What will Wokingham do?

Prior to making the important decision whether to electively home educate, you can request a meeting in school with the EHE Officer, to discuss all your responsibilities and options available. This informative and supportive meeting will help you make an informed decision.  Please email ehe@wokingham.gov.uk.

If you decide to EHE and notification is received, you will receive an information pack in the post and introductory letter.  You will then be contacted by email/phone or letter to arrange an initial visit with our EHE Officer.  You will also receive a plan outline to complete and return to us, if you wish. We aim to do this within the first few weeks of EHE.

The main advantages of a home visit are that our EHE Officer can offer support and guidance face to face and it allows you to present a wide range of work in context and to discuss their child’s work in a comfortable and private environment. We will always offer a home visit in the first instance.

Following a visit or receipt of information from yourselves concerning the education of your child, the EHE Officer will write with one of the following recommendations:

• The education provision is suitable. The EHE Officer will make informal enquiries of the family again at agreed dates, but we shall always take the wishes of the family into account.
• That there is a need for further contact (reasons will be given)
• The education provision is unsuitable for the reasons given

Wokingham Borough Council has a statutory duty under Section 436A of the Education Act 1996 (inserted by the Education and Inspections Act 2006), to make arrangements to enable it to establish the identities of children in their area not in receipt of a suitable education, as far as it is possible to do so. 

Wokingham Borough Council maintains a written policy statement regarding elective home education which is regularly reviewed in consultation with local EHE families and other key stakeholders, such as schools.  Wokingham Borough Council also provides written guidance to parents who decide to home educate and the complaints procedure will also be shared with all parents.  Wokingham Borough Council employs an EHE officer, who is available to offer advice and support to all families registered as EHE within the Wokingham Borough.

Wokingham Borough Council maintains a database of all children known to be home educated by parents/carers. This enables a record of all contact made with parent/carer and child to be kept and it also ensures that when a truancy sweep is undertaken by Police and the Education Welfare Service that no formal action is necessary.  When a child registered as EHE in Wokingham moves out of borough, the EHE Officer will inform the new local authority.