1 Introduction
Blackpool Council recognises the right of parents and carers to educate their children at home under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996. elective home education (EHE) is a lawful parental choice and, for many families, provides a positive and effective education tailored to a child’s needs.
This policy sets out how Blackpool Council responds when a child becomes electively home educated, including how the local authority will engage with families, consider whether education appears to be suitable, and ensure that children who are not in a school setting remain safe and supported.
While the primary responsibility for a child’s education rests with parents, elective home education does not remove or reduce the council’s safeguarding duties. The local authority has a responsibility to act where it appears that a child may not be receiving a suitable education or where there are concerns about a child’s welfare.
This policy reflects both national statutory guidance and Blackpool’s local arrangements for early identification, partnership working and safeguarding oversight, ensuring that children who are electively home educated remain visible, supported and safeguarded.
It also sets out the roles and responsibilities of parents, schools, the local authority and partner agencies, and explains the processes used to ensure that children educated at home are receiving a suitable education and remain safe.
2 EHE contact details
By email: electivehomeeducation@blackpool.gov.uk
By phone: 01253 476713 or 01253 476721
Website: https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Residents/Education-and-schools/Home-schooling/Home-schooling.aspx
3 Legal framework
This policy is informed by the following legislation and statutory guidance:
- Education Act 1996 – Section 7 (parental duty) and Section 437 (local authority powers)
- Children Act 1989 and 2004 – safeguarding and welfare duties
- Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006
- SEND Code of Practice (2015)
- elective home education: Department for Education Statutory Guidance (2024)
- Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023)
- Working Well with Children and Families (2025)
- Blackpool Neglect Strategy
elective home education does not remove or alter the local authority’s safeguarding duties. Children who are Electively Home Educated may be subject to Early Help, Child in Need (section 17) or Child Protection (section 47) processes, which must continue in line with statutory guidance. A child’s education status must be considered as part of assessment, planning and review to ensure their welfare is appropriately safeguarded.
Government guidance recognised that parents have the right to educate their child at home, and for many families this is a positive, informed choice that works well for the child. Most parents who choose to educate their children at home do so with commitment and provide a suitable education tailored to their child’s needs.
National guidance recognises that the rapid increase in EHE numbers has exposed children who are not receiving a suitable education and, in a smaller but significant number of cases, children who may not be in safe environments. This has reinforced the importance of local authorities maintaining appropriate oversight and professional curiosity in line with their existing statutory responsibilities.
Although the primary responsibility for education lies with parents, Blackpool Council, in line with statutory guidance, accepts a moral and social obligation to assure itself that children are safe and are receiving a suitable education and will act where this is unclear.
4 Guiding principles
In line with Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, parents must ensure that the education they provide is:
- Efficient – an education that achieves what it sets out to achieve
- Suitable – education that prepares the child for life in their own community and enables them to become an independent adult member of society
- Full-time – there is no legal definition of full-time education in EHE; however, education should be regular and substantial, recognising that learning in a home education context may be delivered flexibly and outside traditional school hours
Parents are not required to follow the national curriculum, and there is no statutory duty on the local authority to routinely monitor home education. However, the local authority must take action where it appears that education may not be suitable or where safeguarding concerns arise.
elective home education is not a safeguarding concern in itself; however, children educated at home are less visible to universal services. As a result, safeguarding considerations remain central to the local authority’s approach.
5 Pre-EHE support for families: local authority and school responsibilities
Where a parent is considering elective home education (EHE), in line with the local protocol, the school should offer a meeting to discuss the reasons for this and explore whether the child’s needs can be met within the school setting. This meeting should involve a senior school representative, the local authority elective home education representative and other relevant services where appropriate, to ensure a joined-up and informed discussion.
Prior to de-registration, schools should seek and record the child’s views, wishes and feelings regarding elective home education. This should be done in a developmentally appropriate manner and, wherever possible, the child should be spoken to separately from parents to ensure their views are heard freely. This information should be documented and shared with the EHE Team as part of the referral process and sent directly to electivehomeeducation@blackpool.gov.uk
Schools must provide families with accurate and balanced information on the implications of home education, including legal responsibilities, curriculum access, qualifications and financial considerations. Where appropriate, families should be signposted to relevant support services, which may include SENDIASS, early help, family hubs, educational psychology and relevant community or third-sector organisations.
