HomeSchooler.org.uk

"...on Graham Stuart's Twitter (HT: Jemmo):

"I have confirmed with Michael Gove that the Conservatives will oppose compulsory registration of home educated children in the Bill."

However, we must remain cautious as we have heard from the DCSF that they thought there would be no prelegislative scrutiny of the relevant sections. We are not sure why they think this and thanks to Firebird and Alice, we have news of today's debate on the Children, Schools and Families Bill, which I completely missed earlier."...

Read the comments too...

Sarah

"Harwich and Clacton MP, Douglas Carswell is taking action in Parliament to
support Clacton Mums and Dads who opt to educate their children at home.

He is backing Early Day Motion (EDM) 1785 which "acknowledges and celebrates
the hard work of many home educators in Britain who teach their children to
an exceptionally high standard". The EDM, has been tabled in response to the
Badman report, which suggests much closer monitoring of home educators is
necessary.

Douglas is concerned as a huge supporter of Essex County Council's move to
award home education grants for parents who could not place their children
in the schools of their choice. He sees the Badman report and Ed Ball's
acceptance of it, as a move to undermine the rights of Mums and Dads to
decide what is right for their children.

He says of the report, "I believe that it's specifically in response to this
Essex blow for freedom that [the] Government's clampdown on home-education
is targeted"."

"As a matter of principle, Liberal Democrats should support home educators in their opposition to Graham Badman’s recommendations in the Review of Elective Home Education in England. However, I fear the Party leadership will not do so. Instead, it looks at though it will be seeking to find a ‘balance’ between the rights of parents to decide for themselves how best to educate their children, and the collective welfare of children as a whole.
Why am I so concerned that the Party may side with collectivism as opposed to defending individual rights? Upon seeking clarification on the Party’s policy on home education from Cowley Street’s policy boffs, and in particular on the Badman recommendations, I was reliably informed of the need to find that balance. In short, I was told the Party is generally supportive of the Badman recommendations."...

Amendment 74

Moved by Lord Lucas

74: After Clause 2, insert the following new Clause—

“Jobseekers who are home-educators

Regulations made pursuant to sections 1 and 2 shall be so drafted as to ensure that jobseekers who are home-educating a child or children shall not be required to take any employment or to attend any interview at a job centre or elsewhere which would significantly disrupt the child’s education and, if the jobseeker concerned is a lone parent, they shall be entitled to register for jobseeker’s allowance by post and shall be deemed to have met the conditions of receiving jobseeker’s allowance.”

Lord Lucas: My amendment coming after that of the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, must seem terribly badly drafted, and indeed, it is. This is strange territory for me. Education is where home educators and I belong. I have drifted into this because of the Badman review and how home education is being handled from an educational point of view. I take an interest in that and therefore one of the related questions: how are these people handled by the welfare system?

The home education community is immensely diverse. I do not think that it can be categorised in any useful way. Clearly, a number of people home educate out of conviction—either that is their educational philosophy or they have a religious requirement which is not met by the state system. The majority are there by default because the state system has failed their children. They have children with special educational needs. I am sure the noble Baroness will recognise that many schools do not deal with such children properly. That is just a fact of life. If your child is disappearing down a whirlpool at school, it is noble and honourable to pick him out, take him home, look after him and make sure that he is educated properly. Some have children who,

22 Jun 2009 : Column GC361

Mr. Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con): I recognise that the Minister is making her debut here, and that this matter is work in progress for her Department. I contacted her civil servants, and made it clear that the bulk of this half-hour debate will be taken up by my contribution, but that my hon. Friend the Member for St. Albans (Anne Main) and the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George) may wish to intervene.
In the middle of January, the Department for Children, Schools and Families launched an independent review of home education by Graham Badman, the former director of children and educational services at Kent county council. Mr. Badman has been charged with investigating the current system for supporting and monitoring home education, and was asked to consider how any concerns about children’s safety, welfare or education are dealt with. From the outset, the Government have emphasised that they have no plans to change parents’ well-established right to educate their children at home.

All that sounds harmless enough, and in light of recent child abuse cases it is little wonder that the Government want to safeguard children who are not visibly in the system, and to keep tabs on parents. It is right for any Government to want evidence that each and every child receives a suitable education, and genuine home educators have nothing to fear. However, the message coming loud and clear from home educators in my constituency is that that hype should not be believed. Their worry is that the Government are manipulating current anxiety about child abuse to intrude further into home education when they have little legal right to do so.

"Dear T----
I completely and totally support you on this and will oppose any legislation on this-- I cannot believe that any Government would try to bring this in.
I will write to Ed Balls with a copy of your letter and also my own views to see what he says.- then when I get the response if you give me your telephone number I will call you and see what more needs to be done. i have a number of home educated young people in my constituency and I am sure they will feel equally angry. I do not think it so necessary for you to come to surgery on Monday- it is always very busy with immigration and housing cases and I have only a few minutes with anyone. We can always make a separate arrangement later Hope that is Ok with you
Best wishes Kate"

Wow - a Labour MP onside!

"Thankyou to all those who have send in comments on Badman's report. I agree with much of what you say. I find it outrageous that home educators should be singled out for inspection in ways that the state would never allow for its own charges.

Our government will not be the next government, and will not be able to implement these plans, so it's crucial to focus on Conservative and Liberal websites.

It would also help, I believe (if I'm allowed to use that word in the context of Badman), to get some threads of thought moving in constructive directions. .."...read more...

Response to a query from an AHEd member.

"Arrived in the Lords in 1992 following the death of my mother, intending to get my name on the roll before prime minister Kinnock abolished us. 14 years later I'm still there, as an elected hereditary peer, though I'm promised not for much longer. Education was my first and remains my main interest - I edit the Good Schools Guide - though I have strayed into libertarian issues, planning, e-government ... whatever I can do in the time and with the lack of facilities available."

"Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster..."