To think that having to have a DBS check to home educate is unfair.

I cannot find a source for that idea and even if she thinks it's a good idea, she's just a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. I don't think she's actually in position to do anything like that.

Recalling at the things people claimed random members of the government wanted to do to home ed families during the Badman years (the worst for me was when someone was putting around a blog dressed as a news source claiming home educated girls were going to be required to undergo vaginal exams which was obvious bogus but it was treated as real and caused some distress to some families who trusted what other home educators were saying), I'd take this kinda thing with a barrel of salt. I don't think it really makes sense with how the DBS system works.

Should their be more checks of home education families? I can see the argument for it, if only in comparison to other countries that give far better support for home educated families, but I don't think the UK is going to put the resources into that. I think they're going to just use registers - if that, though it would mean the every few years discussion on them as a way to tick box concern would be gone for them.

Hmm. I can see what the intention is, but I am not sure DBS checks will achieve anything. Let's face it, they are not even that effective at stopping dangerous people accessing children through their jobs or voluntary work. They are only really meaningful on the day they are issued and even then, only if someone has actually been caught and convicted for a prior crime. I would hope that if a child is living with someone with a known criminal background who then withdraws them from school, then they would already be on social sevices' radar. And if an abusive parent with no previous convictions decides to home school, a DBS isn't going to reveal anything is it?
I may be cynical but this smacks of "Look everyone!We're doing something! (But not actually spending any money or tackling the real issues...)" In fact this might not only be cheap, it could actually generate income - will the parents have to pay for their own checks?!

Quite, and isn't a DBS check just a form filling exercise, rather than a regular check by someone in person in authority?

Do they mean to DBS check the parents or to DBS check any of the tutors they're using? Either in person or online?

If tutors, I don't think that's a bad idea at all and I would have assumed they would be frugal to apply for one anyway, especially if conducting in-person sessions.

Are they going to suggest DBS checking all mothers going on maternity leave next? After all, they're going to be alone with their children.

It's a horrible infringement on the right to a private family life, and a sticking plaster solution that will do nothing to protect children who are being abused.

Also home educators aren’t invisible? We have yearly contact and have to submit a report to the LA with examples of work to show the education provided is acceptable plus each time we see the gp or do an online consult one question is what are the education arrangements for the child

@Grimed I have a relative who homeschools their kids, they have never been in the school system, they have also been removed from mainstream healthcare and aren't registered with a GP/dentist, the youngest was born via freebirthing and their birth wasn't registered for a few years and only was registered because they wanted a passport to travel.
I'm sure the kids are generally fine (from what we've seen - we don't see them much) but their parents have removed them from society due to their beliefs.
Lots of people who opt out do so for very valid reasons but it does mean that a layer of people who can spot problems with those who have them, is removed and that's not just abuse or neglect but also people struggling to manage through no fault of their own. I'm not sure DBS is the right thing but I understand the need for not leaving people completely unchecked.

I'm not sure a DBS check will do what they hope. Unless they intend to check all household members?

As for home-ed in general, I'm really torn. As a parent, I know some great home-ed families however as a social worker, I only see home ed as a cover for nefarious actions (travellers pulled out of school to manage the home, child marriages/ sending children abroad, abusive homes to keep the children away from prying eyes) these families are obviously not actually doing home ed, but using home ed as a way of removing children from visible society. I was a social worker before I was a parent, so it took quite a while for me to realise they weren't all like that! (I'm actually really pro alternative provision now).

Makes no sense !

what would show up on a dbs that they would then use to stop a family home educating?
so then they would force a child back to school because what, abuse only happens in school hours ??

I don't see the problem.

It would he easy for a home-schooled child to be abused wouldn't it?

I don't think the checks are about preventing abuse, more about identifying those who are at risk.

So yes, there's a possibility of harm on a playdate, but it's not on the same level as a child who's been removed from school and is in the care of their potential abuser 24/7, potentially never seeing anyone and with no possibility of anyone raising any concerns.

No system will be failsafe, but does that the we shouldn't try to protect our most vulnerable?

DBS should be a non negotiable condition, no question and actually very obvious!!

What about sahps of babies and toddlers, should they be made subject to dbs checks given they are not under the watchful eye of paid safeguarders?

A system to ensure that all children are 'seen' regularly to ensure their wellbeing? (Be it a regular home education group, another activity, doctors/dentisys/specialist medical service, or failing those a specific visit). Great idea.

A DBS check which just shows prior convictions and not what might actually be happening... dont quite get the point.

I can totally see why the vast majority of people who are making a choice to homeschool might feel upset and frustrated with this. However, schools are often the ‘first line of defence’ for safeguarding so you have to ask yourself if it’s worth the inconvenience to yourself if you choose to homeschool in order to safeguard other children. If you think about it like that I would like to think that the people who choose to genuinely homeschool are the type of people who think carefully about children’s best interests and therefore would be able to see this as a necessary evil to keep other children safe and not as a personal attack against them.

It's bonkers if it's the child's own parent...Maybe all new parents should be DBS checked?

Surely then will open door to parents needing a valid DBS to host playmates..!

Why? Children in school are safeguarded by other means. Children not in school can be kept away from anyone who might help them, if that's what the parents want. Of course not all homeschooling parents are motivated that way, but some are, more than the good ones would imagine. How do we protect those children if the state isn't allowed any access?

@Sirzy I agree. If a family aren't 'seen' then absolutely a reason for authorities to check in on the child. This seems a much more sensible approach.

Because you are asking people to submit to a check to do something in their own home with their own family. It's a level of surveillance that before now, didn't exist. And it has been achieved without any wider discussions and conversations about whether we want to live in a society that's okay with that.

The answer may well be yes but don't pretend this isn't new and doesn't encroach on family life.

Anyway, my dc go to school, so I'm not saying any such thing about myself and my own children - I know it astounds posters on MN that people can have a point of view that doesn't relate to their own vested interest, but here we are.

As a pp poster said presumably this means everyone should be DBS checked before they're allowed to have children, because there are 4 long years before children enter the school system, are you telling me an abusive parent waits until the child reaches school age before abusing their child, it's ridiculous.

Ok then get ALL parents DBS checked.

That’s how abuse goes unnoticed or ignored.

there is a place for outside agencies to work with families to provide a suitable level of monitoring but without being intrusive into family life. If a family engages regularly with medical services and home Ed groups then only minimal monitoring beyond that should be needed. If a family aren’t engaging with anyone then that may require more

That would be great if children were able to advocate for, and look after, themselves. They can't, though, so the state has an obligation to maintain at least an oversight to try to ensure they're safe and cared for.

I can't believe anyone really thinks that people should just be allowed to produce offspring and then do as they please with them.