CLAUSE 26 SCHEDULE 1 OF THE CHILDREN SCHOOLS & FAMILIES BILL
Education Otherwise believes that Clause 26 Schedule 1 of the Children, Schools and Families Bill is profoundly flawed and must not pass into legislation. In addition to the devastating effect on home educating families, the proposed measures would be incompatible with existing laws and would have unforeseen consequences far beyond the present target group.
"If enacted, the Government's proposals will, for the first time in our history, tear away from parents and give to the state the responsibility for a child's education." Graham Stuart MP
The home education clause:
was introduced to Parliament with the claim that it took account of the recent public consultation, yet the Government's consultation response remains unaccountably delayed, which the Select Committee found "unacceptable";
requires the family to be licensed for education services in the first instance but with the prospect of extending the licensing principle to other aspects of family life;
gives power to education professionals to impose legal sanctions on families who will not allow private interviews with children;
gives power to education professionals to impose legal sanctions on families who will not allow access to the family home;
provides for wide-reaching secondary legislation beyond the scrutiny of Parliament and does not supply satisfactory information about an appeals procedure;
requires the Education Welfare Service to serve an automatic order compelling the child to attend a named local school if the family is practising unlicensed education and removes any legal right for the family to challenge this automatic order in court
"Passing Clause 26 into legislation would have an extremely negative impact on the relationship between the home education community and local and national government and be detrimental to the education and welfare of many children and young people who are currently being home educated." Annette Taberner, Education Otherwise Government Policy Group
"Local authorities have not received any funding from Government for their work with home educating families and have been largely unable to provide support or services which would encourage families to establish or maintain contact with the authority. According to the latest research carried out by Education Otherwise, there is no budget from central Government for support and the typical amount spent on staffing costs for home education in local authorities is below £200 per child. The much vaunted support for home educators is nowhere to be found in the current Bill before parliament yet we are asked to believe that the Government will fund education delivered outside the state system which would seem to create a precedent for children educated in the independent sector." Fiona Nicholson, Chair Education Otherwise Government Policy Group
The Select Committee noted the relevant provisions of the Children Act 1989. Section 17(1) places a general duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need and Section 47(1) requires, where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, the local authority "to make such enquiries as they consider necessary to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child's welfare".
According to the Parliamentary Briefing prepared for MPs and lodged in the House of Commons Library, there were 28 recommendations in the Badman Review Report. Key recommendations were identified as:
More support to home educating families. Select Committee agreed;
Requirement to submit statement of approach and educational plan at time of registration. Select Committee disagreed;
Right of access to the home. Select Committee disagreed;
Right to speak to the child alone. Select Committee disagreed;
Local authority to refuse permission to home educate if there are "safeguarding concerns". Select Committee disagreed.
Consultation responses the Government chose to ignore
"It would never be appropriate for LA officers within the role of supporting families with home education to insist on interviewing a child alone. The LA officer is not at all likely to be someone a child knows well or trusts and such power gives the impression that LA officers do not trust parents and believe they can get to some hidden truth by seeing children alone. LA officers need to share any concerns about the child's education with parents and in cases where the LA officer has concerns about the welfare of a child, the usual safeguarding procedures apply." Gloucestershire County Council
"Parents who we have spoken to and who home educate are fully aware of the responsibility they are taking on and often find it a costly option and let down by their local authority. In this context the introduction of registration and monitoring processes held by the local authority can seem inappropriate and intrusive. The provision of information and support for parents instead, would be helpful." Treehouse charity for autism education
Education Otherwise's position is that Clause 26 is beyond redemption and must be withdrawn
In the event that Clause 26 Schedule 1 is not withdrawn, Education Otherwise believes that as a bare minimum Clause 26 would require a set of comprehensive and cohesive changes which:
Challenge the need for a compulsory register of home educated children;
Challenge the right of access to the home;
Challenge the right to interview a child alone outside the parameters of current safeguarding legislation which is applicable to all;
Demand and clearly outline the rights of a child who chooses not to meet with officials alone and the consequences for the child and family of exercising such a right;
Demand and clearly outline transparent and accessible complaints and appeals procedures which home educated children, young people and their families might use;
Challenge the presumption that complex details and procedures should be agreed by the Houses of Parliament and only be specified later, in detail, through the issuing of statutory guidance;
Challenge the assumption that all contact and interaction should only be on the basis of local authorities interacting with individual families- thereby ignoring the importance of local and national groups and organisations as stakeholders and positive agents within the community;
Locate and define the role and location of a named lead professional for Elective Home Education within local authorities;
Identify mechanisms to engage all parties in an examination of the Department's role in identifying and promoting positive, good practice;
Establish statutory, accessible and accountable locally based mechanisms for raising awareness of home education and liaison with stakeholders with ring-fenced funding;
Define the capacities, skills sets and accredited training required for work in the area of Elective Home Education in consultation with the home education community and home education support organisations;
Ensure that knowledge of elective home education, its legitimacy, diversity and practice is included in the Common Core for professionals, from all fields, working with children and young people;
Ensure that ring fenced public funding administered at local level is available to families, by request, to fund appropriate provision to advance the education and welfare of home educated children and young people;
Introduce a statutory duty for central and local government to promote awareness of home education as a legal alternative to all families;
Recognise the validity of autonomous education and the need for provision to be responsive to the child's evolving abilities and aptitudes, instead of requiring the family to adhere to the annual plan drawn up with the teacher at the local school, as currently proposed by the Government
Correspondence Address: Education Otherwise Association Ltd
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