Missing pupils 'to be tracked down'

The proposals have angered some parent groups

New efforts are planned to trace thousands of Scottish youngsters who have never attended state school, it has been reported.

The Scottish Executive intends to use birth registers, census information, health visitor records and nursery enrolments to track down the estimated 5,000 children, The Scotsman newspaper said.

But the move is said to have angered parents who educate their children at home.

All parents have the right to teach their child themselves - but those who withdraw from the state system must first receive permission from their local education authority.

The executive wants clearer guideance

However, there is no such requirement for those who opt out of a private school or have never sent their child to a state school in the first place.

The Scottish Executive said draft guidance on home education would take into account parents and councils' views in an effort to give both sides a clearer idea of their rights and responsibilities.

The paper reported that councils would set up monitoring procedures to ensure the education provided by parents was suitable once the children were found.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said it believed school was the most suitable environment for educating children.

However, she said: "We recognise that there is a fairly small but significant number of parents who choose to educate their children at home.

"There is respect for those parents who decide to educate their children at home.

The executive has succeeded in alienating the entire home education community of Scotland in a matter of days and should be utterly ashamed of publishing this bully's charter

Alison Preuss

"The draft guidance stems from recognition that there is a need for clearer guidelines for the local authorities and parents ensuring that both groups are aware of their rights and responsibilities."

However, she stressed that the guidance was still at a draft stage and that the views of councils and parents' groups would be taken on board.

Alison Preuss, spokeswoman for the Schoolhouse Home Education Association, attacked any plans to use private records.

She told The Scotsman: "The executive has succeeded in alienating the entire home education community of Scotland in a matter of days and should be utterly ashamed of publishing this bully's charter.

State schools

"Under these proposals, local authorities have the right to hound law-abiding citizens whose only crime is to take up their right to teach their own children in their own home."

The Scottish National Party defended the right of parents to educate their children at home.

SNP education spokesman Mike Russell said "it would be unacceptable for the government to compel parents to put their children into state schools".

He said: "High educational standards are a must but dictating to parents what's best for their own kids is a very dangerous road to go down."