Written question WQ94559
- Asked by
- Tom GiffardConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Education
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 9 days
Question
What consideration has the Welsh Government given to the possibility of an increased price of home educated students sitting external exams as a result of the 20 per cent VAT policy on private education, and how will this policy affect home-educated students?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Education
The Welsh Government has worked with local authorities to enable home-educating families to access WJEC examinations at a local identified examination centre. Additionally, some local authorities have made specific arrangements for their home educating families to be able to sit examinations with additional examination boards. It is the responsibility of the home-educator to contact their local authority and enquire about the precise way in which their local authority handles private candidates and whether there is support available.
In the same way that home-education does not prescribe what should be taught and when – or require parents to follow the curriculum for Wales, there is no requirement on home-educated learners to sit examinations. Where home-educated learners do choose to sit examinations, they must be taken at an approved examination centre that accepts private candidates.
As the regulator, Qualifications Wales approves qualifications for pre-19 publicly funded courses. Home-educated learners are not limited to the made-for-Wales GCSEs and are able to choose the qualifications that best suit their needs; some will choose to take IGCSEs or 9-1 GCSEs, if these are available.
Policies around VAT are not devolved.
Before parents choose home-education for their child(ren), they must first consider the cost implications and be prepared to assume full financial responsibility for the child’s education, including bearing the cost of examinations. Although local authorities are encouraged to provide support where resources permit, they are under no obligation to do so. This is clear in the Welsh Government’s statutory Elective Home Education Guidance, which is available at the following link:
The parent remains responsible for both the cost and delivery of the child’s education, regardless of where and how this is undertaken. As such, whilst I am aware of the potential issues that may arise from the VAT legislation brought forward by the UK Government, any VAT charged as a result of home-educating would also need to be borne by the home-educator.