Children Not In School – House of Lords May-June 2022

On May 23rd 2022 peers debated the Schools Bill in the House of Lords. For home educators the focus is on Part 3, the Children Not in School [CNIS] Register. This post unpacks what was said about other elements of Part 3 and also Part 4 of the Bill as sometimes these become confused. The Bill has only just begun going through Parliament. It started in the House of Lords where it will go through a number of stages before starting the same process in the House of Commons. I explain more about this here. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REGISTRATION CLAUSES WERE AMENDED SUBSTANTIALLY FOR THE BETTER FOLLOWING REPORT STAGE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON JULY 18TH. UP TO DATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND VIA THE #SCHOOLSBILL TAG

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Home Education in the House of Lords Today

We can expect home education to be mentioned in the House of Lords today [23.5.22] because it is the second reading of the Schools Bill which is proposing a register of children not in school, to include home educated children. The Schools Bill has started in the Lords rather than the House of Commons so this is the very beginning of the process of turning these proposals into law. The go-to page for seeing how a bill becomes law is here My introductory page on registration proposals in the Schools Bill is here PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REGISTRATION CLAUSES WERE AMENDED SUBSTANTIALLY FOR THE BETTER FOLLOWING REPORT STAGE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON JULY 18TH. UP TO DATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND VIA THE #SCHOOLSBILL TAG

School Attendance Orders FAQ Part 2

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REGISTRATION CLAUSES WERE AMENDED SUBSTANTIALLY FOR THE BETTER FOLLOWING REPORT STAGE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON JULY 18TH AND THE INFORMATION BELOW IS NO LONGER CORRECT. UP TO DATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND VIA THE #SCHOOLSBILL TAG

School Attendance Orders and Compulsory Registration FAQ

The government is proposing to introduce – via the Schools Bill – a requirement on parents to notify the local authority if their school-age children are not on the roll of a registered school. Some of these children will be home educated or may be going to something which the parents may consider to be a school but is not a registered school. Parents who don’t comply with registration duties will receive a preliminary notice which COULD end in a School Attendance Order. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POST WAS UPDATED ON AUGUST 3RD. THE REGISTRATION CLAUSES WERE AMENDED SUBSTANTIALLY FOR THE BETTER FOLLOWING REPORT STAGE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON JULY 18THM SEE #SCHOOLSBILL TAG

Children Not in School Register (England)

On May 11th 2022 the government set out proposals for the compulsory registration of children not in school (sometimes wrongly referred to as a “home education register”.) For those wondering exactly what – and how much – information might be included on the register the Fact Sheet (also referred to as a Policy Statement or Policy Briefing) which the government published alongside the Schools Bill has some illuminating – and alarming – details. Below are some key extracts from the Fact Sheet plus my comments. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REGISTRATION CLAUSES WERE AMENDED SUBSTANTIALLY FOR THE BETTER FOLLOWING REPORT STAGE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON JULY 18TH. UP TO DATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND VIA THE #SCHOOLSBILL TAG

New Case Law – 12 Week Deadline to Amend EHCP

The L, M and P v Devon JR is all about delay.

Portsmouth Judicial Review Home Education

The Portsmouth case was a judicial review brought by local home educators against Portsmouth council. Home educators in Portsmouth were seeking a ruling from a judge that certain actions of the council were not allowed.

Upper Tribunal Case, Leaving Section I Blank

This is a case I won at the Upper Tribunal in September 2021, NN V Cheshire East Council (SEN): [2021] UKUT 220 (AAC) . It concerns education otherwise than at school [EOTAS] where it is not intended that the child will actually attend school but a school is nevertheless named on the EHCP whether that is for funding purposes or because the LA thinks it is better in some way to be attached to a school or for a school to manage the provision.

Free Courses for Home Educated 15 year olds at South Essex College

Birmingham: Free Sessions for Home Educating Parents Primary Age Children, July 2018