To think Home Education should be made illegal

[Viviennemary]

I would like to see a ban on HE except perhaps in a very very few cases and with good reason and under strict supervision.

Homeschooling? No there shouldn't be a ban as some kids cannot cope in a school setting, so HS or homeschooling is the only option for them. Not just with SEN but various social anxiety/bullying issues.

Most kids are forced into one room with the same 28-30 kids their exact age, day in day out, with half an hour for mixing with other ages after they've eaten their lunch. How is that much better?

Also the same 28-30 kids in a class are being taught to think the exact same way, whereas in home schooling there will be a lot of variation of thought and learning between the families that you meet.

That really hasn’t been my experience of my younger children, who have always gone to school.

My home ed child? Yeah, not so much.

I’ve experienced both sides, which is why I know it’s a weak argument.

No, I still think it. More so in fact.

Home educators don't need to lesson plan, they follow work books, do practice excercises, and guide their kids to suitable learning materials. They are in a state of continued assesment, because testing is every day. They don't have 30 different needs to attend to either. I see school as similar to paying a cleaner, or a dog walker, or a tradesperson. You can outsource your kids education if you like, it's about individual choice. I do however, live in a country with mandatory assesment of home education, and strong regulation. I support the regulation, we have no problems surpassing their expectations every year.

He was happy to give it a go, he's that kind of kid. We had a plan B for if he really hated it.

He's pretty bored by the work which he finds very easy but he's made some nice friends.

The curriculum is the curriculum. Friends with children of the same age at other schools are doing the same work.

Here we go again 🙄
Until the UK education system is fit for purpose and doesn’t traumatise so many kids, home education remains a safety net for far too many families.

What exactly do you object to op? Do you know anything at all about HE? What do you think HE is? Tell me your thoughts and I’ll tick off my HE bingo card…
Let me guess…

You think all HE kids sit at a table all day at home and are isolated from others?
You think all HE families are privileged and middle class?
You think HE parents indoctrinate their children?
You think we’re all conspiracy theorists or religious nut-jobs?

Please enlighten me…

The judge sentencing Sara Sharif's killers made very string statements in his sentencing remarks about the dangers of vulnerable children being removed from school with no follow up or supervision.

I absolutely do not think Home Ed should be illegal - very draconian and hay state,

BUT every child has the right to an effective education so there should be checks that they are actually learning and progressing, AND where any child has been identified as vulnerable, or had safeguarding concerns raised, there surely must be supervision, checks and visits if they are removed from school.

Sara Sharif was taken out of school to conceal the murderous brutality she was enduring- and though the school had raised concerns while she was there, her withdrawal from school took he beyond any outside eye.

I know they aren't, his teacher has said as much.

So you're argument is the HE can't be faulted at all because only some HE children sit at home in isolation, are privileged, are being indoctrinated , or brought up as conspiracy/religious nut jobs.

Why are the "good" HE parents worried about the suggestion of better monitoring of HE provision? unless it really is all a conspiracy...

Not at all, freedom is important

I disagree with this. If you are only following workbooks, you are following a curriculum and lesson plans someone else has written. That might be okay, but you are buying in that expertise.
If you live in a country with mandatory assessment of HE, then that is different. In the UK there is no assessment. Parents would need to understand what they are assessing. For example children may be able to read a book without really understand the plot and subtexts. You would need to understand how to assess understanding, rather than simply assessing that they can read. Some parents could do this, many can not. The assessment you would do as a parent with your HE children is different to the assessment a teacher would do, but you still need to understand the underlying principles.

On my local facebook HE group, they are adamant that they should only communicate through email, in person visits are always postponed and the admins always advise how to HE with as little communication as possible.

I don't think it should be banned but how do you check the kids are being looked after properly if the parents won't share any information with the LA. Who is going to check?

When some schools stop being totally rubbish then YABU

They are worried because despite all the talk, there is a lot of educational neglect amongst HE families. There are some brilliant HE families, but IME they tend to be the exception.

That academically he's well beyond the standard of the rest of his year group.

They don't really do "top of the class" in the UK.