Councils should maintain voluntary registers of children in home education and develop “information sharing agreements” with GPs and police to help identify those at risk of harm, according to draft new guidance from the government.
Local authorities should also check that children are suitably “literate in English and numerate” in investigating whether families are providing a “suitable” education at home.
The Department for Education is consulting on changes to its non-statutory guidance for councils and parents on elective home education.
Officials pointed to “developments” since guidance was last updated in 2019, including the “growing number of parents who are electing to home educate their children”.
