"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ensure that all parents are informed of their legal right to home educate their children."
Another Downing Street petition I've gladly signed.
"At the moment it is a closely guarded secret that all parents have the right to Home educate their children. We would like to see the government informing all parents of that right. We would also like to see the government ensuring that the LEA inspectors of Home Educators are pro Home education and have a knowledge of the different ways in which Home education can be delivered by parents. We also want it recognised that children vary in their abilities and that there is no way to gauge when a child will be proficient in any one area of learning." - Jacqueline Wood
Apart from its tacit approval/acknowledgment of 'LEA inspectors of Home Educators' I do agree with the above statement. I've lost count of the number of emails and phone calls I've received from local people whose children were pushed to the point of making suicide threats and/or becoming physically ill before the family was informed of their right to home educate.
Leo's proposed revision to the wording of Section 7 ("..at home or otherwise.") would neatly solve the problem in one move and would be fantastic to see - though sadly unlikely I think. Meanwhile, this petition might help to raise awareness of the situation if it receives enough signatures.
"At the moment it is a closely guarded secret that all parents have the right to Home educate their children. We would like to see the government informing all parents of that right. We would also like to see the government ensuring that the LEA inspectors of Home Educators are pro Home education and have a knowledge of the different ways in which Home education can be delivered by parents. We also want it recognised that children vary in their abilities and that there is no way to gauge when a child will be proficient in any one area of learning." - Jacqueline Wood
Apart from its tacit approval/acknowledgment of 'LEA inspectors of Home Educators' I do agree with the above statement. I've lost count of the number of emails and phone calls I've received from local people whose children were pushed to the point of making suicide threats and/or becoming physically ill before the family was informed of their right to home educate.
Leo's proposed revision to the wording of Section 7 ("..at home or otherwise.") would neatly solve the problem in one move and would be fantastic to see - though sadly unlikely I think. Meanwhile, this petition might help to raise awareness of the situation if it receives enough signatures.
posted by Gill at 11:35 am
7 Comments:
I found out about HE by accident from an internet list that had nothing to do with it. The school never told me they just said if C did not attend I woudld end up in prison:( I have just signed.
Our LA shares the info earlier than that, but I suspect they still pick and choose who they share it with. I know that when the situation looks unsolvable they do tell people though.
What you went through with yours was horrendous Ruth :-(
I took C out in a different LA and it was the school who were obstructive. Once I spoke to a LA EWO it was fine after that. The school did not want to lose him. I often think it is the schools who are being awkward cos the L.A don't get to hear about deregistration until after the event and most parents only deal with the school. What I got was mild compared to people trying to take children out here. Even after dereg here the schools try it on with "come in for a meeting "( not just asking once or twice but persistantly over 2 or 3 weeks and leaving messages on parents' answering machines e.t.c) and sending letters that look like "permission" to dereg has not being granted yet and they must go in to the school e.t.c. You need to be very sure of the law here to stay the distance. Of course most new HE are not:(
The school we deregged from was just in shock I think! The head had been in the job for decades & never heard of home ed - which doesn't say much for the area, does it?
I can well imagine the panic "you're not getting away" reaction though. Yes, it needs sorting, doesn't it?
Don't the schools lose money if a child is de-reg'd? Maybe that's why they are so keen to try and stop them leaving.
I signed this petition last week -meant to link it on my blog but forgot, so thanks for the reminder :o)
Zoe
I think schools are scared it looks bad for them as well as the financial side of things. They prefer to sweep problems under the carpet and don't like it when parents vote with their feet. Also, in our case, I think the HOY knew full well that it was a caseof one out all out. 5 deregs from one family in a 10 day period must have been fairly traumatic for them LOL.
143 signatories last time i looked. love, fiona
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