HED0030

Written evidence submitted by Kelly Longia

I am parent to home-learning children of school age.

The current system suits our children’s needs for education. We choose to pursue educational activities on an ongoing basis every day of the week and at flexible times of the day (ie not necessarily Monday to Friday during normal school hours). We are active in our community, and make connections both within the homeschooling community and everyone else too.

The current system suits our family’s needs for support, both practical and financial. For practical support where we require it, we seek assistance via independent/private and public resources such as libraries, classes and workshops. We do not currently have any needs for financial support, though we have been fortunate that neither child has any special needs which may have affected our budget in this area.

Our family’s experience during Covid19 has in many ways been as challenging as for most other people – we have, like everyone, missed many of our favourite activities (eg swimming, museums, etc) and have missed having regular contact with friends and family. However, as home-learners we were also prepared for spending all day together as a family, and could approach the restrictions and lockdown with flexibility and innovation that we normally employ. We have used the internet to continue learning in place of in-person workshops, for example.

In terms of mandatory registration for all children who are home-educating, I see pros and cons for this. We used to live in BC, Canada, where each school-aged child who is learning-at-home must be registered as such. The process was simple for us – we simply completed a form each year with the childrens’ names, and signed to declare that we were taking responsibility for their education, and that that education would be wholesome and balanced. However, I believe the process wasn’t as simple for the authorities; there was a cost associated for the administrators who would process our registration (in BC, it is possible to register your children through any school).

October 2020