If I get stopped in the street..

[IslaValargeone]

What are my rights/legal obligations regarding what information I have to give,if I am stopped by a police officer for example if we are out and about during school hours? I'm not signed up with any official HE organisation at the moment, so am a bit in the dark.

You don't have to actually say anything except fo the fact you are home educating, as far as I know, and that should be the end of it.

For what it's worth, I've never been challenged in 4 years, even though my girls are 15 and 11 (so a challengeable age) and even though I like to walk past police officers in town grinning wildly just to see if they will ask.

Frankly, it's disappointing. I'm all set for a nice battle and I've never managed to have one.

www.education-otherwise.org/infosheets/truancysweeps.pdf this EO link covers truancy sweeps, but I think it applies generally - basically you just have to say that your child is home educated, and that should be that. Unless they have "other concerns" you shouldn't have to give name and address or any other details.

Thanks very much.
:o at you being all geared up for a showdown musicposy.

We've been stopped. when the policeman asked why my child wasn't in school, I said she was home educated-and he said "good answer!" and that was it!

I do understand your concern, but at the same time I can't really imagine this being an issue. The law covers you so you should be fine. If any police officer challenges you, they are only doing their job and will probably be relieved to find that your child is not at risk of 'educational exclusion'.

Some years ago, when I was working with young people who had been excluded from school, I started making a habit of asking children who were kicking aimlessly around town why exactly they were not at school. I nearly always found that they couldn't wait to tell me about the problems they had in school - and many of them said they had never been asked before.

Have you not been watching hte news over the past few years? Cuts, lack of resources, no police on the beat anymore, ring a bell??

I have had an attempted break in at my house, petrol stolen regularly from my car parked outside my house, my purse stolen on a train, over the last 3 years.

Each time I have been totally unable to interest the police in these events, they have (reluctantly) logged the information, but I then get told they don't have the manpower to send anyone out/actiively investigate/or in fact do anything!!

So, I really find the idea that a police constable seeing you with your children in the street will be remotely interested in you, frankly hilarious!!

chaisebaize, whilst I was confident when we were stopped by a policeman, to ask about our child's schooling it would be a relief to think that truancy patrols, which cost millions and are ineffective, will be stopped because of cuts to funding.

However the reality is that some LAs still tell parents that they need to fill in their forms and get registered with the LA, as home educators, "or you will get into trouble with the police, if they stop yiu in the street".
I heard another instance of this from an EWO just this week.

sigh

It's no wonder families new to home ed, are concerned about this happening.

When I had a visit from the LA officer, he sorted out some cards to flash to potential police/truancy officers, for my DCs.
They say 'This child is being educated otherwise than at school; please return this card to the young person, and allow them to carry on with their business'.

DCs very chuffed with cards, but have yet to have cause to flash them!

If the police want your name or any other information, press them on whether you are being detained. If not, they must let you go on your way. If they are detaining you, ask them what the offence is and what reason they have to believe you have committed it. They can get in big trouble for wrongful arrest, as they are well aware.

This is particularly an issue when an EWO goes out on a truancy sweep with a police officer in tow, with the ulterior motive of harvesting details of HE families. This is not the correct purpose of a truancy sweep and I think anybody who is asked for their details should note down the EWO's and police officer's names and make a complaint.

Glad to have provided you with a moment of hilarity chaiseblaize.

We have only been home edding a short time, and have had so many people say "Day off school?" I presumed it was only a matter of time before someone official asked.

IslaValargeone,

I remember only too well those first few weeks/months of HE, when where ever we went we seemed to be asked 'Day off school?'... I don't recall the last time we were asked:maybe we don't notice it anymore. :)
The other day ds and I went to town for the day and we encountered four or five truancy officers but we didn't get stopped once.
I know of three families in my area being stopped and they all had no trouble saying they were Home educating.

I hope you're enjoying HE