133 and 07866012709 Support from outside agencies, contacts, resources Materials and support are available to parents from agencies such as: Education Otherwise Association Ltd 125, Queen Street, Sheffield S1 2DU Helpline : 0845-478-6345 Website : www.education-otherwise.org WESPNEU Worldwide Education Service and Parents' National Foundation Union 35 Belgrave Square, London SE1X 7ED Telephone: (0171) 235 2880 Local Education Otherwise Co-ordinator Gary Podmore 52 Rupert Road, Sheffield S7 1RP Telephone: 01142 585702 Education Now 22 Startmill, River Way, Harlow, Essex CM20 2SN Telephone: 01293 543035 Directgove advice website for EHE parents The Connexions Servicealso covers children and young people who are being educated at home The Home Service Christian Home School Muddle Puddle independent site for 0-8 year olds Frequently asked questions Is a home visit mandatory? No. As an alternative to a home visit, it is possible for the parent/ guardian to: arrange a meeting with the Assessor at a neutral venue; at this meeting the parent/guardian will have to demonstrate that that they intend to provide adequate education for their child; or if either the assessment at home or a meeting at a neutral venue is declined, the parents/guardians are required to produce an outline plan for the attention of the assessor of their child's education, which will include information on materials, resources, length of time of educational engagement, the plan for the future, the process by which they intend to assess the childs progress etc, with an endorsement by an education professional as to the quality of the pupil's education. Can I expect help from the local authority for educating my child at home? Initially, guidance will be provided by the education welfare officer, and then by the assessor. There is currently no assistance with the cost of home tuition. Does the child need to be seen? Yes, we recommend that the child is seen by both the education welfare officer and the assessor.