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

That's not what she's saying at all. We do have checks by LAs, we don't need a DBS check. As far as I can see this statement was just another ploy to make Home Ed parents seem alien. Our kids visit groups, see doctors, opticians etc. What difference would it make if they attended a school or not? Why should a parent only be made to have a DBS check if they "choose" (which is a legal right) to educate their child at home. Does abuse only take place in school hours? Are kids attending school safe even if their parents abuse them? No logic to this what so ever🤯

Are you honestly that naïve to think that had you, or the other 'survivors' would have not been abused had you not been home educated.

I can tell you absolutely 100% FOR A FACT that if I'd had the opportunity to speak to an adult outside of my household to be able to ask for help (ask them to ring the police for me) that I would have been rescued. Absolutely 100% no question whatsoever.

Please do not call abuse survivors "naïve" for commenting on their own personal situation. I know my personal situation, and you do not.

You could have spoken to neighbours, family, friends, anyone, you chose not to

No I absolutely could not. There is no "chose not to" about it.

I wasn't allowed access to a telephone.

I didn't have any family except my mum (who was being controlled by her boyfriend) and one grandparent who lived in warden flats hundreds of miles away and who I never saw.

Neighbours ignored it.

I didn't have contact with friends since I was no longer in school. Besides I was a child, meaning all my friends were children too (or do you expect children to have adult friends?). Even if I did have some way to contact my friends from before I left school, what do you expect children to do?

If I'd been able to speak to a teacher then I could have made them listen, I could have told them enough detail to make them understand how serious it was, and then they could have advocated for me. Police and social services would have listened to them.

All the people that saw you on a regular basis.

Literally not ONE person laid eyes on me for two years, except my mum and her boyfriend. That is literally the entire point: that there are kids who no one ever lays eyes on. Who are these people you think were seeing me on a regular basis???!

I think there should be basic checks on home schooling to make sure children are actually receiving an education. However I think this can only come alongside improving schooling options for children with SEN, providing home schooling parents funding for educational resources etc.

I don’t see that a DBS would be helpful in any way. Many parents that are abusive to their children wouldn’t have anything that would show up on a DBS. If a parent did have something on a DBS that indicated a possible risk to children that should need to be investigated for children wherever they are education (home or school)

I meant health visitors

I know of home ed kids who don't go to the docs since they have a homeopathic lifestyle. They are NOT abused. So no, the assumption that if they don't follow the social norm then there is abuse involved is not true.
I know you had a bad experience, but not everyone is unfortunate like you. Most people love their kids.

Home educated kids do have access to home visitors, doctors, opticians and people who safeguard like any other child would. I feel like some of the people commenting on here really have no idea what's involved. We submit yearly reports for our children's learning and achievements too which the LA (local authority) read and check. They aren't locked in a cupboard, dirty and left to fend for themselves!!! Wow!! They do see people and have friends!!! Also it's home educated not home schooled ( home schooled is an American term, in this coountry home schooled kids are still on a school roll and the school supplies work.

Exactly!! What about the thousands and thousands of kids who have been assaulted in schools...some by teachers who have had DBS checks. They count for nothing! The gov need to get the schools sorted and help with their funding etc before trying to push Home Ed kids into a system that cannot cope already. Makes no sense at all. Just another way of making tge public think home educators must be upto something and make us seem like weirdos. I mean can completely trust schools. That's why mine suffered with anxiety and were bullied etc. The ignorance of some people is amazing

Again, this isn't aimed at the home ed community; but at another, less savoury community that hides behind them.

Not really. School is a common place safeguarding concerns/ a child's welfare is flagged. If they are not in school, they can easily go under the radar. Very different from a parent with a child in school.

Are you honestly that naive to think that had you, or the other 'survivors' would have not been abused had you not been home educated. Do you honestly believe being in school would have stopped it, or someone would have instantly noticed?
Many children sadly get abused, and many, hundreds probably thousands, go to school every day, with a fake smile on their face to hide what happens at home.
You could have spoken to neighbours, family, friends, anyone, you chose not to (For reasons I personally fully understand) But none of them picked up on your abuse, nor made any calls of concern. So don't aim your anger at the home ed community who, all but possibly a few, have their child's best interests at heart, aim it at those who did not see the changes in you, did not bother to ask if you were okay. All the people that saw you on a regular basis. because they should have spotted something. That one guy coming to check on your education once a year, he surely wouldn't have done.

Home educated children are seen by health visitors, Dr's, dentists and have access to see the school nurse if need be.

Except for the ones who aren't, of course. The ones who are, are not the ones who need to be protected.

