Monitoring - short guide

Quick guide to monitoring of Home Education for those who are newly de-registered due to covid concerns

There is no requirement for an annual review unless an EHCP is in force. In which case the LA have a legal duty to undertake a review of the EHCP.

Parents do not have to take part in a review of the EHCP, however a failure to respond at all may result in a school attendance order (SAO) being issued, so it is wise to respond. It may also result in a withdrawal of the EHCP, which may become useful should your child later attend college.

Where there is no EHCP there is no legal duty for the LA to undertake an annual review. However, LA's may, and often do, ask for confirmation that you remain at your address and are still home educating.

While there is no duty upon them to do so there is no law preventing them from asking further questions regarding your provision and while there is no legal duty upon the parents to respond to such a request since, due to case law, should fail to reply, the LA may assume you are no longer providing for your child’s education and issue an SAO. So, in the words of a judge “It is wise to do so.”

Indeed, it is important NEVER to ignore a communication from your LA since the LA may then, in the absence of a reply, assume that you are no longer home educating and place your child on the Children Missing Education Register, which could result in you receiving a School Attendance Order.

In all cases (with or without an EHCP) If you do not wish to do so, you do not normally need to allow the LA access to the home or child while undertaking a review. An EHCP review can usually be a paperwork exercise.

If the LA ask for information on your home education we suggest sending them 1) an outline of your approach to educating your child (often referred to as an educational philosophy, but need not exceed more than a few paragraphs) 2) an outline of your day-to-day activities and 3) a comprehensive list of the resources available to you.

It is reasonable to assume the LA will pay particular attention to English and Maths, so it would probably be wise to include something about those areas in your day to day activities. Stick to what you have done to date, do not make projections about what you will be doing in the future.

Experienced home educators are available to assist you if you have difficulty drawing up such a document,

See:

HE UK FAQ

Example Educational Philosophies

Fuller explanation on Monitoring issues

EHE SEN website on Annual Reviews