Schools must ensure that parents’ decisions are well informed and free from pressure, and that no practices amounting to off-rolling take place. The local authority provides a standard EHE information leaflet for schools to share with parents who are considering home education. This leaflet outlines legal responsibilities, safeguarding expectations, monitoring arrangements, financial implications and the role of the local authority, ensuring consistency of messaging across all schools.
Where a child has special educational needs or an education, health and care plan (EHC), a review meeting should be held to ensure parents understand their ongoing responsibility for delivering the provision set out in the EHC if elective home education proceeds.
Where parents of children in early years settings or other early years services, such as family hubs or health visiting, express an intention to electively home educate from statutory school age, early years providers and services should, with parental consent, make an early referral to the EHE team. This will enable families to receive timely advice, guidance and support prior to the child reaching compulsory school age and support informed decision-making.
Parents should be encouraged to take time to consider their decision, and a named contact should be provided for any follow-up support. Where elective home education proceeds, a follow-up conversation should be offered within 4 to 6 weeks to review any emerging needs or concerns.
6 Support for families
Blackpool Council recognises that families may choose elective home education for a wide range of reasons and that, for many, this can be a positive and effective choice. The local authority’s role is to offer appropriate information, advice and support, while respecting parental responsibility for education and recognising that engagement with support is voluntary.
Following notification of elective home education, families will be offered information about what elective home education involves, the role of the local authority, and where advice or support may be available. This may include information to support families to make informed decisions, particularly where elective home education has been chosen following challenges such as attendance difficulties, anxiety, unmet needs or relationship breakdown with school.
Where appropriate, families may be signposted to a range of support, which may include advice on educational approaches, access to community or third-sector provision, and information about services that support a child’s wellbeing, mental health or development. This may include early help support, subject to consent, where this would assist the family or help reduce barriers to education.
The local authority recognises that some children who are electively home educated may have special educational needs or disabilities, experience emotional-based school avoidance (EBSA), or have other vulnerabilities. Where appropriate, families will be signposted to relevant advice, services or sources of support to help them meet their child’s needs, while recognising that parents remain responsible for arranging and delivering education.
Where appropriate, the local authority will seek to understand and consider the views and experiences of the child, recognising the importance of the child’s voice in decisions that affect them and acknowledging that children educated at home may have different experiences and needs.
Support offered through the elective home education (EHE) team is intended to complement, not replace, parental responsibility for education and does not create an entitlement to services or remove the local authority’s statutory duties in relation to education suitability or safeguarding, as set out elsewhere in this policy.
7 EHE notification and triage process
7.1 Notification of elective home education
In line with Blackpool’s locally agreed multi-agency safeguarding and triage protocol, when a parent or carer decides to Electively Home Educate, the school must notify the Blackpool elective home education (EHE) team without delay using the prescribed referral form.
Where a child is not currently on roll at any school, a referral may be made directly to the EHE team by the parent or by another professional involved with the family.
Where a child is registered at a school as a result of a School Attendance Order, the parent must obtain the permission of the local authority before the child can be removed from the school register and educated at home, in line with statutory requirements.
7.2 Safeguarding Information from schools
As part of the notification process, schools must share relevant safeguarding and contextual information to support proportionate triage. This information should be completed by the school’s Safeguarding Team and should include:
- A safeguarding chronology and relevant safeguarding history
- Attendance patterns, including persistent absence or reduced timetables
- Behavioural concerns or patterns
- Information relating to SEND, vulnerabilities or additional needs
- Details of any early help, child in need or child protection involvement
This information enables the local authority to understand the child’s circumstances and identify any support or safeguarding considerations. The sharing of information does not prevent a parent from choosing to electively home educate.
Where vulnerabilities or safeguarding concerns are identified, schools should follow their usual safeguarding procedures and make a referral to the request for support hub where appropriate, working in partnership with the EHE team.
7.3 Triage and initial contact
Upon receipt of an EHE notification, the EHE team will review available information and consider any safeguarding concerns, vulnerabilities or service involvement within the previous 18 months.
