Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy at the Association of School and College Leaders responds to the Children Not In School (Register) Bill, introduced in the House of Commons by Flick Drummond MP.
“ASCL and many other organisations have long called for there to be a mandatory register of children who are not in school. The number of children being educated at home has been rising for several years and although local authorities do their best to provide appropriate oversight and support, there will likely be children that are falling through the net.
“The introduction of a system of mandatory registration was part of the Schools Bill before it was scrapped, and the government really should be making the parliamentary time available to ensure that this simple and necessary measure passes into law. Frankly, the public will find it astonishing that there is no such register already.”