HOME educators in Bromsgrove are warning that elements of a new legislative bill making its way through Parliament may erode the rights and freedoms of families and children.
The town’s home education community fear that the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill will erode parental rights, children’s privacy and educational freedoms for all families, not just those who choose to home educate.
The crux of fears relate to proposals around home education – of which there are now over 150,000 children being taught this way – including a compulsory register for such children and new powers for local authorities to direct a child’s attendance at school when safeguarding or home conditions require it.
Parents choosing this route argue these measures will create the risk of ‘unwarranted home visits, intrusive data collection and state interference in family life.’
“This Bill is not just about home education,” said Julie Bunker, former long-term home educator and administrator of the Worcestershire Home Ed Forum. Julie believes the compulsory register will set a “dangerous precedent”. She added: “This is about protecting the right of all families to decide what’s best for their children without unnecessary intrusion.”
The bill from Labour education secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, proposes to improve child safeguarding, welfare, and education standards in England.
It aims to do this through greater scrutiny of parents educating children at home, strengthened multi-agency working and improved regulation of independent education institutions such as academies and childminding services.
Under proposals, a new unified core pay and conditions framework will be introduced and local authorities would have much more responsibility and power over schooling including a restored ability to open all types of schools, increased control over school admissions and place planning, and the power to safeguard children from unfit or unsafe home-education settings.
It will also introduce plans for mandatory requirement for teachers to have qualified teacher status, or be working towards it and proposes that academies be required to follow national curriculum.
Currently at committee stage within the House of Lords – having already made its way entirely through the House of Commons – the bill came in the wake of the Sara Sharif trial, during which 10-year-old Sara was murdered by her father and stepmother four months after being taken out of school to be home educated.
Lots of the bill’s elements have come under scrutiny, mostly from Conservative opposition and a few concerned Labour representatives. Many, however, have praised the bill.
With widespread criticism and plenty of support for the legislation as a whole, home educating parents are calling out only elements of the bill relating to stricter scrutiny on their choice of education.
Following concerns from local parents, Bromsgrove MP Bradley Thomas has met with some of them to discuss concerns. He said: “It was incredibly valuable to hear directly from families about their concerns.
“I’ll be raising them with Ministers and working with colleagues to ensure the Government better understands the home education community. With big changes ahead, it’s vital that Ministers work with families.”
Parents say it was refreshing to meet an MP who listened. A Freedom of Information request revealed that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has not met a single home educator since taking office.
A growing wave of families across the UK is rallying behind a petition to ‘withdraw the Children’s wellbeing and schools bill’ calling for urgent government debate on safeguarding children’s and families rights.
The petition needs 100,000 signatures to trigger a formal debate in Parliament.
