Ombudsman tells councils to be clear on purpose of visits to home-schooled children

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has warned councils to be clear with parents of home-schooled children whether home visits are routine or triggered by specific concerns.

The warning follows an investigation into a complaint about Leicester City Council, after attendance officers visited a family based on unsubstantiated claims a boy’s education was unsuitable.

The LGO found that the council had no justification to visit the mother and son on the referral they received, and it should have checked the facts before visiting.

The council also did not tell the mother the full grounds on which officers were making the visit or allow her the chance to dispute the incorrect information.

The Ombudsman said that after the information was found to be wrong, attendance officers maintained their approach of demanding the mother enrol her son at a local school or face legal proceedings.

The investigation also found the council incorrectly sought to justify its actions based on an anticipated change in government guidance. “And in any case the new guidance, which was issued nine months after the events, does not authorise any approach to parents based on incorrect information,” the LGO added.

The Ombudsman said Leicester had stopped its action against the mother based on the second referral it received.

The LGO called on the council to:

• apologise for having based its actions on an unsubstantiated referral and not telling the mother what had been alleged against her son;
• remind staff that information recorded about parents should be factual and non-judgmental.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Parents have a right to know on what basis a council proposes to visit them when they are educating their children at home. It may be a routine visit or one prompted by information which has come to the council, but it is vital that this information is passed on, particularly where a parent may need to provide an explanation.

“For the council to have continued to pursue the mother after we had repeatedly told it there was no basis for its actions was particularly disappointing.

“I now call on Leicester City Council to review my report and accept its findings.”

A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: “We accept the decision of the Ombudsman and have apologised to the complainant. Our initial contact was based on inaccurate information which we should have checked. We have taken steps to ensure this will not happen again.

“However, we note that the Ombudsman’s report accepted that we were acting in accordance with our policy, and that we have the right to request a future routine visit in accordance with this policy.

“We have a legal duty to satisfy ourselves as to the suitability of home education.”

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