HED0366

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.]

Home Education Inquiry

Call for Evidence Response

[member of the public]

1. Introduction
   
   My name is [member of the public], I am a mother to two children age [ages] who have never attended school. I have a [qualification] from the [institution] which is where I first became committed to the concept of education as a public good. We are currently living abroad but are aiming to move back to the UK in 2021.
   
    
2. Response to the benefits children gain from home education, and the potential disadvantages they may face;
   
   My children have been able to learn to read in their own time rather than at the arbitrary age of five, meaning that they are more likely to have a healthy relationship with reading as evidenced by Cambridge University (https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/school-starting-age-the-evidence)
   
   For example, age [age] my daughter [name] decided to learn to read and within two weeks was reading and had begun writing a book for my Mother’s Day present. Her reading acquisition didn’t happen in a vacuum but within the whole experience of enjoying books.
   
   My experience with my children learning to read in a pain-free and self-directed way mirrors the research by Harriet Pattison, PHD, who found all the Self-Directed, home educated readers in her study learnt to read fluently in their own time.  (https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/5051/1/Pattison14PhD.pdf)
   
   My children are autonomous in their learning meaning they attend to all the traditional curricula with joy and excitement.
   
   Furthermore, [personal information].
   
   At this stage in time home educated children are discriminated against by way of resources and access to field trips. Our local school takes all pupils on a field trip once a term at quite a cost to the government. I suggest home educating families should be resourced to provide the same quality experiences for their children.
    
3. the impact COVID-19 has had on home educated children, and what additional measures might need to be taken in order to mitigate any negative impacts.
   
   Home educated families should have had the clear directive to gather in groups at the same moment children were able to attend school. Whilst most children in the UK were able to access their social circles, home educated children were not. Considering the thousands of home educators in this country it would have been helpful and healthy to have had the clear go ahead under the same protocols as schools.
    
4. Summary
   
   Education is a public good that can come in all forms. My children, along with thousands of others, are flourishing through learning at home.
   
   We would like more funding and more recognition in policy decisions such as Covid19 rulings.

November 2020