The Grandma Unearthed the Problem - Not Social Services

Brian Micklethwait said it all in 2004. His argument still applies, and in fact needs to be shouted even more loudly, in the light both of the prospective consultation on possible statutory changes to home education and with regard to the recent terrible headlines:

"The pattern is the same with home education as it is with everything else. Something goes wrong, in the context of harmless, legal activity X. Therefore everyone – not just wrongdoers but everyone – doing X gets screwed around from now until the End of Time by the government.

Child abuse is already illegal. The way to stop it is to punish it as and when it is detected. The way to detect it is for neighbours to keep an eye and an ear out for it. The idea that harassing people like Julius Blumfeld and his family is going to improve anything except the salaries of the harassing classes is absurd. "