HED0159

Written evidence submitted by a member of the public

[Note: This evidence has been redacted by the Committee. Text in square brackets has been inserted where text has been redacted.]

Call for evidence on EHE

I chose to educate my children at home for a while as I felt it was best for them. My eldest son was really [personal information].  The school seemed unable or unwilling to provide for his needs and deal with our concerns.

Education is of course primarily the responsibility of parents. This foundation has underpinned the British state system since it began in 1870. It is also embedded in Human Rights conventions, for example Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, ‘Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.’ Contrary to what many believe, parents have to choose opt in to state education not to opt out.

• The duties of local authorities with regards to home education: At present there is a good balance between family privacy and child protection with local authorities having the power to intervene if they have good reason to believe children are not receiving an adequate education or are at risk of abuse. 
  Should the law change so that local authorities had a duty to investigate home educators without due cause, this would put already overstretched officials under undue pressure to intervene in the lives of law abiding families to save themselves from criticism. This in turn could take their attention from those children who are really at risk.     
• Calling for a statutory register of home educated children would be a waste of local authorities’ resources and give the state unwarranted power over parents who have not chosen to opt into the state education.
• Home education is the only remaining form of education in which the state has not yet managed to dictate the curriculum. Home inspections would be an unnecessary interference and intrusion into the privacy of family life, with no evidence that shows they would be useful or necessary. Each parent educates differently depending on their own character and the needs of their children so it would be impossible to make sensible comparisons and to ascertain as to whether one was doing less well than another.
• Home educated children benefit greatly from home education as their lessons can be tailored to their individual needs, interests and leaning styles without them having to fit into the straight jacket of a class curriculum. It’s also much easier to interact with other children of all ages and adults, giving them life skills of communication with those outside their own school year group. Home education has the added advantage of providing a fun and safe environment in which to learn, away from the bullying that is sadly often experienced in school.  They also have the advantage of being able to go on educational trips and do outside activities when the weather is suitable and when interesting opportunities arise.
• Elective home education should not be put in the same category as unregistered or illegal schools, excluded children or off-rolling. These require quite different approaches and should be dealt with separately. Home education often seems to get unfairly labelled as a potential risk area for abuse. There is no evidence to support this and in fact many parents choose to home educate because of the risk of bullying or sexual harassment which has been widely reported in schools.
• If parents ask for support with Special educational needs, disabilities, mental health, transition to higher education or financial assistance for exams this could be made available to them on request but it should never be assumed that if help is not requested that it is a cause for concern.

October 2020