Petition Against Home Ed Register

[Isawthesigns]

Now It Is Evident The Goverment Is Committed To A Register Of Children Not In School Which Will Be Followed By Assessments And Monitoring

Please Sign And Share The Petition Help Us Defend Our Right To HE Without State Interference

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/594065?fbclid=IwAR0o70ZNS9miOu6k8l769Kcu9XJnFbkAYggnqkbHzaknueGt39nnQrbhZTo

Not signing either. Every child should have a right to an education that meets certain standards and authorities should know where these children are from a safeguarding point of view. I'm surprised we've got to 2021 without there being such a register.

Hell no. There absolutely should be a register.

I’ve seen kids be ‘home educated’ from travelling families who are out working at 12. Nobody checks, nobody cares. And that’s not even a safeguarding issue in the worst sense - at least these kids are loved and cared for, albeit having their access to education removed.

A register is a no brainier. Actually following up on our obligations to the children in our society would be a nice extra.

How would a register stop children working or not being educated in a way you approve of @enjoyingscience ?

Every child should have a right to an education that meets certain standards I agree but we have many failing schools and many children failed in school.

Nothing to do with what I approve of or not, children should not be able to disappear from the system altogether. Surely we have a responsibility to make sure children are safe?

Maybe a register isn’t sufficient, but the principle of knowing who is being educated outside of school isn’t a difficult one.

I do worry that it might set off a slippery slope whereby the government will want to assess and monitor HE children.

They have openly said that's the plan and the register aspect has been brought forward first because the public will find it palatable. The plan is to introduce other aspects that the public might not support when this is in place. I don't support anything that isn't stating its agenda openly, especially when the reasons are 'we're not disclosing all our plans because then you might not support this'.

14:27longwayoff

Lol

Do behave.

No way would I sign anything like that and quite honestly am horrified that you would want people to.

Absolutely not.
All children who are home educated should be on a register and the education they receive should be monitored.
That doesn't mean they have to follow the nat curriculum but it does mean there has to be some actual education.
Children are entitled to an education and not all parents are capable or willing to provide it.

EdmontinaDancesWithOphelia

But they're not going to change the system. They're just going to give an inadequate, bullying system inappropriate power. I would shudder to trust it with issues of abuse as they generally can't remember which family is educating which child let alone monitor for anything sensitive.

The LEA cares about children returning to school. They are not interested in how the child was doing at school and they have a remarkable lack of interest in education. They are interested in raising school attendance numbers. Issues of safeguarding are unfortunately a cover for this. Hence the decision to bring forward the idea of a register ostensibly for this reason.

Nothing to do with what I approve of or not, children should not be able to disappear from the system altogether. Surely we have a responsibility to make sure children are safe?
But how does a register keep children safe? Countless children on school registers are abused/neglected/failed. The register doesn’t save them.

I'd be concerned if people thought children were safe because they were on this list. These people are not insightful, trained social workers (why should they be, that is a job for a social worker). Not are they teachers, usually.

Surely no one would suggest home education should trigger social services involvement without another reason...

@5zeds

My objection is more that I think it wouldn’t work and would be expensive. All children are already registered at birth in the uk. They also have Drs and dentists and midwives and health visitors and benefits, why do we need to register their “education” separately and couldn’t we just use the data we DO have

The systems aren't very well joined up, so it would be hard to flag up that the child hasn't been seen by a doctor for years (maybe it's just in robust health) AND hasn't seen a dentist (maybe they went private - I don't think that's on a central register) AND doesn't go to school.

Schools are the backbone of safeguarding in this country - often the only place a child gets to see a professional on a regular basis who knows them, can spot changes, and who is sufficiently trusted that the child might say when things aren't right at home. They are often the ones to make social services referrals if necessary.

So, those children who aren't at school do need some level of regular professional oversight in lieu of what they'd normally get at school.

It's not just the data point that the child exists, it's more than that

’Help Us Defend Our Right To HE Without State Interference’

It’s the state’s job to ensure that children are educated.

@5zeds

Every child should have a right to an education that meets certain standards I agree but we have many failing schools and many children failed in school.

And if that’s the case there is always the option to move them to better school. There is no benchmarking or assessment of home Ed, so nothing say whether the child is being home schooled by a failing adult.

17:15Carboncheque

Nope. It's your job, legally. You discharge it to the state when you register for school. That's a choice you have about what to do with your responsibility.

And if that’s the case there is always the option to move them to better school.

Said no parent of a child with additional needs.

That's a very privileged viewpoint.

So, those children who aren't at school do need some level of regular professional oversight in lieu of what they'd normally get at school.

I have children at school and not. I don't consider any of them needing any safeguarding from an official body. The idea of sending officials into family homes without any evidence of need is utterly invasive and offensive. And extremely stressful for many children, especially those who have been subjected to the endless 'Wouldn't you like to be at school? Don't you think you should go to school?' questions that are the reality of such visits.

No

The appalling punctuation in the OP is exactly why there should be a register. The person who wrote that is clearly a home educator but can't even use Year 1 level punctuation

@Tillysfad

And if that’s the case there is always the option to move them to better school.

Said no parent of a child with additional needs.

That's a very privileged viewpoint.

Not privileged at all - you know nothing of my situation. For your benefit, replace always with usually Interesting that you didn’t acknowledge the rest of my post about home Ed failing children - but because there’s no national standard there’s absolutely no way of knowing how many children in a completed unregulated system are failed by adults who, in the main, are not qualified to teach.

I believe it’s the responsibility of the state to ensure that children are educated. I’d also like it to take responsibility for the fact that a lot of parents who home Ed aren’t choosing to do so - they’ve been failed by schools who can’t or won’t provide a suitable education or a suitable environment for their DC.

I can't sign this petition for all the reasons above.

@Tillysfad

So, those children who aren't at school do need some level of regular professional oversight in lieu of what they'd normally get at school.

I have children at school and not. I don't consider any of them needing any safeguarding from an official body. The idea of sending officials into family homes without any evidence of need is utterly invasive and offensive. And extremely stressful for many children, especially those who have been subjected to the endless 'Wouldn't you like to be at school? Don't you think you should go to school?' questions that are the reality of such visits.

No

I'm glad YOUR children aren't in need of safeguarding intervention.

That doesn't mean it's the same for every child.

Why are you so worried about your child being asked if they would rather go to school - are you afraid of the answer?

It’s the state’s job to ensure that children are educated. this isn’t the case. It’s the parents responsibility regardless of weather that child is educated in an institution or at home.