Dramatic rise in Elective Home Education (EHE)

In a survey carried out by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), local authorities have reported a ‘rapid surge’ in the number of parents choosing to electively home educate their children. There is a ‘jump’ in the number of pupils accessing EHE to an estimated 115,542, which is a 34% increase based on last year’s figures. The number of EHE children and young people had been increasing over recent years but this is a concerning and significant increase. The most common reason given has been health fears related to COVID followed by parents concerns about their child’s anxiety or mental health problems.

Of particular concern is the increase in children accessing EHE who have multiple layers of vulnerability, which includes pupils with SEND.  Although local authorities have a duty to ensure that children educated at home are safe and receiving a good education, the chair of the ADCS, Gail Tolley, warned that they lack the necessary powers to do so.

The ADCS are calling on the Department for Education (DfE) to bring forward the outcomes from their 2019 consultation to hold a national register of all EHE children and young people and a new duty for local authorities to support parents who choose this route.