HED0269

Written evidence submitted by Mrs Helen Donoghue

HOME EDUCATION CONSULTATION (October 2020)

Helen Donoghue

• I am a former Governor of 25 years’ experience of County Schools in both primary and secondary phases.   During that time I gained an advanced BTEC in School Governance.  

• I am a close friend of a family which home schools its children.

• Having seen how well these children and young adults are doing, it would definitely have been something I would have considered for my own child.

• Parents of children are the ones who are responsible for every aspect of bringing up their children to be fully-rounded adults and good citizens.  State education is there for parents to use to help them in this, and in emergencies when parents and families are not available (eg,  orphans).

Should Local Authorities have more powers to maintain the quality of home education?

No.    There is adequate power already to protect children and promote their best interests.

Shouls there be a register of home educators?

No.

• This would give those who maintained such a register too much power over parents, for example by intrusively inspecting private homes and enven striking parents off the register if they did not meet state-set standards.   This would lead to the state rather than the parents controlling the child’s education.
• Setting up such a register and supervising parents for membership of it would be extremely costly.
• It is sufficient for Local Authorities to keep track of individual children’s educational progress by formal tests, regardless of setting.  Other powers are already available to protect childrens’ general well-being.

What advantages and disadvantages are there in home schooling?

• Home schooling is child-centered - the fond ambition of state education – enabling easy adaption to the child’s levels, needs, skills, and interests.  This applies equally to children with extra needs.
• Home schooling is flexible according to family and community needs and opportunities, enabling children to be far more embedded in them than occurs when the child goes away to school for most of the day, week, or longer.
• Home schooling protects children from bad influences from outside the family, eg, bullying.
• Home schooling enables children to study for themselves in depth, without interruption, thus promoting academic habits that benefit future careers.
• The main problems with home schooling is parental inadequacy of teaching skills and resources.  This is when Local Authorities should be available to offer parents the training and resources the parents feel they need.

Is the current regulatory framework enough for home schooling?

Yes.  Home education should not be mixed up with other issues, like unregistred private schools, and children who have been lost to Local Authority records (“slipped through the net”).  

(Ends. HD)

November 2020