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

It does seem strange and I’d like to hear in full what their ideas, plans and reasons are, are any past crimes acceptable? Surely social services are already aware of those families with history of sexual offences and terrorism? I live in one of the strictest LAs for checking on home educators, we are asked to show every year that we are providing a full, varied education with opportunities for socialising and that our children are progressing. I can certainly see the need to make sure no children are left vulnerable and uneducated but I also wonder about the potential for overreach and misuse of power (as I said though, my experience is with a council who already keep a very close eye on us, so perhaps I just am unaware of councils who don’t do anything with home educators?)

Home schoolers are not abusive. Some abusive parents will home school their children to avoid scrutiny.

This is what Baroness whatnot is trying to reduce. I'm not sure a DBS check would achieve much however because your average abusive parent probably doesn't have a criminal conviction.

We need to find a way to keep these children safe though.

@orwellwasright - that's fine. As long as you send your children to school you'll have no time alone with them to put them at risk. Sorted!

Its odd how some are against dbs checks but wouldn't mind visits from the LA. I know which I'd find more intrusive, although a visit would have to be scheduled and so wouldn't really tell them much anyway, just as a dbs only does at the time it was requested.

I think this is a fantastic idea tbh. My sister in law used to be a teacher and she said a large proportion of her class were being physically abused at home by family members. School was literally the only place they went to, and the teachers therefore were the only ones who could flag it with social services.
Take that away and leave them at home being homeschooled, these kids are in horrendous conditions 😓

A dbs check doesn’t monitor a child welfare though.

In my private life I like to dismember, boil and eat people. I'm very pleased the state appreciates they have no right to stop me. Because it's my private life.

I've thought about it for far longer and its not an infringement on any such thing. You're basically saying " I want the right to keep my child away from sources of support and assistance and I want never to be checked on or have anyone know if I have convictions that may be relevant".

How is it an infringement on your family life? It isn't

If the authorities want to come and visit my children and do a welfare check that's fine by me. I don't know what a DBS will achieve. It just feels like a 'cover our arses' idea really. What are the 'acceptable' crimes and what aren't? Would the same parents be able to keep their kids if they send them to school? It's an odd idea.

Anyway all DBS checks show is that you haven't been caught yet. It's a stupid idea.

There was a panic after the Soham murders which fortunately was reined in again by the Coalition government (about the only thing they did right) but not enough.

Lots of people have dbs checks for a wide variety of things, I don't see the big deal. Unless someone has something to hide of course

But DBS checks show up ALL convictions. Not just those for violent or sexual crime.

There is a HUGE difference between a family that is choosing to home educate their child, and a family choosing to not send a child to school in order to become invisible. These children are absolutely not being home educated!

Home educated children are seen by doctors, dentists, other parents, are part of home ed groups. It's a lot of effort on a parent's part to home educate a child. My children are seen in my community every day - shops, cafes, parks, group sessions, sports clubs, local charities etc.

Children that are kept out of school for radicalisation or neglectful reasons are most certainly NOT home educated.

A DBS won't help any of this. What is it being suggested red flags are for DBS checked parents? This worries me.

I have been home educating for seven years now. I have also never been visited by anyone officially. Despite asking for this at the start. We get no help in my area. No resources or support at all apart from within the home Ed community, which is immensely supportive, luckily.

Then we need to do DBS checks on everyone who is pregnant and their partners and anyone else in their household over 16. And what then? Will women whose partners stole something from a shop when they were 17 be forced to have abortions.

DBS checks should only be carried out in very limited circumstances. At the moment the system is abused but there are no resources to deal with it.

Yes me too. Lots of people have dbs checks for a wide variety of things, I don't see the big deal. Unless someone has something to hide of course.

School is sometimes the only place a child is safe. If an abusive parents keeps them at home, there is no one to monitor the child's welfare. I think this is an excellent suggestion.

All children should be safeguarded. I agree that the reason for this suggestion is to help those kids who are HE to avoid being brought to the attention of social services by their local school who are required to report if they have safeguarding concerns.

I think this is the kind of thing that seems reasonable to the uninvested at the outset but when you think on it longer than a heartbeat it's a clear infringement on family life and marks a new precedent which takes you to odd places.

Anything that adds a layer of protection to a child is a good idea.

Home education is great. Some really dedicated parents out there. I couldn't have done it. My niece HE her children and is amazing.

But there are also parents who take their children out of school not to HE but because they are abusive and don't want the authorities to know.

Children at risk are (well, should be, let's be honest there have been so many tragic fuck up!) identified at school. Replacing that layer for HE children is important.

It's a stupid idea. The state should butt right out of peoples private lives.

Nice MNetters believe that all homeschoolers are just like them, genuinely doing the best thing for their child who has often been failed by the school system.

However, in the real world, removing a child to homeschool is too often a way to remove them from a system that is trying to protect them.

I'm not sure DBS is the way forward, but I do think there needs to be some sort of checking.

What makes Homeschool parents more likely to be abusive?

You're looking at it the wrong way around...it's not that home educators are more likely to be abusive in that sense, its that abusive parents (of many types) use the excuse of "home educating" to keep their children away from people who might spot the abuse.

Ridiculous. However I do think that home educated children should have access to someone similar to a health visitor to do development checks, measure height, weight every so often, eye tests and safeguarding etc.

If I took my dc to school dirty, no homework done or underfed then school would raise concerns. I think home educated children should have access to this kind of thing too.