The EHE team will offer contact with the family within 7 working days of receiving the parent’s written notification of intention to electively home educate. This may include a meeting with the family to:
- Ensure the decision to home educate is informed
- Understand the child’s circumstances and educational background
- Identify any support needs or barriers
- Explain what elective home education involves and the role of the local authority
This meeting does not need to take place in school and does not require the school to be present.
Where needs are identified, early help (including any existing or recent level 2 early help involvement) or other support may be offered to support the family and reduce risk or barriers to education. Where appropriate, information relating to current early help plans should be shared with the EHE team to ensure continuity of support and a coordinated approach at the initial meeting.
7.4 Children open to services
Where a child is currently open to early help, is a child in need, or is subject to a child protection plan, or has been open to services within the previous 18 months, the EHE Team will ensure that relevant information is considered as part of the triage process.
Where appropriate, a multi-agency meeting, with the most appropriate professionals should take place within working 7 days to ensure that education arrangements, safeguarding considerations and any existing or recent support plans are aligned. Relevant professionals will be involved to support coordinated planning and continuity of support for the child and family.
7.5 Retention of school place
In line with Blackpool’s locally agreed safeguarding and triage protocol, schools are expected to retain the child’s place for up to 20 school days from the date of parental notification. This period allows time for information sharing, safeguarding considerations and support to be explored.
During this period, families may decide that elective home education is not the right option. In these circumstances, the child may return to school and take up their place without the need to reapply.
Removal of a child’s name from the school register should take place in accordance with statutory guidance and local protocol.
7.6 Health pathway
On notification that a child is being electively home educated, the school should notify the Universal School Health Service via the single point of access.
The school nurse service will:
- Update health records to reflect EHE status
- Liaise with the EHE team to confirm health involvement
- Ensure families are informed of their entitlement to the universal school nurse service
- Provide information on transition and preparing for adulthood for children aged 14+ with a learning disability and/or EHC
Where a child or family has moved into the Blackpool area, relevant health information may be requested and reviewed in line with local information-sharing arrangements to support continuity of care. The school nursing team may offer support and signpost families as appropriate, including supporting families to register with a GP where a child is not currently registered.
Any safeguarding concerns identified by health professionals will be escalated in line with NHS safeguarding procedures, pan-Lancashire guidance and Blackpool’s local safeguarding arrangements.
8 Partnership identification of those EHE
Blackpool’s approach to elective home education is based on partnership working, early identification and professional curiosity. While elective home education is a lawful parental choice, children who are not on a school roll can be less visible to universal services.
All partner agencies should, where appropriate, consider a child’s education arrangements as part of their routine contact with children and families. This reflects existing safeguarding responsibilities and is not specific to elective home education.
Where a professional becomes aware that a child of statutory school age is being educated at home and this is not known to the local authority, this information should be shared with the elective home education team. Where there are concerns about a child’s safety, wellbeing or access to suitable education, these should also be shared with the EHE team and, where appropriate, children’s social care, in line with local information-sharing arrangements.
This may include information shared by police, health services (including 0 to 19 services and GP practices), local authority services (including early help, admissions and children’s services), and commissioned or third-sector organisations who have contact with children and families.
Information sharing will be proportionate, timely and lawful, and may take place without consent where this is necessary to safeguard a child. This approach ensures that children who are electively home educated remain visible, supported and safeguarded through existing multi-agency systems.
9 Risk assessment and safeguarding
Elective home education is not a safeguarding concern in itself. However, when a child is educated at home, their day-to-day visibility to universal services is reduced. For this reason, safeguarding considerations remain an important part of Blackpool Council’s approach to elective home education, alongside respect for parental choice.
When the local authority is notified that a child is being electively home educated, the elective home education (EHE) team will consider whether there are any known safeguarding concerns, vulnerabilities or unmet needs that require further attention. this consideration is proportionate and risk-based and may include information relating to current or recent involvement with children’s social care or early help, previous service involvement within the last 18 months, attendance history and patterns prior to deregistration, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and any known family, contextual or environmental risks. This process does not prevent a parent from choosing to electively home educate and does not constitute routine monitoring of all children who are home educated.
Where appropriate, the EHE team may seek or receive information from partner agencies to support an understanding of the child’s circumstances. This may include information from:
- Children’s social care
- Early help services
- Health services (including health visiting or school nursing)
- Police or community safety partners
Information sharing will be lawful, proportionate and necessary, in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023), and is undertaken to support safeguarding considerations rather than to automatically escalate concerns.
