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

What human right is being encroached upon?

🙄 people on mumsnet spend all their time whinging about the government but then love the government interfering in every aspect of their life.

Being known to SS does not mean a child is being currently monitored. Once a child is taken out of school by a parent and supposedly home educated they fall off the radar. Tens of thousands of teenagers across the country every year are in this position- often the most vulnerable teenagers.

In secondary schools in particular, parents give in to challenging children who might refuse to attend, or might be extremely challenging at school with behaviour, or are living in chaotic families where school and stability are not important. Parents can not cope and saying they are home educating is a way for parents to get authorities off their backs and the teenagers to stop being such a big problem for them. So they write the letter informing the school/council. Until very recently, that was all they had to do.

Those children, who may or may not have been known to SS then become invisible because no one officially has an eye on them or helps them. They often receive no education at all, are in bed most of the day and/or on the streets day and night involved in all kinds.

There should be a register. Parents should be challenged and checked up on to see they are providing the amount of hours and covering exam curriculum and National curriculum and that teenagers are being assessed and entered for exams. Local authorities should have a responsibility to see and check up on this regularly. I don't know why anyone would object to that.

I won't sign the petition but would sign one for such a register to be put in place.

Actually every child who has ever been found abused under the guise of home ed was already known to social services so a register is redundant. It’s just encroaching on basic human rights. No problem if that isn’t an issue for you. It definitely is for me because I know it won’t stop there

First, can you cite the evidence of your first sentence above, and second, precisely who’s human rights are you talking about?

What @TankFlyBoss said, there already is a list for HE!

It would be much better to improve the education system for all. The government has not said what it will do to support children that are not getting a suitable education at home.

I would like to see the detail as I think it is an approach that will be costly and onerous and the abusers will still be hidden.

Safeguarding list yes please! Doing it by stealth and having no plan is not the way forward.

In secondary schools in particular, parents give in to challenging children who might refuse to attend, or might be extremely challenging at school with behaviour, or are living in chaotic families where school and stability are not important. Parents can not cope and saying they are home educating is a way for parents to get authorities off their backs and the teenagers to stop being such a big problem for them. So they write the letter informing the school/council. this really isn’t what I see happening and I’ve been going to HE groups since 2010ish. There have been a few children over the years who I’ve felt would be better in school but that’s a very small number and to be honest I also have seen children in school who I’ve felt would be better at home. The idea that the homes are all chaotic and neglectful is very very far from what I observe.

Huge safeguarding issue

"this really isn’t what I see happening and I’ve been going to HE groups since 2010ish. There have been a few children over the years who I’ve felt would be better in school but that’s a very small number and to be honest I also have seen children in school who I’ve felt would be better at home. The idea that the homes are all chaotic and neglectful is very very far from what I observe."

But surely it is the responsible home edders who take their children to HE groups. The parents who neglect their "home educated" children will not be signing up to them.

@EdmontinaDancesWithOphelia

I’m actually astonished that there isn’t a register of children being educated at home.

I wondered why none currently exists, which took me to:

lordslibrary.parliament.uk/elective-home-education-time-for-a-compulsory-register/

Can you expand on why you feel it would not be a good idea to have some oversight regarding HE children?

Exactly at a local primary school where we used to leave 25 % left at year 6 and never went to secondary that we the deal In their community. Never seen again by the educational system. Not allowed GCSEs a level a degree - surely all children should be seen and educated until at least 16. Think of how much great home schooling there is ….. now think about those that are being abused - isn’t it worth protecting those

But surely it is the responsible home edders who take their children to HE groups. The parents who neglect their "home educated" children will not be signing up to them.

Exactly. You're only seeing a tiny minority of home educators at these groups.

The fully engaged HE community is very visible. How are the government proposing to identify abusers? They are unlikely to sign up to a register.

I think most people got taste of some of the realities of HEing last year. We’re you all as you perceived HEers to be? Did you become less responsible parents and give up allowing your children to roam feral and neglected OR did you see there was no school being provided that they could access and do what you could to fill that void?

