Home education guidance updates: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Conclusion

7. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights?

We anticipate that the updated guidance for home education will have an overall positive impact on children’s rights.

The updated guidance aims to foster increased collaboration and communication between home educating families and their local authorities, with a strengthened focus on ensuring that children are able to express their views regarding their education. The updated guidance also aims to improve awareness of the home education community and contribute towards the ultimate aim of local authorities being aware of each home educated child in their area. It is hoped that this enhanced awareness and understanding will support local authorities and Scottish Government to consider timeously the impact of policies on home educating children and young people, in the way that existing relationships with local authorities and schools enable this consideration for children and young people educated in schools.

The updated guidance encourages collaboration between local authorities and home educators, for example in strongly advising an annual conversation, in which the child is included if they wish to be, to look annually at the provision of education by home educating parents/carers and for the local authority to satisfy themselves that this continues to be suitable. This will help to promote the best interests of the child, allow the child to express their views and opinions about their education, and ensure that the child’s voice is heard in matters concerning their own education. It is important to note, whilst this conversation is strongly encouraged in the updated guidance, it is not mandatory. This respects the child’s right to privacy as they do not have to participate in a conversation or give their opinion if they do not wish to do so.

The guidance makes clear the flexibility afforded to parents in the legislation underpinning home education, ensuring that parents are empowered to make an informed choice about their child’s education in line with what they feel is best suited to their child’s needs and capacity. The guidance recognises that parents choose to home educate for a range of reasons and in a range of circumstances, and parents have the flexibility to adjust and adapt the delivery of home education to the needs of their child. For instance, this may encompass supporting their child to pursue qualifications or access practical work experience.

The guidance encourages collaborative relationships between home educating parents and local authorities to ensure that home educating families have access to relevant and timely information to assist them in providing education for their children, and, whilst recognising that the law does not require local authorities to provide support, encourages local authorities to consider what discretionary support they may be able to offer.

The guidance is intended to support families to develop an approach to education that suits their child, at both primary and secondary level. Families may feel that home education is what is best for development of their child’s personality, talents and abilities.

Children’s Rights

Positive - Yes

Negative - No

Neutral – Yes

No impact - No

8. If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland.

As discussed above, 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. We have also outlined the positive impact identified in question 7.

9. If a negative impact has been identified please describe below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility?

We do not consider that the home education guidance will have a negative impact on children’s rights.

Mitigation Record

What options have been considered to modify the proposal in order to mitigate negative impact or potential incompatibility issues?

Please summarise mitigation actions taken below

Issue or risk Identified per article/ Optional Protocol

Article 16- right to privacy; Article 12- respect for the views of the child. Stakeholders raised that sections of the draft guidance could be interpreted to imply that children had to participate in annual conversations with local authorities, and that this could have a negative impact on children who would not want to participate.

Action Taken/ To Be Taken

The guidance text was amended to ensure that it is clear that while the child’s participation in annual conversations is encouraged, this is voluntary, and it should be respected where the child wishes not to participate.

Date action to be taken or was taken

This action was part of ongoing work on the guidance.

Issue or risk Identified per article/ Optional Protocol

Article 23- children with a disability.

We identified the potential risk that if parents/carers who have disabled children or children with additional support needs were not aware that they may not be entitled to some forms of local authority support when their child is withdrawn from school, this could potentially have a negative impact on disabled children.

Action Taken/ To Be Taken

Ensuring that the guidance is clear in stating that a family cannot assume the provision of local authority support which may be available at the authority’s discretion or may cease once a child is removed from the school roll, to ensure families are able to make informed choices in this respect.

Date action to be taken or was taken

This action was part of ongoing work on the guidance.

10. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland?

Yes.

If yes, please provide and explanation below:

A children’s right based approach has been taken throughout the process of updating the home education guidance, and the updated guidance will make a positive contribution to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland. As previously mentioned, the updated guidance aims to foster increased collaboration and communication between home educating families and their local authorities, with a strengthened focus on ensuring that children are able to express their views regarding their education.

11. How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights?

This will be done through engagement with relevant stakeholder groups ahead of publication.