Home education guidance updates: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment Template

1. Brief Summary.

Scottish Ministers have the power to issue guidance on home education to Local Authorities under Section 14 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000. Guidance on home education was last reviewed in 2007, and the update intends to bring it in line with current legislation and reflect the policy and societal changes that have taken place since the last update.

Type of proposal:

Bill - No

SSI - No

Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children - Yes

The home education guidance provides information and guidance for local authorities on the rights and responsibilities for local authorities and parents in relation to home education. It is intended to support local authorities and families to build positive relationships based on mutual trust which are in the best interests of the child or young person. The current guidance was last reviewed in 2007, prior to the requirement for an impact assessment to be completed.

The amendments to the guidance will bring it into line with current legislation and reflect the policy and societal changes that have taken place since 2007 which are relevant to home education, such as the introduction of Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

Start date of proposal’s development: 15 May 2019

Start date of CRWIA process: October 2023

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 which aspects of the proposal are relevant to children’s rights?

The updates to the home education guidance bring it in line with a child’s rights based approach as a foundation. In particular, emphasising the importance of hearing the child’s voice where they wish to be included, for example in annual contact between families and local authorities, which is especially relevant to Article 12 of the UNCRC. We also consider that Articles 2, 3, 5, 13, 16, 18, 23, 28 and 29 of the UNCRC are relevant to the guidance more broadly.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal.

Following the commitment to updating the guidance in 2019, Officials began the process of gathering information to understand what updates were needed for the home education guidance, engaging with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that it captured the major policy and legislative changes since the guidance was first published in 2007. Due to the impact of Covid, further work on the guidance was delayed.

A consultation exercise seeking views on updates to the home education guidance ran from March 2022 until 31 August 2022 and the consultation analysis was published on 2 February 2023. Consultation undertaken for this policy sought to broaden the range of voices heard and to enhance the evidence that is held in relation to the impacts and incidence of home education across communities in Scotland. The exercise received 98 responses from individuals, local authorities and stakeholder groups and provided valuable insight. The published consultation analysis is available online: Home education guidance: consultation analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Respondents submitted answers and comments for the 11 questions asked as part of the consultation. Responses varied greatly in length and in completeness. Some responses from organisations focussed on the areas of the consultation most relevant to their organisation's interests and submitted no answers to some of the questions. Where responses provided more over-arching comments that did not make specific reference to one question, these comments were included in the analysis of the most relevant questions.

• Question 1 asked if the purpose of the guidance was made sufficiently clear in the introduction. 70% of respondents (62 responses) believed the purpose of the guidance to be clear.

As set out in the consultation analysis at paragraph 2.1, the draft guidance aims to encourage the development of positive relationships based on mutual trust that function in the best interests of the child or young person, between parents and local authorities in their roles in relation to home education.

The draft guidance recommended that a local authority make contact with a family known to be home educating in their area at least once a year, and that it was "desirable that this contact be in person where possible" (Home education guidance: consultation, section 4.3)

• Question 8 asked if the respondent considered in-person contact to be important. 37% of respondents (29 responses) believed that it was.

Several respondents commented that alternatives to in-person contact, such as video or telephone calls, provided useful means of communication that were more flexible than in-person meetings, and allowed home educating children and young people to be more comfortable in their own space.

• Question 6 asked if it was helpful for a local authority to offer a template or structure for education plans for parents, 55% of respondents (50 responses) believed that it was.

A small majority of respondents thought it was helpful for a local authority to provide a structure for parents to use to provide their education plans as part of the request to withdraw from a school roll. Responses showed that a range of practice exists here, some local authorities offer a structure or template and others do not. Several respondents commented that any structure offered would need to be optional - "I think this needs to be totally optional as if you make it too structured or too prescribed then it is at the danger of being just school at home" (Individual)

• Question 7 asked if six weeks was sufficient time for a local authority to respond to a request to withdraw, 66% of respondents (51 responses) considered that it was sufficient.

Several respondents suggested that where there are no complications, a decision on a request to withdraw should be issued within a couple of days. Some respondents commented that the period of waiting for a decision can cause additional distress to children and young people who may already be experiencing distress or anxiety. It was noted that further clarity would be useful on when a decision-making period starts – whether that is when a request to withdraw is submitted, or when a local authority considers that it has sufficient information to process the request. Further clarity was also requested around attendance at school during the decision-making period.

The consultation provided valuable qualitative data on stakeholder views. One theme that emerged was the connection between children with additional support needs (ASNs) and home education, as evidenced in the following quotes:

• “Although children with disabilities, chronic conditions and other ASNs, notably autism and severe anxiety, are known to be highly represented in the home education community, some councils also appeared to operate an exclusionary gatekeeping system for services, such as educational psychology, by insisting on access through schools, with few proactively offering no-strings support for home educated children whose parents requested it.”
• “The increase in home education is still being driven mainly by families whose children have disabilities, chronic conditions and other ASNs, notably autism and severe anxiety, but some councils have sought to exclude home educated children from services to which they are entitled and directed all their efforts towards returning them to school rather than supporting alternative provision.”
• “Parents reported the process had frequently been dragged out beyond the six weeks recommended in the guidance and children had been ‘held hostage’ where parents refused to accede to unreasonable demands, including home visits, access to children, curricular expectations and data sharing.”

