next door becoming a playground for non school goers

[TryingToBeMorePositive]

I know I will be told to get my nose out of other people's business and what not but thought I will ask anyway and take the abuse.
I have some neighbours who are eastern european ( I am only pointing this out as non of them speak very good English so I have struggled to talk to them already). They originally moved in as one man, two women and young teenager boy before summer. He did not attend school. Now the new term has started he is still not attending school. Now 2 or 3 women have moved in or spend a long time round at the house and there are more younger boys in the house, I have seen a total of 3 together. There could be more. Now none of these children are going to school. They do not seem to be home educated as the majority of these people spend their time outside so we can see what they are up to, 4ft fences.
I have googled and not come up with an answer on whether I can report the children for not being in education. But I am also unsure whether I should just ignore the situation as it's non of my business. Feel free to tell me and then I can reassure myself to do so. But then do we have an obligation to report this? WWYD

[MacosieAsunter]

Attending a school isn't a legal requirement

www.gov.uk/home-education

There is also no legislation laid down for the number of hours requiring access to education. EG our borough HE teachers for school refusers/medical visit pupils once a fortnight for an hour.

You have no idea whether these young people are living in the UK, or are visiting; you don't even know where they come from other than vaguely 'east european' . If they are Roma they wont thank you.

[ifyoudseenwhatihave]

Zzzz MacosieAsunter FFS ! No one gives a fuck about genuine Home educators or their 'rights'. ! They are almost without exception full on Uber parents who are looking after their children.
It is your kind of 'keep your nose out of our right to home educate' stance - that allows abuse and modern slavery to happen under people's noses. ! I presume you are either home educators yourself or are connected to Home ed in some way ? Would you really have difficulty in explaining your education programme to a welfare officer. ? Really. Because THIS is the reality...

I've NCd for this but have been here since long before cutteduppear /penis beaker etc. I obviously don't EVER post work related stuff. I work on a modern slavery team as an investigator. So far this month we have picked up 15 Eastern Europeans being held (yes locked in) to a shipping container. 4 kids 'minding' Cannabis farms. 11 kids running county lines for sexual favours and trainers. We nicked the county lines gang leader ENTIRELY due to a so called 'nosey neighbour' concerned that one of these kids wasn't in school. From there it unravelled. She was 12. This is the consequence, in the real world of 'report what' ? Sorry, your right to not be questioned about your educational choices does not over ride a duty to report suspicious /unusual behaviour to relevant authorities. Kids home all day is one of our triggers.

OP. Please contact education welfare at your local authority. If all is explicable then it will end there. If not, it will be referred on to teams like mine. Please please continue to be nosey neighbours. Pissed off at being reported doesn't compare to a child or adult suffering years of servitude and abuse .

[FiveStoryFire]

I agree it should be reported.

If everything is above board then there's no harm done.

If something isn't right then the relevant authorities can investigate.

[PermanentlyFrizzyHairBall]

I agree with the PP who said everyone has a right to education and I would report this. If they actually are home educating then they'll be able to explain this and it won't be a problem. If they're not then the boys will be provided with education which is a good thing.

[SprogletsMum]

I think you should report it too. They could be waiting for school places or it could be that nobody even knows these children are in the country. Imagine their vulnerability if noone knows they are here.

[PermanentlyFrizzyHairBall]

zzzzz

She's not assuming something is wrong she suspects something is wrong which is why she should report it. It's not the job of the general public to conduct a thorough investigation - if you think is something might be wrong you report it to the authorities who look into it. If nothing is wrong then no harm is done. If something is wrong then you've helped a child.

[897654321abcvrufhfgg]

Legal education in this country does not have to take place in a school.

[ksa103]

If you are concerned, act on your concerns.
Registering as a home educator is not a legal requirement in this country. That is partly because the "system" relies on authorities acting when concerns are expressed or reported. The LA only have a legal right to examine home education provision if they have reason to believe an appropriate education is not happening. That is dependant on them having queries expressed to them.
And I'm saying this as a long term home educating family.
Many home ed families do not want compulsory registration and monitoring, therefore the current system must be seen to work.
Act on your concerns.

[ksa103]

ifyoudseenwhatihave
Thank you for posting as you have. I am a home educator who believes home ed should be registered and monitored (in an appropriate way). There are so many of us who think this way. Those home educators who are fighting this have a louder voice at times and deny there are children at risk out there.

[Tupperwarelid]

I have a similar situation next door to me. There are 5 children who were in school, went away for 3 months over the summer (missed the end of term) and now none are in school. The oldest child who should have started secondary school seems to do a lot of childcare. I felt something wasn’t right but after reading these posts I will contact the council.

[Frazzled2207]

I'm not sure "report" is the right word but I'd certainly call the Lea and see what they think about it.

Just because there's lots of schools in your area doesn't mean they have spaces. They might have been given schools miles away and are waiting for something closer. Or just don't understand what they need to do. I would hope that the LEA can provide someone who can speak the appropriate language.

[TryingToBeMorePositive]

I have sent my email to the council now. I have stated that I am just concerned and that the children could well be home educated or awaiting a place at a school. I have done this to help not to cause upset or harm.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

They are pebbly eating for a school place. I know OP said there are many schools in the area, but that doesn't mean the schools aren't oversubscribed.

Most Eastern Europeans come here to work and for a better education for their children.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

probably waiting

If they are waiting for a place then OP might have done them a favour.

[speakingwoman]

Well done OP.
ifyoudseenwhatihave: thank you.perhaps you should most more often under this name.

[PermanentlyFrizzyHairBall]

ifyoudseenwhatihave

Thank you for your post. It confirms what I would have thought. It's always better to report. I have nothing against home ed in general - in fact I've been part of a tutoring team for a home ed. boy many years ago. BUT I don't think someone who is home edding or someone who is visiting a country short term should be that concerned about being reported. Certainly not to the extent that they're happy to let vulnerable children remain in awful situations.

[ksa103]

zzzzz

There may be many kids who attend schools for whom abuse is not identified, but there are many kids where abuse and neglect ARE identified and they receive help and support.
I know home ed youngsters who are not receiving an education, are not sufficiently cared for. I know others who are religiously indoctrinated.
A register is more than a "list". These kids can be seen, followed up on. And parents could be prosecuted if ever they are discovered to have not registered their kids.

[PermanentlyFrizzyHairBall]

I find the report mentality really odd and alien. I’ve been too and last bed in lots of different countries both as a child and adult and never felt the need to inform authorities.

How great for you but the reporting isn't for your benefit it's for the benefit of vulnerable children. If nothing is wrong it costs very little for the family to be investigated - they can show the their child is waiting for a school, place or being home-educated etc. If a child is being forced into slavery the report could transform their life. I can't even imagine why anyone would have a problem with that.

[ksa103]

There are two separate issues: education and safeguarding. These 2 issues overlap.
Education is pretty simple: assess the education the child is receiving, not the child themselves. A number of approaches can be assessed: unschooling, online school, semi-structured, child led.
Safeguarding is much more complicated. Putting a jigsaw together. At least if a piece of jigsaw is demonstrated or suspected, ie possible neglect, someone can see if there is evidence of any other possible factors.

[ifyoudseenwhatihave]

Ok Zzzz This is reality not some wish washy theory about your human rights as a home educator.

The girl I talked about was 'Home a lot'. The neighbour did indeed assume she was home educated. This was compounded by the person the neighbour 'presumed ' to be her father - telling her that this was the case. Only he wasn't. He was a drug dealer and she got on a train twice a day and took class As to a market town from a big city. She then gave him a bJ and he paid her in fancy trainers.

Sorry to be brutal, but your attitude stinks.