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.

Kids are getting physically assaulted at school, it’s not safe. If someone posted their school experiences in the relationship section of mumsnet everyone would agree its abuse

This is a bit like saying that all children should be automatically taken away from their parents until the parents can prove that they haven't been beating them.

Or outright banning all shops, because they are the primary setting in which the crime of shoplifting takes place.

My home educated children have all of those things?

I don't think it should be illegal but I do think they should have a register and unannounced visits to make sure the children and safe and that they are actually being educated.

There is. middle ground- I didn't catch the whole story, but there was a news story on the radio about how the government is considering banning it in certain circumstances- I assume (but may be wrong) that this may be where there is social services involvement or the parents have previously had children removed or possibly convictions for violent offences.

Some children don't though!

Read about Mossbourne Academy and say that again.

I know of a case where the mother just kept her children off school regularly. She couldn’t get herself organised, had agoraphobia and was herself poorly educated.When the school sent someone round and told her she would be prosecuted for her children’s non attendance she asked to sign papers to home school her children. School was happy that their attendance figures were now better, mum was happy that she didn’t have to get her children out in the mornings. But I don’t know what became of those children or their education.

What should be illegal is local authorities threatening stressed and upset parents with fines/prison etc and the push them into a corner where they have absolutely no other option but to de-register their child.

I do not want to home educate.

said council should’ve been out to visit us over a month ago, am still waiting.

the education provision in this country for kids with SEN/anxiety who have no behavioural or educational needs is non existent. My daughter is being let down by me and I’m powerless to change it right now.

Except a lot of HE kids are out and about during the day doing various activities so how would unannounced visits work? HE isn't about replicating the classroom environment home ie making kids sit at desks all day.

I do see children who are being let down by the home schooling trend - children in my wider family with no special needs ( well at least one if not two are substantially brighter than mum who is educating them )

It is also harder to spot problems and keep them in mind if the child is out of sight - it is easier to fall through cracks

SEN provision needs complete rethinking and funding ( but that will mean more taxes needing to be spent )

I do know others who've home schools for short periods because they've moved to area with low school places and can't get multiple kids to different schools at same time so do that while they wait on waiting lists.

I'm aware of it as at one point were were looking at moving to such an area - and we needed 3 school places and were told they'd likely be at three different schools - no family nearby and no car so we looked at what people did then and HE till places came up was done.

No, children are not the property of the state. Parents should be able to homeschool if they wish. Personally, I would never, but people should have the choice.

Exactly

Oh it's you OP. I don't think I'm going to dignify this with an answer one way or the other.

It is nevertheless far easier to spot abuse in a public setting than a private setting

I completely understand the need for home education, especially due to absolutely piss poor SEN provision.

I do fear that some children are removed from school for the wrong reasons, as illustrated by the case of poor Sara Sharif.

I think regulations need to be tightened so there is always some sort of welfare oversight in place. My ex SIL home educates and does a fantastic job. But if she didn't, or was mistreating them, there would be know one to know, unless it was reported by the family. And that scares me.

I'm going to count how many times the ignorance about home educated kids and socialising comes up. That's always fun.

When state education is perfect and caters for all needs fully without letting anyone down, then we can consider this. However I'm not generally a fan of such authoritarianism. You may have great faith in the perfection of The State but you'd have to be rather stupid or rather fascist to not be able to entertain the possibility that people might in good conscience disagree with you, and allow them to act in the best interests of their children as they perceive things.

See that makes more sense to me.

Children are also not the property of the parents though

OP just wanted to provoke..

The government are talking about banning parents from HE if their child is on a child protection plan or being registered for one. I agree with this.
Incidentally I have noticed more and more parents asking for advice on HE face book groups who say they are on a child protection plan.
I do not agree with a general ban, but I do agree with much more over sight.

You are being very unreasonable. We homeschooled until the children chose to go to school when they were 9 and 10 respectively. They are now in their mid twenties with stable jobs, relationships and friendships. They did not miss out by being homeschooling, indeed their lives were enriched by being with like-minded children and adults.

Better regulated, better monitored, and not an automatic right. But not banned.

Home education should only be permitted after it's been demonstrated that there are appropriate and suitable arrangements in place to deliver it. And then it should be monitored appropriately - not just for safeguarding, but to ensure the quality of education being delivered.