Urgent: Safeguarding consultation in Wales ends 25 October 2013. Threat to Home Education

There is yet another potential attack on home educators in Wales only months after Leighton Andrews scrapped his ill thought out plans for registration and monitoring.

Dog with a bone comes to mind, I wonder who is determined to get this through, does Wales have its very own Ed Balls? 

The consultation is here and I urge everyone to complete it. Make it onerous for them to keep trying this on, they have had their answer but don't seem to like it so ignore it introducing the proposals through the back door of a safeguarding consultation hoping we will not notice the threat to us hidden in there.

This is very similar to the situation in England leading up to the Badman Review where there were multiple consultations held any of which could have damaged the freedom to meet children's individual needs.

You can sign a petition against the muddying of education and welfare in Wales.

Below Jayne Palmer outlines some of the concerns for home educators in Wales and gives guidance on filling in the consultation.

"Points you could include in your consultation response

2.7

Responsibility for safeguarding children who are educated at home by their parents or carers, or who are employed, is not solely an education issue. These matters are best dealt with by a multi-agency approach and should be addressed in locally agreed procedures in accordance with the principles set out in Safeguarding Children: Working Together Under the Children Act 2004

The Childrens Act 2004 refers to children missing education not Electively home Educated children. It further refers to vulnerable groups to which EHE children don’t belong. Parents retain responsibility for children and should not suffer interference unless they fail in their responsibilities.

2.12

Makes the same error as 2.7 and fails to acknowledge parents are the primary care takers of children under the 2004 act.

3.121

never enter the education system because they fail to start appropriate 

provision at the start of compulsory school age (there is no requirement for 

parents to inform local authorities of the fact that they intend to educate at 

home if the child has never attended school); 

are withdrawn by their parents who elect to educate at home and both 

parents and the school fail to notify the local authority; 

EHE children are fully engaged in education and parents take up their responsibility to educate children from the age of five as required in law, hence no failure to start education occurs just because a child is not in school. Where children are withdrawn to EHE it is the schools responsibility to inform the LEA and no requirement exists in law that applies to home educated children.

Evidence collected in 2012 from Welsh Local authorities shows that EHE children are less likely to be at risk than school children are. 

3.124

The purpose of the duty is to make sure that children and young people 

who are not registered pupils are identified and that effective monitoring systems are put in place to ensure that those children or young people are provided with ‘suitable education’

This give the impression that there is a duty to monitor EHE families and no such duty is in existence

3.149

ensure ongoing monitoring and tracking of vulnerable groups including those who have been excluded from school; Looked After Children and those registered as receiving education otherwise than at school; 

This needs to be explained clearly many LEA’s’ do not understand the difference between EOTAS and EHE."