Surrey had 2,851 home-educated children in June 2026, FOI disclosure reveals

• Surrey County Council recorded 2,851 children aged 5–16 as electively home educated between 1 and 25 June 2026.
• 246 of those children were identified as having SEND — all of whom held an Education, Health and Care Plan; the council does not record SEND for children without an EHCP.
• Eight full-time equivalent Elective Home Education Officers are employed by the council to support home-educating families.
• A breakdown of individual staff contracts and working hours was withheld under the personal data exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
• June 2026 EOTAS/EOTIS figures could not be provided as the relevant Half-Term 6 dataset will not be available until August 2026.

Surrey County Council recorded 2,851 children aged 5 to 16 as electively home educated within its area during the period 1 to 25 June 2026, according to a Freedom of Information disclosure.

Of those children, 246 were identified as having a special educational need or disability (SEND).

The council's disclosure notes that its recording practice ties SEND identification directly to the issuing of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP): all 246 of the SEND-identified home-educated children held an EHCP.

The council does not record SEND for children without an EHCP.

The council employs eight full-time equivalent Elective Home Education Officers (EHEOs) to work with families who home educate.

A request for a more detailed breakdown of individual contracts — including working hours and terms of employment — was refused.

The council cited the personal data exemption under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, noting that disclosure would contravene data protection principles set out in Article 5(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. That exemption is absolute and is not subject to a public interest test.

The request also sought figures for children aged 5 to 16 who were on a school roll and receiving Education Otherwise Than At or In A School (EOTAS/EOTIS) during June 2026.

The council said it does not hold that information for the period in question.

The relevant data is derived from its PMOOE (Persons Missing Out On Education) dataset, and the Half-Term 6 figures — covering the June period — will not be available until August 2026.

The council noted that Half-Term 5 data, covering 13 April to 22 May 2026, is held and suggested the requester submit a separate FOI request if that earlier period would be of use.