HomeSchooler.org.uk

SCOTS CHARITY ENQUIRIES "SKYROCKET" AS ENGLISH HOME EDUCATORS HEAD FOR THE
HIGHLANDS

- England's loss will be Scotland's gain, says Schoolhouse

Scotland's national home education support organisation Schoolhouse [1] has
reported a dramatic increase in enquiries from English home educating
families who are preparing to move north of the border following publication
of a DCSF-commissioned report on elective home education [2] by Graham
Badman.

While the summer holiday period is usually less busy for the charity,
enquiries from England are said to have "skyrocketed" since the report was
published in June and its controversial proposals were accepted in full [3]
by English Children's Minister Ed Balls.

Schoolhouse spokesperson, Alison Preuss, said:

"Our volunteers have been dealing with a growing number of enquiries from
England since the home education review was first announced in January, but
these have skyrocketed in recent weeks. The latter half of June saw a
fourfold increase when compared with the same period last year. We are not
only being asked about the law relating to home education in Scotland, but
about the political climate, transport links, housing, employment and
business opportunities by parents who are making plans to move to Scotland
as the direct result of stigmatisation of home educators by the UK
Government.

"These are parents who are not prepared to sacrifice their children's right
to a suitable education, nor abdicate their legal duty to provide it [4], on
the altar of DCSF dogma. As law abiding citizens, they are outraged at the
prospect of having their private family homes routinely invaded and their
children interrogated alone by strangers, which is what the Badman report
has proposed and Ed Balls has so enthusiastically welcomed."

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has confirmed that it has no plans to
undertake a similar review in Scotland [5] since its own statutory guidance

What do we think about Home Education?

This is a place for children to say how important Home Education is to them, we'd like Home Education to stay as our right and our free choice.
How to join in with Hands up 4 Home Ed

Draw around your hands
Decorate them
Put your wish or thought for Home Ed. :o)
Put your age and name
Mail your hands here

The badman report into home education is now out and
looks set to change the shape and rights of home education. This groups is for those homeschoolers who want to do somthing about it and tell the goverment NO! WE LOVE OUR KIDS ENOUGH TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE STATE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND THE BADMAN! Offering practicle advice on home education issuses and law.

"The members of EO's GPG are working hard on this and yes Ian Dowty, children's rights barrister, is involved. It takes time to get stuff sorted.

Obviously that bit I "did" to start off with was to get on with all the media reaction, and I have some good contacts now that I can use as we have stuff that we want publicity for. A number of them want to keep following the story.

I would hope we'd get stuff up on EO's campaign website, Freedom for Children to Grow as soon as is possible..."

This is a group for UK home educating parents to discuss the review and what we would like to do about it. One group so everyone can to discuss it in one place and so we all know what is happening.

It is open to all HE'ers whatever their style of HE and whatever group/s they are currently on.

It will not be moderated and will be open to all. You can add relevant files and links if you wish

"AHEd has sent this letter to the Chief Executive of the NSPCC and its Child Protection Policy Advisor Vijay Patel.

Dear Sir,
AHEd has received a number of member complaints concerning the outrageous comments of Mr. Vijay Patel reported in the Independent newspaper today which we believe abuse the memory of a murdered child for political ends to falsely conflate her death with a minority group and to express a causal link between home educators and child abuse.
Mr Patel is quoted: "Some people use home education to hide. Look at the Victoria Climbié case.”
We object in the strongest terms possible to these comments..."