Where safeguarding concerns are identified, action will be taken in line with local safeguarding procedures and statutory guidance. Depending on the nature and level of concern, this may include discussion with parents or carers, offering or coordinating early help support, referral to the request for support hub (Front Door), or escalation to children’s social care for assessment. Referrals will be made with consent where appropriate, or without consent where necessary to safeguard a child. Decisions regarding safeguarding thresholds and statutory intervention sit with children’s social care. Children’s social care do not approve or refuse elective home education; however, they may assess a child’s welfare where concerns meet safeguarding thresholds.
Where concerns about education are persistent, cumulative or form part of wider worries about a child’s wellbeing, this may indicate educational neglect. In line with Blackpool’s neglect strategy and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023), concerns about educational neglect may result in a referral to the request for support hub and could lead to a child and family assessment, strategy discussion or, where necessary, a Section 47 enquiry.
Where a serious safeguarding incident or significant concern arises involving an electively home educated child, all agencies must follow their usual safeguarding procedures. In addition, the EHE team will convene a pupil education and safety meeting (PESM) within 10 working days to review the sequence of events leading up to the concern, capture the views of the child, parents/carers and professionals, and identify any missed opportunities for support or early intervention. Where safeguarding thresholds are being considered, decisions regarding statutory intervention remain the responsibility of children’s social care in line with local safeguarding procedures. Learning from PESM will be shared with the safeguarding partnership to support service improvement.
Blackpool Council has a statutory duty to promote and protect the welfare of children educated at home. Information will be shared with relevant partners where this is necessary, proportionate and lawful, in accordance with the Children Act 2004, the Data Protection Act 2018 and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023).
10 Education suitability, monitoring and local authority action
Parents are responsible for ensuring that the education provided through elective home education is efficient, suitable and appropriate to the child’s age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs or disabilities, in accordance with Section 7 of the Education Act 1996. Parents are not required to follow the national curriculum.
There is no legal definition of “full-time” education in elective home education, and the local authority does not apply fixed hours or timetables. However, for context, children attending school typically receive between 22 and 25 hours of contact time per week. This comparison is used only to inform consideration of the overall educational experience, recognising that learning in a home education context may be delivered flexibly and not measured solely by hours.
Following notification of elective home education, the elective home education (EHE) team will consider the education being provided by parents. An initial consideration of suitability will be conducted once been the 1a form has been received, using information provided. A discussion with the family will be held where appropriate. Where education appears suitable, engagement will continue on a proportionate basis, with a minimum of an annual review.
Where the EHE team, and other professionals involved, has reason to believe that education may not be suitable, parents will be informed in writing and offered guidance and a reasonable opportunity to address the concerns. If concerns remain, the local authority may issue a notice to satisfy under Section 437 of the Education Act 1996 and, where appropriate, consider further action including a school attendance order.
Where concerns about education suitability are persistent, cumulative or linked to wider worries about a child’s wellbeing, this may indicate educational neglect and may result in a referral to the request for support hub (Front Door) in line with statutory safeguarding guidance.
11 Children with EHCs or additional needs
Where a child with an EHC is electively home educated, parents remain responsible for arranging and delivering suitable education. The local authority retains a duty to maintain the EHC and to review it annually in accordance with the SEND Code of Practice (2015).
If a child with an EHC is registered at a special school named in the EHC, parental consent to elective home education must be agreed by the local authority before the child can be removed from the school register, in line with statutory requirements.
Where a child with an EHC is electively home educated, the local authority will consider whether the educational provision being made by the parent meets the child’s special educational needs. This consideration relates only to education provision and does not remove the local authority’s duty to review the EHC or consider whether the plan remains appropriate.
Where concerns arise about the suitability of education or the child’s wellbeing, these will be addressed through the processes set out in Sections 7 and 8 of this policy.
12 Record-keeping and oversight
The elective home education (EHE) team will maintain an internal register of all children known to be electively home educated in Blackpool. Each case record will include details of when the local authority was notified, contact with the family, information shared about education arrangements, and the outcomes of any consideration of suitability.
