Summary So Far

Below is a summary of the new problems faced by home educators that result either from the Children Act, 2004 or from the up-and-coming Education and Inspections Bill. The list is very probably not all-inclusive. Do let me know what I've left off. I'll be bracing myself.

1. The Children's Database ( see The Database Masterclass) will result in de-facto registration, which will increase the opportunities for more of the type of abuse from local authorities that we read about yesterday.

2. The Children Missing from Education initiative will result in further chasing by the authorities in order to check that a home educated child is in receipt of whatever happens to be their perception of an education on that particular day.

3. There is a creeping change in the definition of children "at risk" to now include children who are in danger of not receiving services. This means that home educated kids are increasingly likely to find themselves flagged on the database. (See The Database Masterclass again.)

4. And then there is the problem of the minimum two day delay in de-registration from schools which will almost certainly result in more of the type of hassle from educrats as mentioned in the post below. The delay also carries a symbolic implication since in those minumum two days, parents can no longer decide the place of education for their children and are therefore no longer responsible for it.