Consultation responses were valuable in developing our understanding of stakeholder views on areas of the guidance that could benefit from further clarity. The following responses are relevant in this respect:

• “Under the heading “Duties placed on local authorities” in 2.10 it is stated that authorities should...offer …resources where feasible – this statement will lead parents to believe that local authorities have resources available to home educating families, however with budgets and finances as they are, this is not feasible and sets up a false expectation.”
• “Local Authorities should offer the opportunity for interaction, but guidance must recognise that they cannot require it. Not all parents/carers and children and young people will have an equal experience, because of the different processes applied to children dependent on when the decision to pursue home education is taken.”
• “The guidance should explicitly state that a family choosing not to seek the support or advice of the local authority is in no way evidence that this should raise a ‘red flag’ in the minds of local authority officials.”
• “Families where English is an additional language may be disadvantaged in terms of the guidance being in English only and in terms of providing a plan/proposal and responding to queries or requests for additional information.”

The consultation provided valuable information regarding the voice of the child within the home education process, for example:

• “We always, wherever possible, meet with the child/young person. Their views are sought and recorded. In order to seek the collective voices of home educated learners, our Local Authority officers arranged visits to home education groups who work as a collective in community centres. A question & answer session allowed the voices of the children to be heard but was also a valuable learning experience for LA officers.”
• “Given the decision to home educate will already have been made, good practice by LAs would involve welcoming children’s views if (and only if) they wished to express them. It should be remembered that a significant number of children being withdrawn will have had very poor experiences in schools and that feedback on school experiences will be just as illuminating as their thoughts on moving into home education. At all times this must be voluntary.”
• “Some members of our parent group suggested that a simplified annual check in with the child might be beneficial. They felt that annual review template should include pupil friendly ways to gather pupil views. They felt that annual review should encourage learners to consider the highlights and biggest achievements of the year. They suggested options of an audio recording or Q&A template that could be used if writing or drawing is not easy.”

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed.

As part of the EQIA process we have engaged with stakeholders to better inform our understanding of the impact of the updated guidance on characteristics protected under the Equalities Act 2010. Our roundtable discussion with a range of stakeholders provided valuable insights to inform our approach.

Furthermore, as part of the updated guidance, Scottish Government will work with local authorities to understand what options there may be to aggregate local data to form a high level picture of the number of home educating children and young people in Scotland.

5. Analysis of Evidence.

Broadly, this policy affects any children educated out-with school, where a choice has been made by the parent/carer to assume the responsibility of the child’s education. There is little data held on demographics of this group, however some information is found in the ‘Home Truths’ report published by the Scottish Home Education Forum regarding stakeholders of home education, as well as limited information from academic research considered as part of the guidance updates.

The Home Truths report notes that “children with disabilities, chronic conditions, and other ASNs, notably autism and severe anxiety” make up a large number of home educated children, which is supported by academic sources and practice knowledge from both Scottish Government and stakeholder perspectives. Thus, children with disabilities and ASNs may be particularly affected by the guidance updates, especially because, as the guidance notes, opting to home educate is an active choice and any parent who withdraws their child from school takes on responsibility for their child’s education, rather than the local authority. Whilst the Scottish Government encourages local authorities to consider what support they may be able to offer a child who is home educating, in the event that a child is withdrawn from local authority schooling, it is at the local authority’s discretion as to whether support (including support for a child’s ASNs) is provided. The updated guidance seeks to make this clearer for families so that they are better able to make a fully informed decision to home educate.

To address the lack of data, the Scottish Government will work with local authorities to consider what options may be available for recommencing a form of data collection. The Scottish Government considers that the collection of a high-level set of data to show numbers of children being home educated will enable Scottish Ministers to have a better picture of home education in Scotland. Having a clearer idea of numbers of children being home educated will allow Scottish Government officials to determine what percentage of the population is represented when considering policy related to home education. This would help to inform future policy development regarding home education, and it is hoped that this may lead to more knowledge about home educating groups in Scotland.

It is recognised that where consent to remove a child from a school roll is not required, there is no duty on a parent to make themselves known to a local authority in regard to home education. However, the guidance sets out that the Scottish Government considers that the development of positive and collaborative relationships between a family and their local authority is in the best interests of the child. As outlined above, the refreshed guidance sets out the expectation of an annual conversation between a local authority and the family (including the child if they wish to be included) and an expectation that a family will make themselves known to the local authority as home educators, even where this is not required by law.

With regard to child protection, the guidance continues to make clear that a decision being made to home educate should not, in itself, be regarded as a child protection concern. A child may be unknown to services due to their removal from their local school or because they have never been enrolled within an education authority. The guidance stresses the importance of a positive and collaborative relationship between parents and their local authority, and the Scottish Government consider that this relationship continues to be important even where there is no duty on a parent to make themselves known to a local authority.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

The commitment to update the home education guidance was informed by a children’s rights based approach from the outset, and UNCRC articles have been included and considered from early iterations of the updated guidance. The CRWIA process has helped us to be consistent in this approach, and to build our understanding of gaps in the data, and stakeholders that should be considered throughout the development of the guidance.