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

[Grimed]

Baroness Garden is intending all homeschool parents to be DBS checked. I don't think this is fair. What makes Homeschool parents more likely to be abusive? Surely regular checks from the local LA should be enough? If the education system is failing so many children perhaps that is what's needs examining not parents. What's next? All pregnant women get DBS checked?

That is right. I don't know of any case ( that is in the public domain) of a home educated UK child being abused where concerns hadn't already been raised by someone.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Children who are deliberately hidden, not registered or trafficked are not home educated.

What are the boundaries of what they'd be concerned about on a DBS though? Do you not get to home educate your children if you got caught smoking a spliff a decade before they were born? Or what about if you have no convictions but were investigated for a crime (as this can show up on an enhanced DBS). What if information has been logged about you because of your political beliefs? The worry would be if home educating parents end up being held to a standard much higher than any other parent.

Home schoolers are not more likely to be abusive, but abusers are more likely to home school.

This isn't compulsory though.

At a bit of a tangent, I wonder if it's possible for a child to be completely off the record. E.g. home birth, never registered, not enrolled in school etc. If so, what could be done to prevent it?

Sorry, don't mean to derail, just musing.

It covers any cautions, warnings, and reprimands, and it's enhanced, not advanced.

you need to show where you got your information from or remove this comment.

Why is it a brilliant idea? What do you think it will acheieve, exactly?

@YorkshireDude I suspect you are right.

Of the many, many problems with this current shower of fuckwits that is our government... them being too "woke" isn't what comes to mind.

I assume that by "targeting" demographics with low educational attainment, you mean somehow persecuting them? Rather than improving their educational attainment by making sure they're in formal education? Because the latter sounds like quite a good thing.

It’s compulsory to give the gp the info when we go / consult online . Why would we even refuse the information?

The state is "allowed access" in the same way as they are when there are suspicions that a schooled child might be abused

Let's not get safeguarding mixed up with education.

Well, no. Because if a child was attending school there would be 7 hours a day every day where other safeguarding trained adults could report if there was an issue.

I'd guess it works fine as long as you can afford private health care, and you never want to travel outside the UK.

If something happens that requires A&E, then it probably gets a bit more tricky. Of course they'll still get treated, because no one checks documents in a genuine emergency. But after they've been stabilised/treated they'll be a lot of questions.

It’s a brilliant idea. All children have a right to safe guarding, why should be worried about what they may find

so should all parents be DSB checked, and grandparents?

What happens if a parent does have a conviction?

Does this mean a child would be automatically taken into care?

Sorry. I mean that giving the information that you are giving to the LA isn't compulsory.

We can't use the GP online consult service for children

Anyway, I didn't say that you should refuse to give the information to the LA or GP, just pointing out that parents have no legal obligation to give information about their child's education to the LA. The LA have the right to make enquiries if there are concerns

Could any one of the posters who think that this is fine tell me if they think also all sahps should be dbs checked to look after babies and infants who do not attend a formal learning setting?

Because that would seem the logical and consistent conclusion to this line out thinking but the point seems to be avoided entirely.

YABU. When child attends school there are teachers that might spot safeguarding issues and report, this wouldn’t be the case for a child educated at home.

YANBU, it's ridiculous and pointless. If this is the thinking then it should apply to all expectant parents, any adults joining the household from birth until they start school

There's plenty off abuse cases of babies, toddlers and children attending school, many already on SS radar.

The horrible irony is that under the Schools Bill a parent could be convicted of not sending their child to school when the child has mental health issues and refuses to attend school. And they could go to prison for over a year.

I'm sure that would massively help their child get back into education.

Many schoolchildren are abused without anyone knowing. It's not as simple as saying that school staff are trained to spot abuse so school children are safe.
(Abuse also happens in schools)

Technically possible, but very difficult in this country, thankfully.

I do know of two siblings in a different country with far less bureaucratic infrastructure who were not on any kind of record until their early teens. Both had been abused, one to a greater extent than the other.

For a year I meant to write, not over a year.

Ofsted found our local school was not undertaking pre-employment checks, including DBS on one inspection.