A work in progress, but popped on here. please please fill it in, even if without comment
Consultation Questions
Do you agree that these proposals strike the right balance between the rights of parents to home educate and the rights of children to
receive a suitable education?
disagree
i think that the dcsf has entirely failed to grasp that home education aims to provide children with a personally tailored,
individual education aimed to stretch them at their age, ability and aptitude. that actually the dcsf is interfering with what is
already suitably legislated for already. my childrens rights and mine are not things that need to be balanced. as a parent i work for my child’s
best interest, they need no other advocate but me.
Do you agree that a register should be kept?
disagree
i think a register will be unnecessary with the arrival of contact point.
Do you agree with the information to be provided for registration?
disagree
Do you agree that home educating parents should be required to keep the register up to date?
disagree
Do you agree that it should be a criminal offence to fail to register or to provide inadequate or false information?
disagree
i strongly disagree with the need for this to be an offence, particularly a criminal offence.
Do you agree that home educated children should stay on the roll of their former school for 20 days after parents notify that they intend
to home educate?
disagree
Do you agree that the school should provide the local authority with achievement and future attainment data?
Agree
Do you agree that DCSF should take powers to issue statutory guidance in relation to the registration and monitoring of home education?
disagree
i disagree most strongly. the badman report was biased in favour of his preliminary assumptions, and his ‘beliefs’, thus he
disregarded any published evidence of success of autonomous education, and the 2000+ submissions by home
educators and home educated children who very much disagreed with the style of monitoring success and achievement against promised
objectives he suggests.
Do you agree that children about whom there are substantial safeguarding concerns should not be home educated?
not sure
I think this decision should be made through a multiprofessional forum, where substantial safeguarding concerns are
shown to be actual, and interventions planned for the family.
Do you agree that the local authority should visit the premises where home education is taking place provided 2 weeks notice is given?
disagree
i do not believe there should be a right to enter the home. i believe current arrangements under current law are
satisfactory
Do you agree that the local authority should have the power to interview the child, alone if this is judged appropriate, or if not in the
presence of a trusted person who is not the parent/carer?
disagree
i absolutely disagree with this. i think that children, whether deemed to be vulnerable or not, should not be interviewed in
this manner unless there are already clearly significant safeguarding concerns, and this has been passed through to child
protection. i do not believe this should be through the local authority education arm at all, and feel that ‘mission creep’ will otherwise see more
chldren upset and traumatised by interogation by strangers without understanding the reason or process.
Do you agree that the local authority should visit the premises and interview the child within four weeks of home education starting, after
6 months has elapsed, at the anniversary of home education starting, and thereafter at least on an annual basis? This would not
preclude more frequent monitoring if the local authority thought that was necessary.
disagree
i do not agree that they should visit the premises, i specifically do not agree that 4 weeks gives long enough for a
deschooling period for traumatised children, and wonder why home educators should be assessed more frequently than
schools – even known ‘failing schools’. i believe that the more frequent monitoring sets a position for harrassment of home educators. a
maximum of yearly information gathering – by visit or by educational information seems reasonable to me, and especially in the primary years
frequent visits appear to be pointlessly expensive, and biennial may be more reasonable. again i strongly disagree that this needs to be
visiting the home. i note that you have not discussed in this at all whether the local authority should set up committees with home educators,
should be suitably trained in home education and the many methods that may be utilised, nor have you discussed any of the scarce few
positives from the badman review – ie provision of rooms/ resources and exams. this strikes me that you plan to implement a draconian
monitoring system to absolutely guarentee a poor working relationship between home educators and the LA, without implementing anything
that may involve expenditure with a benefit for home educators. i think this is shameful. in my opinion, current legislation is more than
sufficient, both for educational welfare and child safety.
Many of us are holding back from filling it in so as not to tip our hand numbers wise – I’m fairly sure that they can check responses as they come in. Instead we’re focussing on other actions now, and will have a drive to fill in the consultation in a couple of months time.