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 |