Friday, June 19, 2009

Mark Field, MP, on Home Education

...just in case you missed it.

and a missive from Michael Gove's office:

"Thank you for your email to Michael Gove regarding home education and the Badman report. He is away visiting schools at the moment, but he has asked me to forward you this reply.

Parental choice is a driving principle of Conservative education policy. I can assure you that this includes the choice to educate your children at home, and that a future Conservative government would fully respect your rights in this area.

We want children to enjoy the highest possible level of protection, and recognise there need to be safeguards. But we do not want to grant Government intrusive or unnecessarily authoritarian powers.

We will aim to keep this balance at the forefront of our thinking as we develop policy in this area.

Yours

xxxxxxx

Office of Michael Gove MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families

UPDATE: It seems Mark Field isn't the only one to think the Badman recommendations are disporportionate. Home educators are hearing from other Conservative MPs who think his measures are disproportionate and represent the destruction of yet another civil liberty.

9 comments:

Jax said...

Wow, this is already in my google alert!

Bishop Hill said...

Lots of wriggle room for Mr Gove in that reply IMHO.

Ron Tomlinson said...

Our right to educate our children at home is effectively under threat if our right to determine our own philosophy of education is threatened, as it seems to be.

We have to protect our children from dictatorial bureaucrats. Government isn't competent either to parent or to determine educational philosophy, full stop.

If it were, it wouldn't now be talking about child abuse and wanting to force its way into family homes. Instead people would be queueing up for advice.

*tumbleweed at the LA building*

Ron Tomlinson said...

Another way it's threatened is this proposed annual re-registration scheme, which is really just a licencing scheme.

We don't need a licence to home educate. It's the right of every law-abiding family, no questions asked.

Sorry for veerying off topic but I feel the language even of the politicians who support us is slightly off.

We ought to be talking not about whether we are 'allowed' to home educate, but whether the government is allowed to interfere, whether LA's have the option to demand evidence of education, etc.

Carlotta said...

Couldn't agree more, Tom.

emma said...

I just wrote to him:

http://childrenarepeople.blogspot.com/2009/06/dear-mr-gove.html

Anonymous said...

Mark Fields replied very promptly to my email.
I did ask for assurances that a Conservative Govt would not carry out any of Badman's recommendations.
He gave a very polite reply ensuring his personal support for home education-but I noticed he did not offer the assurances I has requested.
I am sorry to say we have no one really willing to stand up for us politcally apart from UKIP and they won't get power.
Sometimes I get feel pretty done in by it all-and then I think- there's still some fight in the ol'cow yet. :)

Carlotta said...

I think we have to show that we know what the lawyers at the DCSF are likely to be telling Ed and his pals. Once Ed realises that we know that the lawyers will be warning him that he is opening up the state up to all manner of responsibilities and liabilities, and that we are most definitely on to them and will set up legal funds to prove it, I think he will be forced to think again.

They simply cannot dictate the form and delivery of education and then expect not to be held responsible when it fails. Someone must be held liable, and the state is SO incompetent at it, so incapable in its behemoth sort of a way of providing a suitable education for individual children, that we will come after them if they persist in taking the worst possible interpretation of their own legislation.

Anonymous said...

I do agree with you, Carlotta. If they persist in this authoritarian rubbish, then they will be responsible for home educating children's education. We will claim everything we are due down to the value of the last pencil.

Credit crunch? They don't know the meaning of the words.

http://www.threedegreesoffreedom.blogspot.com
On bullying, Balls and Badman