home education petition

[Rosendula]

Please sign this petition if you value home education. This is why (and I'm copying and pasting from http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/heconsult.htm)

The Badman Report was published on June 11th 2009. Children's Minister Delyth Morgan accepted the recommendations in full and DCSF immediately launched a further public consultation to run until October 2009.

The Press Notice from the DCSF summarised the main recommendations of the Review as follows:

* that local authorities should provide more support to home educating families, eg. through helping provide access to the national examination system, sports facilities, libraries and music tuition;
* a compulsory annual registration scheme, in which all parents who plan to home educate have to inform their local authority. While around 20,000 children are already registered, the actual number being home educated is unknown and could be more than double this number;
* at the time of registration, parents being asked to submit a statement of their intended approach to the child’s education including what they aim to achieve over the following 12 months;
* giving properly trained local authority officials the right of access to the home, following a minimum two week notification to the parents. They will check that the child is making progress against their learning statement. They will also have the right to speak to the child, to ensure they are safe and well. A written report must then be produced and shared with the parents and child; and
* that local authorities can refuse registration to home educate if there is clear evidence of safeguarding concerns.

[Penny Lane]

Please sign this petition if you value home education. This is why (and I'm copying and pasting from http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/heconsult.htm)

The Badman Report was published on June 11th 2009. Children's Minister Delyth Morgan accepted the recommendations in full and DCSF immediately launched a further public consultation to run until October 2009.

The Press Notice from the DCSF summarised the main recommendations of the Review as follows:

* that local authorities should provide more support to home educating families, eg. through helping provide access to the national examination system, sports facilities, libraries and music tuition;
* a compulsory annual registration scheme, in which all parents who plan to home educate have to inform their local authority. While around 20,000 children are already registered, the actual number being home educated is unknown and could be more than double this number;
* at the time of registration, parents being asked to submit a statement of their intended approach to the child’s education including what they aim to achieve over the following 12 months;
* giving properly trained local authority officials the right of access to the home, following a minimum two week notification to the parents. They will check that the child is making progress against their learning statement. *They will also have the right to speak to the child*, to ensure they are safe and well. A written report must then be produced and shared with the parents and child; and
* that local authorities can refuse registration to home educate if there is clear evidence of safeguarding concerns.

*Parents won't be allowed to be present when the LA official interviews their child*

[Annpan]

I took part in the consultation for this report.

The whole Baddman report (which has no effect in Scotland BTW) relies on 2 facts
1. That all parent who choose to home educate are likely to cause mental, emotional and physical damage to their child unnoticed by the health authorities.
2. That children in main stream education are protected as they are seen every day by education workers.


Neither of these are true and every case that I have read where it is imagined that 'home-education' played a part in concealing crimes against children the child had been removed from a school (for which legislation already exists to cover welfare) or the social services were already involved in the case and made mistakes which led to the child being in danger.

Home educated children are no more likely to be abused by their primary carers than school taught children (the fact that no figures have been released about this is rather telling, don't you think). In most cases the infrastructure already exists to protect these children, sadly it all too often fails and so, the government are looking at something else to legislate.

[Rosendula]

The whole Baddman report (which has no effect in Scotland BTW) relies on 2 facts
1. That all parent who choose to home educate are likely to cause mental, emotional and physical damage to their child unnoticed by the health authorities.
2. That children in main stream education are protected as they are seen every day by education workers.

It is so hard for parents when they see their children mentally, emotionally and physically damaged as a direct result of going to school. One of the major reasons I am home-educating my youngest child is to protect her from this damage

[Annpan]

*nod, nod*

[jim]

Dear Rosie,

Just one more example of political interference in education. Home education is a freedom that should be defended. That's why you'll find my name near the end of the 500 signatures displayed........ and I work in the state controlled sector.

Love and Peace
Jim

[red]

I get very offended at the constant implication tht there is a connection between child abuse and home education. so unfounded.
NSPCC actually put this idea forward to the media, but have since appologised to education otherwise. what good is the charity? useless...

if you look at the recent cases of child abuse to hit the news, most were already know to social services, being visited by social workers and it still happened. and recently a nursery teacher was arrested for posessing child p**n etc - so much for the state system and police checks there eh?

I dont think everything in the Badman report is all bad - I'm not that uncomfortable with the local authority knowing about us or visiting. however the suggestion that they will have the 'right' to come into our home, and could insist on seeing my child alone (which even the police are not allowed to do) is not on.

[Rosendula]

Thanks to those of you who have signed

[lsm1066]

The whole Baddman report (which has no effect in Scotland BTW) relies on 2 facts
1. That all parent who choose to home educate are likely to cause mental, emotional and physical damage to their child unnoticed by the health authorities.
2. That children in main stream education are protected as they are seen every day by education workers.