Lady1576

I am pro-home education and I think it can be fantastic for children to have this opportunity. However, as well as your rights, children also have a basic human right to an education, so for me this trumps your right to do whatever you want with your kids. Anyone educating children has training and is subject to oversight, so I don’t see why parents who think they are up to the job shouldn’t be subject to some checks too.“

This. Didn’t home educate because I didn’t feel I had the skills.
If I had, I would have wanted an outside party, expert in education, to have validated that what I was doing I was doing comprehensively, for the sake of my children’s’ futures.
Who wouldn’t?
I also think a register will do away with the suspicions of people who choose not to hone educate.

Think of how much great home schooling there is ….. now think about those that are being abused - isn’t it worth protecting those but HOW does the register do that? Registers at schools don’t seem to? The vast majority of abused children are IN school. These children who aren’t being educated and are vulnerable to abuse that are being described as HE aren’t even HEers they’re victims of people who pretend to HE….how does registering all the real HEers help? It’s like registering all men to stop rape. HOW does it work?

My daughter has ASD & many moons ago trying to get her diagnosis & help I was grateful to her class teachers. headmistress & SENCO in both primary school & high school (& later on college) who helped both of us
She also had the help of the school nurse & doctor
If I was doing HE I really do not think she would have developed the social skills or form of education that suited her. Or allowed her as an young adult to obtain computer skills that enabled her to get her current job.
I most definitely could not have done this by myself - nor do I think anybody else could.
Re registration - I was a childminder & when the registration became stricter it did not worry me as I felt the responsibility of caring for other peoples children should be taken seriously.
If dc's family move out of area there is no way to follow what happens to them.
Parent's are NOT always experts in methods of education or can spot if a dc has a specific learning disability - I believe that if a parent is home educating a dc they may need support &, yes, training (not formal certificated) in helping their dc. Particularly if the dc has any disability. Free access to exams is essential.
I cannot understand why any HE parent would object to having their dc educational progress assessed. First to check the have no additional needs that the parent might have missed & might require advice on, next to make sure the child is safe (& remember its not just your dc) & that the parent has access to support.
Aka checking child development, whether a child is at risk, & that they are getting what they need
Its the child's human rights not the parents in this case please note

Am shocked there is no register and would definitely sign for one

I am all for home schooling and know people that do but 100% that should be registered
It's far more about the human rights of the child. Any parent would surely support that?

I get you saying the abused children found were already known to SS but what about the ones who have not been identified yet?

PP said a register is a step in the right direction. Why not have a national safeguarding register and home visits for all children regardless of where they are educated because abuse happens to school educated children too.

It is a clumsy and ill thought out proposal that will cost a lot and achieve nothing.

Put the money into the education system and social services instead.

Re the number of children at school - DOH! that's because most children are at school that are counted & because school teachers/nurses & doctors have "caught" the issue
There is no way to know how many children have been hidden from sight if there is no registration or assessment of HE children
& by the way I was a community minder & worked with foster carers at one stage & I know that this was & is a potential problem
One child that is neglected or abused that no one knows about is one child to many

@mumwon agreed support for HE is vital.

This proposal does not offer anything other than monitoring and so I think it is a safeguarding register and the non abusive parents will make great effort to comply with nothing in return while the abusers stay hidden.

It’s just encroaching on basic human rights
Oh, give over

Not a chance I would sign.
Of course there should be a register. Children have a right to be educated and not fall through the cracks.
Can you cite the source for your wild claim please about social services op?

What A Dumb Petition. I Will Not Be Signing It, OP, If You Ever Come Back.

Of course there should be a register. I can’t believe there isn’t one already.

As a teacher... yes there should be a register! From a safeguarding point of view but that also local schools can support home learning..a hybrid may work in some circumstances!

The major detail is a safeguarding one though!

As a teacher I had a year five start in school. Mum admitted she couldn't read much but she was really good at cleaning! She left again as she couldn't cope and mum didn't want her in school anymore.