Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure the quality of education for children who are home-schooled.

The Government has substantially strengthened its guidance to local authorities on exercising their powers in relation to elective home education. The revised guidance, which was published in April 2019, sets out the steps that local authorities should take to satisfy themselves that the education provided by parents at home is suitable, and the actions that they can take if they are not satisfied.

In the spring of 2019, a consultation was held on proposals for:

- a mandatory register of children not attending state or registered independent schools to help local authorities carry out their responsibilities in relation to children not in school.

- a duty on parents to register their child with the local authority if not registered at specified types of schools.

- a duty on proprietors of certain schools or colleges to respond to enquiries from local authorities.

- a duty on local authorities to provide support to parents who educate children at home.

The consultation closed on 24 June 2019, with nearly 5000 responses. The Department remains committed to a registration system for children not in school. Further details on this will be in the Government response to the consultation, which will be published in due course.