The Government published a Counter Extremism Strategy in 2015, which set out plans to introduce a new system of oversight for out-of-school education settings – such as supplementary schools, tuition centres and madrassahs. The Strategy recognised that most of these settings can provide useful support to children, but also noted that the lack of oversight of these settings, and limited information about the practices within them, illustrating the risks of them being exploited by extremists.
Local councils have an overarching responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, regardless of where they are educated. It is for them to assess whether the threshold for intervention is met in the case of an individual child taking account of the impact and influence of environmental factors. However, wherever local councils have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm they are under a duty to investigate. Local councils should make whatever enquiries necessary to decide what, if any, action to take to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare. The police can, of course, investigate any reports that a crime has been committed in an out-of-school education setting.
National statistics are not held on the number of madrassahs or children attending them but we are working closely with local councils to improve our understanding of the range of out-of-school education settings.
Children are not required to attend school. Parents have a right to educate their children at home but must provide a suitable full-time education if the child is of compulsory school age. Parents who home educate must ensure that their child receives efficient, full-time education suitable to the child's age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs the child may have. They are not, however, required to, observe school hours, days or terms.
Parents are not obliged to provide the teaching themselves and may access services from other providers, including out-of-school education settings, but the responsibility for ensuring that their child receives a suitable education and is properly safeguarded, remains with them.
The Department ran a call for evidence on out-of-school education settings, inviting interested education providers, local councils, other organisations and individuals to help us broaden our evidence base. We will publish our analysis of responses in due course.
All schools have a duty to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. We are supporting schools to meet their obligations to protect pupils from radicalisation, and to help them build pupils’ resilience to extremism through knowledge and critical skills so they can question information, weigh arguments, and make reasoned judgments.
Ofsted have strengthened their inspection frameworks so that inspectors assess how well schools protect pupils from the risks of extremism and radicalisation, and promote fundamental British values.
We work closely with Ofsted to investigate allegations of extremism in schools and take appropriate action to ensure pupils are safeguarded from extremist and intolerant views.
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