Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Register of Children not in School

20 February 2024 · 5 other contributors · 11,320 words

Opened by Flick Drummond Con Portsmouth South

Responding minister: Damian Hinds

Children & Families

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Flick Drummond raised concerns about register of children not in school in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • The number of children missing from school is unknown, raising concerns about their safety and quality of education.
  • Children not in school are disproportionately from low-income households, need special educational needs support, and have a history of absence and exclusions.
  • Parents may feel coerced into home education due to unmet special educational needs or bullying, risking harm to the child.

Key requests to Government

The Government should fully back the Bill for a register of children not in school to ensure the welfare and education of every child, allowing no further delay. This would help identify and support families who are struggling with home education due to various reasons such as unmet special educational needs or bullying.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Flick Drummond Con Portsmouth South

The number of children missing from school is unknown, and there are concerns about the safety and quality of education for those who have been moved out of school. These children are disproportionately likely to be from low-income households, need special educational needs support (SEN), and have a history of school absence and exclusions. Parents may feel coerced into home education due to unmet SEND needs or bullying, leading to potential harm if the child is left without appropriate care.

Other contributors (5)
  • Gregory Campbell DUP East Londonderry

    Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that wider society understands the distinction drawn by the hon. Member for Meon Valley (Mrs Drummond), and by my hon. Friend himself, between the very small number of children who have been, and may well be, at risk because of neglect shown by parents, and the very effective home schooling that is the choice of parents whose only concern is the future wellbeing of their children?

  • Helen Hayes Lab Dulwich and West Norwood

    The MP highlighted the urgency of addressing persistent school absence, noting that over one in five children missed at least 10% of school year in 2022-23. She emphasised the importance of education for future opportunities and cited research showing pupils with poor attendance are half as likely to pass GCSEs. The issues of persistent absence, home education, and mental health support are linked. A comprehensive strategy is needed, including a register of children not in school to enable intervention on the quality of their education and help local authorities understand and support families.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Discussed the importance of education, sharing personal experiences and highlighting concerns about home schooling due to secular teaching methods. He provided statistics on the increasing number of home-schooled children in Northern Ireland from 287 in 2017-18 to 796 in 2021-22, noting that the actual figure could be higher as registration is not mandatory. Emphasised the need for a register to monitor progress and ensure children receive proper education. The MP suggested that children who are home-schooled collectively visit local facilities such as the council, museum, and leisure centre for educational purposes.

  • Sally-Ann Hart Lab Hastings and Rye

    Sally-Ann Hart argued for the necessity of a not-in-school register to track children who are not enrolled in formal educational institutions, highlighting gaps in data collection. She noted a 50% rise in home-educated children in East Sussex between 2017 and 2022, with over 1,500 children being home schooled in the last academic year. Concerns were raised about unidentified reasons for home schooling in 39% of cases and issues with SEND provision leading to home education. She stressed that without a register, it is unclear if these children are receiving proper education or safeguarding.

  • Tim Loughton Con East Worthing and Shoreham

    He highlighted the importance of monitoring children not in school, noting that during and after COVID-19, there has been an increase in 'ghost children' who are not attending mainstream education. He stressed the need for regulation of alternative provision and unregulated religious schools, as well as addressing issues like special educational needs, mental health problems, bullying, and social media impacts. Asked Flick Drummond a question but the text does not specify what it was about.

Government Response

Damian Hinds

It is a great pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher— I think for the first time. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Meon Valley (Mrs Drummond), my constituency neighbour, on securing this debate on a topic that is a Government priority... Over recent years, as various colleagues have alluded to, the number of home educating families has continued to increase. In summer 2023, the Department for Education estimated that 97,600 children were home educated in England—about 1% of all school-age children... Without a statutory register of children not in school and the accompanying duties on parents and certain out-of-school education providers to supply information to it, we cannot know for certain the scale of how many children are missing education. We cannot know for sure how many children are in home education and what subset are in home education but not receiving a suitable education, or how many are receiving no education at all... The measures would have ensured consistency of approach across local authorities through regulations and new statutory guidance, and it remains our intention to work closely with home educators, local authorities and other key stakeholders prior to the introduction of any new statutory system to ensure that it is implemented in a way that works both for home-educating parents and for local authorities... I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Meon Valley for bringing this topic to the House today. My colleagues in the Department for Education and I warmly welcome her Bill on the same subject. We look forward to its Second Reading on Friday 15 March, and to working closely with her as she takes it through the House.

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