Records may also include relevant safeguarding information, known vulnerabilities, or involvement with other services, where this has been shared lawfully and is necessary to support the local authority’s statutory duties. All information will be recorded and handled in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and Blackpool Council’s information governance, data protection and records retention policies.
The EHE team will work with business intelligence, school admissions, health services and other relevant partners to support appropriate oversight of children who are electively home educated, including identifying children who are new to the area or who do not have a unique pupil number (UPN). Where appropriate, information from partner agencies, including the 0 to 16 health service, may be used to support identification and safeguarding considerations, in line with agreed information-sharing arrangements.
Summary information and anonymised data relating to EHE activity, trends and themes will be used to support strategic oversight, service planning and quality assurance within the local authority. This may include monitoring changes in EHE numbers, patterns of entry to and exit from EHE, and links with attendance, inclusion and safeguarding priorities.
This oversight does not involve routine monitoring of individual children beyond what is lawful and proportionate and does not replace the processes set out elsewhere in this policy for considering education suitability or safeguarding concerns.
13 Return to school protocol
Where a pupil is withdrawn from school to be electively home educated, it is Blackpool Council’s position that the child should return to their most recent school if elective home education is found to be unsuitable or unsustainable.
As part of the locally agreed protocol, schools are expected to retain the child’s place for 20 school days following de-registration to allow time for discussion and for families to reconsider their decision. During this period, if the family decides that elective home education is not the right option, the child may return and take up their place with appropriate support without the need to reapply.
Where a child returns to school at any point after this period, the locally agreed protocol is that they will return to their most recent school. This approach is intended to promote stability for children and to prevent the use of elective home education as a means of changing school.
Families are encouraged to discuss any concerns or wish to explore alternative options with the school and the local authority so that supportive interventions, reasonable adjustments or alternative arrangements can be considered before a decision to electively home educate is made.
While the local authority recognises that school admissions legislation does not require automatic reinstatement, this protocol is in place to promote continuity of education and reduce unnecessary barriers to re-engagement with formal learning.
Where reintegration is being considered, the local authority, school and family will develop a planned and supported reintegration plan, which may include curriculum access, pastoral support, attendance or wellbeing support, and SEND arrangements where relevant.
14 Flowchart – EHE process overview
- Start - EHE process overview
- Parent notifies school of intention to electively home educate
- School notifies EHE team (using prescribed referral form)
- Safeguarding/SEND/vulnerability check completed
- Multi-agency consideration (eg TAC/TAF/strategy meeting)
- School removes pupil from roll and informs EHE team
- Outcome decision
- Arrangements considered satisfactory
- No further action
- EHE safeguarding officer monitors and offers support (for first 6 months
- Further support or review needed
- Feedback provided to parents
- Opportunity for improvement/follow-up
- Official notice may be issued if required
- End
- Consider thresholds for request for support hub/children's social care
- School retains place for 20 days (to allow triage, discussion and reconsideration)
- EHE team sends welcome pack and requests learning EHE team (arrangements considered satisfactory)
- Local authority reviews EHE arrangements (within 4 to 6 weeks) (arrangements considered satisfactory)
- EHE team sends welcome pack and requests learning form (LIF) education plan (further support or review needed)
- At any point if concerns escalate
- School attendance order
- EHE team coordinates or attends multi-agency meeting
- Pupil education and safety meeting (PESM)
- Child and family assessment or strategy meeting
- Educational neglect consideration
- Section 47 investigation
- Educations supervision order
- End
15 Complaints and escalation
Parents who are dissatisfied with how their elective home education case has been handled should initially raise their concerns with the Blackpool EHE team electivehomeeducation@blackpool.gov.uk. If the issue cannot be resolved informally, a formal complaint can be submitted through Blackpool Council’s corporate complaints procedure, available via the council’s website.
Where concerns relate to safeguarding, SEND provision, or the issuing of a school attendance order, parents may also seek independent advice or escalate their concerns to the relevant statutory body, such as the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or the SEND tribunal.
16 Flexi-schooling
Flexi-schooling arrangements, where a child attends school part-time and is educated at home for the remainder of the week, must be formally agreed with both the headteacher and the local authority. Flexi-schooling is not the same as elective home education and should not be considered an automatic right. It is a discretionary arrangement that can be withdrawn by the school at any time.