Elective Home Education (EHE) – DfE guidance for schools, local authorities, and parents

An update from the Department for Education (DfE) regarding Elective Home Education (EHE) for all early years, children’s social care, schools, and further education providers (5 May 2021):

Over the last twelve months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools have seen an increase in notifications from parents or carers about EHE. This has resulted in 38% more children being home educated across the country in 2020 compared to the previous year, which is in part due to parents or children having health concerns related to COVID-19.

The DfE has developed operational COVID-19 guidance for schools, parents and carers to help ensure safe education and mitigate against risks. We encourage dialogue between parents, carers and education providers should concerns remain.

Most home educated children will have a positive learning experience, but this is not the case for all, and EHE can mean some children are less visible to the services there to keep them safe and supported.

An education in the media blog for parents and carers, and EHE guidance for local authorities (LAs) are available. The guidance sets out the roles and responsibilities of schools and LAs, and the powers available to engage with parents and carers considering EHE. All schools and LAs should be familiar with this guidance.

Where a parent or carer has expressed their intention to remove a child from school to home educate, we recommend that LAs, schools, and other key professionals work together to coordinate a meeting with parents or carers where possible. Ideally, this would be before a final decision has been made.

This is to ensure the parents or carers have considered what is in the best interests of each individual child. This is particularly important where a child has Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), is vulnerable or has a social worker.

Where parents have removed children from their school since September, we encourage schools to check that their LA has been informed. This will assist LAs in making sure they fulfil their duties and ensure that information is shared with children’s social care where necessary.

We do understand that some parents may change their mind about home educating their child, perhaps as the pandemic eases. If a parent wants to re-admit their child, then a school’s normal process for in-year school admissions should apply. An application can be made at any school, at any time.