Political parties and home ed

[bauhausfan]

Does anyone know where the different big parties stand re home education. Thinking about who to vote for in the next election and this issue would be the one to swing it for me and DH.

[ommmward]

Erm... it would be very hard for any long standing home educator to vote for a party with Ed Balls in it, let's put it that way.

On the single issue of Home Ed, the only party (of the big three) who are really our friends are the conservatives. Google Graham Stuart. There is also at least one conservative MP who was home educated herself (Nicola Blackwood -West Oxford and Abingdon) and is a vocal supporter.

The last labour government only failed to put through major plans to monitor and regulate what we do (with being allowed to home educate being in the gift of LA employees and subject to all sorts of conditions led by them not by the families) because they ran out of time before the election. I personally will vote for whoever is most likely to keep them out again.

[fideline]

Lord Lucas was good in the bad-old Badman days (Tory peer). Kitty Usher (Labour MP) was horrendous. Those are individuals, of course, not parties.

[bauhausfan]

I don't think I could be a Tory voter but I'm not voting Labour if it's going to harm HE. I would die before I'd send my children to school!

[Bunbaker]

"I would die before I'd send my children to school!"

Why? Because you would feel a failure? Because the schools near you are awful?

[bauhausfan]

? Bunbaker this is a home ed forum. People here home ed and know why they do it :)

[bauhausfan]

Why do you HE then Bunbaker?

[Bunbaker]

I don't HE myself.

I wasn't being confrontational. I was just wondering why you were so vehemently against the idea of school, that's all.

[morethanpotatoprints]

I was thinking about this today, but more about UC/tax credits and future workfare.
I suppose some people may find it difficult or impossible to continue.
I too would do anything not to have to send dd to school, because she doesn't want to go.

[bauhausfan]

I am also a teacher and realised early on that round here (at least) schools don't cater for all children's needs. My eldest is very bright and also dyspraxic. School just didn't suit the way he learns. He has flourished since we started home edding him. The main reason i that he learns in a way which suits him. He is 8 and doing much higher level work than would be typical for his age. More crucially, he is a lot happier.

My younger child is more neurotypical but I am now such a big fan of HE that we won't be sending him to school either. I used to think HE was a bit 'odd' - now I think it's amazing. We are lucky enough to live in a big city though, so our boys get to go to lots of groups and social events. I imagine it's be quite lonely home edding if you lived somewhere very isolated.

[bauhausfan]

My eldest would be hysterical if he had to go to school. Morethanpotatoprints - I would say the only way round it would be to do nightshifts or something. (Maybe 3 long ones per week?) Royal Mail have some good shifts (I used to work for them).

[morethanpotatoprints]

We will be ok baushausfan and are very lucky that we will just about manage. The hit will cost us, as I couldn't work due to being the one who chases round taking dd everywhere. So we will lose our tax credits.
I feel really sorry for anybody who will not have the choice to H.ed if they want to.

[Martorana]

Voting in national elections on a single issue is a mistake.

[MavisG]

Ukip

[MavisG]

I can't believe I just posted that. Don't think I could bring myself to, but it's true.

[bauhausfan]

MavisG is it because they are actively pro-HE?

[MavisG]

I haven't looked on their website but I read on a home ed group on fb that they do, I guess it goes with right wing, libertarian, small govt.

[Martorana]

They have produced a policy paper supporting he. But they would, wouldn't they? Think about the world you want your child to grow up in-is that a ukip world?

[MavisG]

No!

[ommmward]

Problem is, of course, that many of us want liberal social freedom (i.e. to home educate even though the norm is to put children in state-run schools), so that's a small government thing, but the only parties who offer that are (of course) the right wing ones, whose economic policies are at the leave-'em-to-it-free-market end of the scale, which offends many of our liberal principles in other ways. There doesn't seem to BE a party that is both economically and socially liberal. Unless I'm being an eejit. I mean, many people used to vote lib dem thinking that's what they were, but I'm not at all convinced we can believe that's what they are any more, given their track record over the last few years...

[fideline]

I don't think I could be a Tory voter but I'm not voting Labour if it's going to harm HE.

My dilemma exactly Baus!

[Martorana]

Ommmward- I think you are presenting the last labour government's proposals about HE in a very alarmist light. I don't remember anyone saying that HE would be in the "gift of the LEA" for example.

[fideline]

Martorana the Badman recommendations were pretty stringent

[Martorana]

But the parental right to home educate remained intact.

[bauhausfan]

The Badman recommendations were slightly before I started to HE - if anyone would care to elaborate, that would be helpful.

[fideline]

quick link Bau