HED0288
Written evidence submitted by [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.]
I have come to the end of home educating my [age] son. He is now in sixth form college. The exam situation this last summer was extremely stressful for home educated children. Please ensure for the coming summer and the future that home educated children have exam centres to take exams.
Many Colleges and schools will be now be unlikely to take home edders and like wise home edders will not wish to take the risk of taking exams with them. This leaves very few independent centres and these are vulnerable to closing down.
From my experience of the LA while home educating there was a culture of believing that a child being home educated was by default at risk and potentially in need of safe guarding. For example in Manchester elective home education is part of safe guarding. The LA representative talked of the child’s voice and the LA policy puts pressure for contact with the child and if this was refused that this would trigger safe guarding actions. Putting home educating parents in this position is simply unacceptable and deeply damages the relationship of trust within the home ed community with the LA.
Ironically the lack of trust undermines safe guarding whereas building trust, understanding and treating home educators respectfully and fairly would help support safe guarding
This is a sadly misguided, ill informed and damaging approach. In my experience I did not come across any child who I had concerns about, quite the opposite! It takes a lot to home educate and I met some of the most caring and devoted parents.
Schools are increasingly culpable in undermining children’s wellbeing and mental health, simply by how they are run and managed. Ofsted do not pick up or are not aware of the impacts and parents feel powerless to do very much. The evidence is there, though it is currently ignored. Home education offers a much better experience for well being and mental health outcomes. As well as the potential to get high grades and have motivation to be engaged in learning.
I believe a statuary register isn’t necessary and the limited financial resources could be far better used.
Inspection is not required and is undermining. The LA do not have in reality anything useful to offer and home edders get the support and can draw on the community knowledge.
In an ideal world financial support would be welcomed, however in the current climate this would not be accepted due to the LA’s culture mentioned above.
December 2020