Most home educated children also go to things such as scouts, brownies, guides, Gymnastics, St John's Ambulance, Air Cadets, etc etc. Lots also pay for private tutors, for different subjects such as music, foreign languages etc. All of these are with leaders/tutors who have been DBS checked.

It's impossible to say "most" because there's no statistics and no data.

I'm sure the HE parents you know do those things, but that's classic confirmation bias. Those are the only HE parents you come into contact with are those actively involved in the HE community.

Having tutored HE children I know that there's a very tight HE community of parents who are incredibly dedicated to supporting their children's education and well-being, who have been badly failed by schools and LEAs. I completely support those parents and think they should have much better support and less judgement from authorities. It's terrible how badly HE parents are treated by the authorities.

But parents or guardians who deregister their children as a front for abuse, or because they simply can't be bothered sending their children to school, obviously they aren't going to be part of any wider HE community or in contact with other HE parents. They're not going to be sending their children to Brownies or tutors. They and their children are invisible.

I don't know how to reconcile better supporting HE parents who have been failed by schools and only want what's best for their children, with ensuring that abusive or neglectful parents can't simply deregister their children and vanish from sight. Personally I don't think DBS is the way forward, but there has to be something.

Exactly, no logic there at all

Perhaps we should start having the police call round and inspect everyone with a garage in case it contains stolen goods...

Came here expecting ignorance, hatred and bigotry.

Can you point to specific posts that you feel are bigoted and hateful?

The safeguarding lobby

After all the TRA stuff and especially the controversy over the Family Sex Show, I think we have good reason to be suspicious of the anti-safeguarding "This Never Happens tm" lobby.

Exactly. There is no logic in this at all

Personally I wouldn't care, no. You know plenty of people who abuse and neglect their children? Aye sure you do. I'm not sure what people are taking it so personally, I don't think anyone is suggesting that everyone who home schools does so as a cover for abuse, are they? Again I'm not concerned about overstretched LAs overstepping boundaries, what are you worried about? I think that paranoia when really they're not that arsed is more in line with a lot of people's stereotypes on those who home educate rather than assume they're abusive.

100% 😊

Yep

Purple you may do, as many others do. But some do not. Some keep their children away from authorities and claim to be homeschooling. That's rather the point is it not? The total lack of checks.

Again, children who are denied medical care are not seen by anyone, and no one thinks you need DB checks just because you home educate.

Home educated children are seen by health visitors, Dr's, dentists and have access to see the school nurse if need be. Most home educated children also go to things such as scouts, brownies, guides, Gymnastics, St John's Ambulance, Air Cadets, etc etc. Lots also pay for private tutors, for different subjects such as music, foreign languages etc. All of these are with leaders/tutors who have been DBS checked.
If you think that just because we home educate we need DBS checks done I suggest you give your heads a wobble! Most of us wish we had never sent our kids to school in the first place, schools have failed our children and set them back so much, it is heart breaking. We, the parents/carers of the majority of home educators just want the best for our children and who knows our children better than anyone? Yes that's right us.

Came here expecting ignorance, hatred and bigotry.

I see I wasn’t disappointed. The education and ‘safeguarding’ lobby have done an excellent job stigmatising our community.

Unfortunately it’s human nature to treat people who do things differently with suspicion and hostility.

@JemimaPuddlegoose

It sounds like a very similar pattern of neglect as children who are denied medical care, because the parents don't want their abuse to be picked up. It doesn't appear in the media either, unless its a very extreme case. And then people won't accept it as evidence of a widespread problem, because its an isolated and extreme case.

I should've added "in the media" or some such thing.

Why does it need to be in the media? Abuse practically never gets in the media unless it results in murder, or cases like the Turpins in California.

99.9% of abuse gets no media attention.

I've also personally met at least half a dozen other survivors whose parent or guardian deregistered them from school, either deliberately so that abuse wouldn't be noticed, or because they were neglectful and couldn't be arsed.

That's just from the survivor peer support groups I've personally been a member of.

Again: the vast, vast majority of abuse and neglect never comes to the attention of the police or social services. A lot of abuse that is flagged to police or SS isn't considered serious enough for authorities to take action on. And only a tiny number of police/SS cases ever get in the press.

The only reason I was taken seriously by police at all was because of the sexual component. I literally had a police officer say it was fine for my mum's boyfriend to knock me around "because he's a parent figure and it's his choice how to discipline you, we wouldn't get involved in situations like that because parents have the right to decide how to discipline their children." Neglect is especially impossible to prove, especially in older children and teenagers.