Education Committee announces new inquiry into Support for Home Education

Written submissions of evidence are invited on the following specific issues:

• the duties of local authorities with regard to home education
• what support (financial and otherwise) is currently available for home educators, including from local authorities and other bodies
• the quality and accessibility of that support
• whether current arrangements for financial support are adequate
• the support available for home-educated students’ transition to further education and higher education
• what improvements have been made to support for home educators since the December 2009 recommendations of the Children, Schools and Families Committee
• what guidance is available for local authorities concerning their duties in regard to home education, and the quality of that guidance
• whether the Government needs to alter existing policy or arrangements concerning the support available for home educators

The Committee’s inquiry will not be examining wider issues of home education, such as safeguarding and curriculum issues, or the impact of home education.

• Second Report [2009]: The Review of Elective Home Education

The Committee asks for written submissions in accordance with the guidelines below by midday on Monday 9 July 2012.

Please note
The submission should be sent by e-mail to educom@parliament.uk and marked “Home education inquiry”.  The Committee’s strong preference is for submissions in electronic form, although hard copy originals will be accepted. Submissions should be sent to Caroline McElwee, Committee Assistant, at:

Education Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London  SW1P 3JA

Each submission should:

• be no more than 3,000 words in length
• have numbered paragraphs
• (if in electronic form) be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible

For Data Protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please supply a postal address so that a copy of the Committee’s report can be sent to you upon publication.

A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website.

Please also note that:

• Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, although not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives.  If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
• The Committee does not normally investigate individual cases.