DATA will be given to Powys County Council that will show whether children being home schooled in the county are receiving a suitable education or not.
It was revealed at a meeting of the council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet on Tuesday, June 10 that the council is part of a Welsh Government pilot scheme on “children missing education.”
This programme involves Health Boards, Independent Schools, and local authorities working together to identify children who may not be receiving a suitable education.
This is because there are some children who fall through the cracks in the system and are not known to local authorities.
A database is being set up to provide data on children missing education and is being trialled by a third of the council’s in Wales including Powys.
Local authorities will be expected to follow up and check that these children are receiving an “adequate “education.
The move is part of a drive to ensure councils comply with the legal requirements that all children must receive an education.
The information was provided to senior councillors as they received an update report on the council’s corporate safeguarding board activity.
Director of social services Nina Davies told councillors that the board had received a report last March on safeguarding in education which included figures for the number of children in Powys that are being home schooled.
Mrs Davies said: “The figures as they stood at the end of February here were 409 children and young people registered as electively home educated.
“The board also looked into the data for those (home educated) children that qualify for free school meals and those identified as having additional learning needs.
“Powys is part of the Welsh Government pilot programme on children missing education and we look forward on receiving information on that in due course.”
Mrs Davies continued “It’s been noted that schools have been documenting training incorrectly which may be affecting the accuracy of data.
“Measures are being taken to address that and we’ll have an update at the next meeting.”
Earlier cabinet member for legal and statutory services Cllr Richard Church (Liberal Democrat) introduced the report and congratulated the council’s Ukrainian resettlement team for winning the Wales Safer Communities Award for their work last November.
Cllr Church said: “They have done an extraordinary job in supporting Ukrainian refugees and helping them settle into our communities and we should as a cabinet offer them our congratulations.
“And also, to the volunteers who welcomed Ukrainian refugees to their homes, bearing in mind the very difficult circumstances they have come from in their home country.”
Cabinet noted the report which will go on to be discussed at a meeting of the Governance and Audit committee later this month.
The internal council safeguarding board which meets behind closed doors, was set up in 2023 to address historic corporate safeguarding issues.
This followed a critical report published in December 2022 by Audit Wales into the council’s corporate safeguarding arrangements.