It is so hard for parents when they see their children mentally, emotionally and physically damaged as a direct result of going to school. One of the major reasons I am home-educating my youngest child is to protect her from this damage

Oh yes! My youngest has EBD issues along with dyslexia that only affects his spelling and handwriting (he's 10 with a reading age of 17!). Although we don't home school we considered it very seriously. And if he hadn't got into the EBD boarding school he's at now, we would have done. As it is, we had his first review this week where he was pronounced a joy to teach (their words, not ours). And yet this is the boy who was so traumatised by the way he was treated in mainstream school that, at the age of 8, he had to be referred to CAMHS because he was suicidal! All because of the feelings of inadequacy he had through being treated as if he was, pardon the word, thick as well as being disruptive. Teachers saying things to us like, "he's not nearly as intelligent as you think he is" in front of him were pretty much the last straw. But that's not abuse because it's only verbal!

Sorry. That seems to have turned into a whole different rant! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Duly signed
Lynne

[Clazbear]

It is so hard for parents when they see their children mentally, emotionally and physically damaged as a direct result of going to school. One of the major reasons I am home-educating my youngest child is to protect her from this damage

We took our daughter out of school because of this. She was being bullied, her "friends" often wouldn't let her join in with them, she'd come home and tell me that so-and-so was mean to her. And so much more.
She was "below average" at just about everything.
She wouldn't get up for school in a morning, there were tantrums, getting the morning routine done was a nightmare, of constant nagging to get ready.
She was always ill, her asthma was bad at least 3 night a week and she never wanted to sleep, we put her to bed at 7.30pm and she was still awake at 11pm. Every 2-3 weeks she had a tummy bug; high temprature, sickness, diarrhoea. She had throat, eye and ear infections far more often than I thought she should. The GP wasn't much help either, treating the symptoms and not the cause.

We took her out of school in January, she hasn't had a tummy bug or any infections at all since, she hasn't needed her asthma inhaler at all since, she wakes up full of life at 6am every morning! and is asleep by 8pm. She is now the little girl I had before she started school.

Her "school work" has come on in leaps and bounds and she spends so much more time outdoors in the fresh air. Most of our "lessons" are done outside, and she's learning things that I don't think she'd be experiencing in school. We are also much closer as a family as well.

Just my 2 peneth.

[juicylucy]

hi!
I am new to this group and thought you might like to hear the story of my home educated children! I have four and they all spent time educated at home...the youngest 2 didnt ever go to school..the eldest went to do gcses and university eventually.eldest is now studying for his doctorate while working, next one is now a clinical peadiatic sister working with children in 2 county clinics. third is a parelli horse trainer and youngest is about to go off to college in yorkshire. I am not boasting about them as it has been all their own work but just to prove that home ed works! they all did very little organised study as in sit down and work specific hours or subjects. they chose mostly!
It has always been remarked on how socially adept they are.The eldest two got married this summer within two weeks of each other!
never considered it hard work, enjoyed so much with them. no regrets and they say they dont either.
so well done all of you!

[citizentwiglet]

I've signed.

I personally don't have any plans (at the moment, anyway) to home educate, I have the utmost respect and HUGE admiration for those of you who do - it's something I would love to do, but I don't have the confidence (or the patience, LOL!). I am, though, aware that situations may arise where I would prefer my children to be schooled from home, and I am so grateful that I am a member of this site and that I know I could nag you all senseless for information and advice.

My friend in Kilmarnock home schools her 10 year old - had hell of a battle with 'the authorities', but her son was so desperately unhappy at school. She has spent years fighting for a diagnosis for his 'disruptive and wholly unacceptable behaviour' (the schools' words - he's been to a few), and has eventually got a DX of ADHD and Tourettes after being fobbed off with 'he's just naughty' for six years. Her son is making fantastic progress at home, has a real love of learning and a hunger for subjects that she never thought she would see; and that has proved very empowering for them both. It is so lovely to see him so happy and engaged, and loving this whole world of learning opening up to him.

[Helsbells]

I have signed,
I really support home education, although I am a teacher in a state school, I have just written an essay about home education for my masters in teaching and learning.
What they are saying is outrageous and in my opinion seems to amount to an infrindgement of human rights.
Helen
xxx

[Magpie]

Just wondering what the latest is on this...

Here in NZ we have just had our reviews stopped (unless there is a complaint about a family) as we are seen as such a low risk. One good thing to have come from our right-wing government!

[Rosendula]

Thanks for the interest, Magpie.

There have been masses of complaints to all the right people about the Badman report, including over 3000 signatures on the petitions, and it's now going before a Select Committee for scrutinization. The DCSF has granted Mr Badman a deadline extention until 1st October to enable him to gather more evidence to support his claims and recommendations. People around the net are reacting in two ways: 1) they're angry that he's been allowed this extra time. Surely if the report was done right he would have enough evidence. If he didn't have enough evidence, what exactly is the report based on? 2) they're having a good chuckle at the thought of him lying awake at night worrying about it all, and spending his days scrambling around looking for any scrap of information he can call evidence and begging LAs to help him.

Interesting times....