Sample Letter for LEA suggesting insufficient information

Dear

Re. (child’s name)(D.O.B)

Thank you for your letter/report etc dated .

I would like to clarify my position with regard to supplying information of the provision I am making for my child's education. I am aware that under Section 7 of the Education Act, 1996, I have a responsibility to cause my child to receive efficient, full-time education, suitable to his age, ability, aptitude and special educational needs. As you are aware, I consider it to be in my child's best interests if this education takes place at home, rather than in a school.

I am also aware that an LEA has a duty to act if it appears that a parent is not discharging this responsibility. Further to this, I understand that case law has established that, since no such ‘appearance’ can exist or not exist in the absence of any information, it is reasonable for LEA’s to make informal enquiries about provision. I understand that, although I have no legal requirement to respond to these enquiries, this could be perceived as an appearance of no provision. In consideration of this understanding of my rights and responsibilities, I have supplied you with the following information

( brief details and dates eg a meeting visit at/on/time when you were able to meet …… and view …….details of work shown. You were also able to discuss …………. Etc) (2nd eg a report / ed philosophy / statement dated of which I enclose a copy)

You have decided that this information is insufficient to satisfy a reasonable person that an education is taking place.

I am sure you are aware that, as a home educator, I am under no obligation to meet with or accept visits from my LEA, follow a curriculum, give formal lessons, cover a school type syllabus or to expect my child to match school based age-specific standards. The education provided does not have to be academically based but suited to the individual child's age, aptitude, ability and special educational needs.

I would like to point out that XXX is not a student undertaking academic studies, but a young person/child taking advantage of the opportunity to initiate and follow a course of education uniquely suited to him as an individual, with the full time support of his (mother) as one-to-one facilitator and assistant. As such, any work he produces is his own property, and I am not at liberty to share it with you or anyone else.

Further, it is neither your duty, nor your right to pass the home education as satisfactory, but rather to act if it appears that I am failing in my duty to provide a full time education suited to my child’s age, aptitude, ability and special educational needs. Should a court decide whether this is the case, it will be my task to present such information and evidence as would be sufficient to convince a reasonable person, on the balance of probabilities only, that a suitable education is taking place. The Court will receive evidence in any reasonable form. I consider that the information I have already supplied to you is sufficient to fulfil this criteria.
I enclose a copy of the Summary of the Law for your information.

Yours

General points when writing to the LEA.

1. Always send by post. Use recorded delivery if you want to have proof of delivery.
2. Keep a paper copy of all correspondence.
3. If the letter you have received is copied to anyone else (ie CC’d on the bottom) make sure your letter is also copied to all concerned. Don’t forget to CC your letter so all parties know.
4. Make sure all correspondence contains details of your and your child’s name, address, dob etc so there is no excuse for it getting lost.
5. Always write assuming that the person reading the letter/report doesn’t know anything about you. If the file is then transferred or needs to be passed to a legal team etc they know exactly what’s gone on from your point of view.

Please click on the country which you are interested in for the Summary of the Law to include with your letter:

England and Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Isle of Man
Jersey
Guernsey