There is no legal requirement for parents to discuss home education with the school; however, if a parent approaches the school to discuss the possibility of home educating, London Borough of Bexley expects the school to respond constructively and to act in the best interests of the child. If parents are considering home education because of a dispute with the school, London Borough of Bexley expects the school to take all necessary steps to resolve the issue. If the school need support with this, they may consult with Bexley’s Inclusion Team.

The school are expected to signpost the parent to London Borough of Bexley’s EHE Team for further advice and guidance to enable them to make an informed choice.

Departmental guidance for local authorities April 2019 (10.4) states:

Schools should not seek to persuade parents to educate their children at home as a way of avoiding an exclusion or because the child has a poor attendance record. In the case of exclusion, they must follow the relevant legislation and have regard to the statutory guidance. If the pupil has a poor attendance record, the school and, if appropriate, local authority should seek to address the issues behind the absenteeism and use the other remedies available to them."

London Borough of Bexley will contact all electively home educating parents who remove their child from a school roll. If it is found that a parent has been ‘encouraged’ by a school to remove their child from roll for the purposes of elective home education, this will be challenged.

When a parent reports that they have been encouraged to remove their child from roll for the purposes of elective home education and then finds they are unable to fulfil the duties they have assumed, the expectation is that the Fair Access Panel will name the previous school for placement. This does not negate the parents right to apply for a place of their preference where a parent considers the relationship with the ‘home school’ has broken down.

The best interests of the child must always be prioritised where elective home education has not been appropriate.

When a school receives formal, written notice from a parent that a child is being withdrawn from school in order to be home educated and the child has ceased to attend, the Headteacher should ensure that the pupil’s name is removed promptly from the admissions register in accordance with Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016.

where the name of a pupil is to be deleted from the admission register, the proprietor must make a return to the local authority for that pupil as soon as the ground for deletion under regulation 8 is met in relation to that pupil, and in any event no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is deleted from the register."

To comply with the Regulations, the school must inform London Borough of Bexley of any child leaving school for elective home education. This should be done at the earliest opportunity and no later than 5 school days after the declaration is received from the parent informing the school of their intention to home educate. This is in recognition of the safeguarding risks associated with not having oversight of children.

The school informs the London Borough of Bexley through the ‘Notice of Declaration’ process which enables London Borough of Bexley to review if the child is known to London Borough of Bexley services and address any risks identified. It allows us to add the child to the register and contact the parent without delay.

The school must retain the child’s school file in line with their legal requirements. Parents may request a copy of this file from the school to assist them in planning their child’s education.