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?

Yes sort of like an Ofsted inspection. I home educate and I’m always happy to have a home visit etc but most home educators won’t even give the LA samples of work as ‘it is the child’s private property’ ….. I left a fb home Ed group as I was told I was letting other home edders down and enabling the LA which would then make them expect other families to cooperate 🤦‍♀️

No it wouldn't at all. Home educators aren't the same as parents. They ARE parents, but they also choose to isolate their kids from school.

I think it’s a very good idea

Home Ed children are off the radar - they don’t get seen every day like others do, so it’s harder to pick up on abuse. Look what happened to many in lockdown.

It’s the least we can do for these children to make sure parents with violent or other concerning convictions aren’t allowed to keep them out of view and safeguarding.

What makes Homeschool parents more likely to be abusive?

It's not that they're more likely to, it's that there aren't the same opportunities for professionals to spot signs of abuse or neglect.

“Isolate their kids from school” - that’s a bit extreme isn’t it. Many/most have more freedoms than those in school

DBS checking to work with children is much more involved than a normal check. It's an advanced screening.

It will pick screen anyone in the household along with the parents.

It's a really good idea as a minority of parents may have a slightly different agenda. This protects these children and can only be a good thing.

Home school children are out of the loop for safeguarding. It's just an easy way to help protect them without them having to be seen by anyone.

@DontLookBackInAnger1

The main point here is that DBS checks won't in any way help to safeguard these children that are absolutely not being home educated anyway. They are being abused/neglected.

DBS checking is a useless box ticking exercise. By all means give home educators more support, give children unable to attend school due to mental health more support, support children in school, change the school system to allow all different kinds of children to be educated in school.

DBS checks will do nothing to find at risk children that aren't already known to be in at risk homes anyway.

As someone else has said. It's the same as only DBS checking certain teachers who those 'above' have decided to be more at risk of harming children.

I'll participate in something that actually helps to look after at risk children. DBS checks ain't it.

Also I am in no way insecure about my choice to home educate. I've worked in schools. I've had one of my children in the school system for years. I chose home Ed for very positive reasons. My point wasn't that it makes me feel bad. It was that what most people think they know about home education is wrong. Children are not isolated. They are not invisible. They are very much a part of the home Ed and wider community.

In fact I personally know of someone in the home Ed community who was concerned about another home Ed child and did indeed report to social services. That parent then got some support. It wasn't an abusive situation but it could have been. And the family did need some extra help.

Filling in a form and getting a box ticked means nothing. Support, observation and awareness from the wider community and not just the onus being on teachers to spot a family/child in need is much more important.

Too much responsibility is given to teachers. I can't imagine in the UK many people managing to have a child and bring them up solely in the family home without that child being noticed by other people/professionals.

I home ed. From the begining not as a last resort. I am passionate about it and my
kid is obviously thriving

i think there does need to be registration and some kind of regular check in.

i am suspicious of those who fight it so hard and a look into some of the previous board members of education otherwise and their convictions did not allay my fears

Your childs right to education and to a safe, healthy enviroment out trumps your right to privacy

Oh and dbs checks are pointless in this circumstance. Ridiculous and in no way a solution

@SomePosters
I agree that some sort of registration and a light touch of checking in on the welfare of kids would be sensible.

I also agree that home education is fantastic and ours was very much a positive choice rather than a push from education.

I think there are very many cases of neglect and abuse that have been missed by the very authorities that are now going to be tasked with an additional burden of admin, information management, communication, assessment, monitoring and action. Whatever the arguments for or against DBS checks, registers and various degrees of local authority involvement with children, piling more pressure into a system that is already struggling is such a stupid idea.

Or perhaps now that the government has shown its hand about the future of state education, we should be looking much more cynically at this move and consider what long term plans for social and other local authority services are behind it.

On DBS checks, IMO it is a knee-jerk response to the perceived link between home educating and safeguarding. I don't strongly object, other than believing the money could be MUCH better spent on improving services.

For those who have withdrawn their children from a school environment they found was detrimental to their child's mental or physical health, it is a kick in the teeth to suggest that being under the care of DBS checked adults guarantees all will go well.

"Isolate their kids from school” - that’s a bit extreme isn’t it. Many/most have more freedoms than those in school.
Most who have their education taken seriously, the minority who don't have their education taken seriously won't be offered educational trips and meetings with other HE peers.
Stronger check ups would serve better than the DBS check.

Most families who homeschool have had their child in the school system previously and do tend to have other children in school,.like myself. They have brothers and sisters, play out, chat on line to one another, go to groups etc , l think most people have the wrong idea re homeschooling, my son is 16 now and has a part time job alongside studying, the majority of them are far from isolated, infact l would say they are probably more intergrated with society, and mix with a much wider range of people.
l have absolutely no issues regarding the LA involvement or DBS check.

Yes that could happen. But what makes you think that this child would not be abused by this man after school, weekends or during holidays?

Also, "offrolling" is what schools do when they convince parents to deregister difficult children.

is this a government official proposal, or just suggested by someone in a parliamentary debate?

It is a blanket approach to checking, so that no one can say why me, as yes, home schooling can be a way of hiding a great many issues! Having a check can be useful if you go on to volunteer, work in an area that requires a check in the future, as it speeds up the process.

Would you? Do schools get random spot checks? Parents of pre-schoolers? Carers of the disabled?

I completely agree with you. Regular checks would be great. I believe it works both ways… the LA and schools have much to learn from home educators.

DBS should be for every individual if the rationale is to seek out potential safeguarding issues. Most examples/scenarios given on this thread to justify the need for DBS check for parents home educating is just as applicable to all parents or individuals how supervise/care for children.

Also, for one to suggest that teachers have got all aspects of a child’s well-being covered by attending school is being naive.

Well all teachers have to be DBS checked, so yes of course.

Home schooling needed better regulation and funding but can not see the purpose of a dbs. If a parent has a criminal background relating to children surely they would already be on ss records.

Loopytiles It's just something said by someone in a parliamentary debate.
The actual proposed bill involves making a register of Home Ed children. That's what the debate was about.

Missshapes Your hypothetical scenario is extremely close to some stuff that happened in Home Ed circles in the late 2000's.
At least 2 very prominent women in the home Ed community turned out to have peodophile male partners. The dynamic was exactly as you describe.

Just to clarify a few things:
In UK law parents are responsible for making sure their children receive an education suitable for their age, ability and aptitude, taking into account any special needs. Parents can send their children to school and let the school do this on their behalf, or they can educate them "otherwise". Home education is "otherwise ". It is the legal default.

In the UK "home education" refers to elective home education, i.e. parents educate their children themselves.
"Home schooling" is when a child is on a school roll but is receiving education in the home by LA staff, usually for health reasons.

@unlimiteddilutingjuice I don't think that was me. Though I'm tired today and I can't remember what I've written to be fair!

I think unfortunately home education has become an unofficial red flag for safeguarding. That will take some time to unpick.

Jimmy Savile would have had a clean DBS check - it only shows those who have previously been convicted.

But home education should be subject to much more rigorous checks any evidence that basic standards are being met, coupled with support (such as funding exam fees, and a textbook allowance)