Phew, that's done that. AHEd's response to the consultation on guidance about Children Missing from Education has gone in. There have been well over a 1000 responses, quite a number of which have stated a firm opposition to the proposal implicit in the guidance that the state should act in loco parentis.
I feel as strongly as ever that I neither want or need a busy-body with a clip-board on my doorstep. We are doing just fine without them thank you very much, but the chances are that they won't understand this. For example, how am I easily going to explain that, yes, sometimes my 6 year old does indeed stay up till 04.00am, but she is learning all the time, I promise!
Yep, my children and all the children we know well are doing just fine. I left my two last night for a sleep-over with some of their friends. Dd was younger than all the others by at least 5 years, yet the other children begged her to stay. The girls all hugged her when she agreed, and one of the boys, a wag and sophisticated cynic, grabbed her by the hands and danced her around the room. (I nearly did the same to him, though I don't suspect that wouldn't have gone down so well!)
They then apparently spent the evening scripting, rehearsing and then filming a horror movie and didn't go to bed until some unholy hour. Dd loved it.
I picked them both up this pm, and we hacked on over to waterpolo with low expectations - I thought DS might fall asleep in the pool, but he perked up on seeing another set of his friends, and has decided that he wants to go back every day next week for the half-term waterpolo fiesta.
I love this life, these people, these children. We are so privileged.
And so we go back to the single HE parents being forced onto JSA issue with "a short discussion by the
ReplyDeleteSixth Delegated Legislation Committee on 30th October" followed by a vote in the House.
So, a few days to bug our MPs to vote it down. Even if only on the grounds that the brink of recession isn't the best time to be forcing more people into a shrinking job market.
The House of Lords weren't hot on it http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/uploads/30th%20Report.pdf
and the Social Services Advisory Committee said it was a bad idea http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm74/7480/7480.pdf
but our glorious leaders still seem dead set on the idea.
They'd never come after you. They after the parents of children who don't socialise as much or are not doing all those actitivies.
ReplyDeleteYou continue to give them the ammunition they need with your double speak. In one way you want your privacy to be respected, in another you are eager to use your children as proof they do what they want them to do anyway.
Actually you're wrong Leo. I don't like using my children as proof of anything, I rarely do it, and saw this as a lapse rather than as a good example of what to say.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think I was using double speak. I do think that what my children did yesterday would not look like an education to plenty of LA officials and that I would be in trouble for it.
I know that a mother of school friends of Ds was hugely shocked by their day as I described it and clearly did think I had been irresponsible and had neglected their education.