Parliament is facing a call for a new law saying councils must log information on home-schooled children in their areas.
Conservative MP Flick Drummond is seeking to table a Bill aimed at placing a legal duty on local authorities to maintain a register of children who are not in school.
The MP for Meon Valley said there could be up to 81,000 children in England who are being home schooled, but ‘no one knows how they are being educated’.
She said local authorities currently have no right to go to their homes to check on their education.
Promoting her Children Not In School (Register) Bill, Ms Drummond told the House of Commons: ‘Currently, we hold no comprehensive data about how many children are not on a school roll, where they are and what quality of education they are receiving, if any.
‘This was echoed in a recent report by the education select committee, which concluded that the status quo does not allow the “Government to say with confidence that a suitable education is being provided to every child in the country”.
‘This is not acceptable. A quality education holds the key to a brighter future for every child, as well as playing a core role in ensuring our nation’s society and economy thrives.’
