Well now that the draft details of the new legislation has been published, I should imagine that most home educators, even the autonomous ones, will be breathing a sigh of relief! It will not as widely feared, be a criminal offence to fail to register for home education. The local authority will not even be visiting homes routinely, at least not as long as these parents have the sense that the Lord gave to a goat, anyway. Section 3 d of the new regulations says that the local authority will be;
"visiting, at least once in the registration period, the place (or
at least one of the places) where education is provided to the
child."
What could be better? All that a parent who is determined to avoid having local authority officers in her home needs to do is say that the bulk of the education is taking place in the local library. All that will be necessary is meeting somebody in the library. It is a perfect face saving clause for both sides and must have surely been inserted for that very reason. I shall be making a fuller post later, but in the meantime, it is to be hoped that home educating parents will be content with this hugely watered down version of the Badman recommendations. Seeing children alone is also out if either parent or child object. Another needless anxiety removed.
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I agree that it is good news...but what about the bit that says that registration will be withdrawn for families who refuse to cooperate with the LA?
ReplyDeleteOne could argue that it will result in the same end....although actually I think it would be stupid for families to hold out against such pressure- since surely it would be more sensible to keep what is precious to them by cooperating!
Do you have a link to them Simon ?
ReplyDeleteI haven't even seen the queen's speech yet. Has it been youtubed ?
I'll be late for my own funeral at this rate.
The bill:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmbills/008/10008.45-51.html
(3B)
ReplyDelete"In determining for the purposes of subsection (3A)(b) whether it is
expedient that a child should attend school, an authority shall
disregard any education being provided to the child as a home-
educated child.”
I don't understand that at all. If the LA thinks the child should go to school, that they'll disregard their education currently provided? I'm quite confused.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmbills/008/10008.38-44.html#m01s
ReplyDeleteIs this what we're after?
Section 19F 1 E say that if the parent or child 'objects' to the meetings, and the LA decide that they can't get the information their looking for wrt section 19 (E) 4, then they can remove or refuse to put the child on the home education register.
ReplyDeletePresumably you have to be on the register in order to home educate? What happens if you're not? How will they get all the people without access to this information on their registers who are otherwise unknown? I think this is completely unworkable.
It's very simple. Once ContactPoint is operating at full pace, all those children with blank fields for educational setting will be contacted. Those who are home educating will be advised to apply for registration. It is up to the local authorities to do all the leg work here. there is no onus on parents to do anything.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - what happened to the 'access to GCSE's?'. Access to sport and music in schools? Where are my carrots????
ReplyDeleteFair point Simon. But I think there's a risk they'll make lots of people consider becoming travelers. I've got my eye on a nice campervan as we speak! lol
ReplyDeleteOr I might move to Wales.
Or stay abroad for 8 months of the year.
Ahhh - I could do with some sunshine :)
"Or stay abroad for 8 months of the year."
ReplyDeleteIt's not HE paradise everywhere else, check carefully before you load the van. I have never HEed in the UK but all my initial info came from UK sites. got a big shock when I found out what the regs were here...took three years just to get clarification on what they actually were.
PS - Thanks for the link anon.
Would another country be interested in what you are doing if you are still officially resident in the UK? I've spoken to several home educators in this situation and they generally seem to be ignored.
ReplyDeleteMost countries are more concerned about what the children of their own citizens are up to. Why would they want to make work for themselves? I suppose there is scope for misleading people about what country you are resident in and so slipping through the cracks of both countries provision in this way. Why would anybody want to go to all that trouble though? Wouldn't it be easier just to see some fool from the local council once a year?
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteWould another country be interested in what you are doing if you are still officially resident in the UK? I've spoken to several home educators in this situation and they generally seem to be ignored."
In some countries you don't have a hope in hell of being ignored once you no longer qualify for tourist status. In others you take a significant gamble on being on the wrong side of the law not just in terms of education but also under the regulations pertaining to length of stay permitted before residency must be registered. In others it is less of a risky thing to do cos it's less work for the authorities to pretend you are not there.
Less risky means concerns are less likely to be raised by the authorities. However if they are raised by a third party (a neighbour or the local policeman who keeps seeing you and your kids out and about during school time), the concern is likely to be acted on especially if it went beyond a verbal compliant and something was put in writing.
The mode of acting on the concern might be benign like a polite phone call/letter that asks for clarification for the sake of protocol all the way through to the police and social services turning up on your doorstep and jumping up and down demanding answers both from you and your kids because now they can't afford to ignore you because the complainer has forced their hand and made you officially flouting the law and there is a paper trail that could land them in it if they do nothing.
Some people do get away with it without any problems, but the fact that they do doesn't mean everybody else does too and the fall out being risked isn't always worth it.
Pick carefully. Do much research. Find out what the worst case scenario is as well as the best case scenario.
Let me know if you find somewhere cos I have an inbox full of frustrated people who want to combine living aboard while HEing and can't find anywhere that doesn't require compromising their either their lifestyle or their tranquility or both.
"In some countries you don't have a hope in hell of being ignored once you no longer qualify for tourist status."
ReplyDeleteMaybe the answer is to let out your home in the UK (to provide some income), buy a camper van and spend a month or two in each location before moving on.
"Maybe the answer is to let out your home in the UK (to provide some income), buy a camper van and spend a month or two in each location before moving on."
ReplyDeleteThe traveler lifestyle is not one that is free from discrimination. It can highlight you and your kids presence to the authorities in a way that staying in B+Bs or short stay accommodation does not.
There appears to be an idea that as long as you are a "nice expat" rather than a "scummy immigrant" than you are home and dry.
As far as heavy handed sanctions for infractions go there is some truth to that (some, not guaranteed), however do expect to risk some extra interest and up close and personal examination of your family, your lifestyle, your intentions and your personal information if at first glance you look like you might be "nomadic"..... each time you move you could find yourself required to go through that process again. In some countries you may be asked to present yourself at the local police station in order for that process to occur and be logged.
A month or two is more than long enough in many places for confused and concerned locals/authorities to come knocking at your camper door wanting to know what your plans are with regards to their locality and you being in it. If they think you are some new kind of Rom you could find your ID being checked, your camper inspected for infractions and many questions being asked as a regular occurrence.
While some might have a whale of a time and never get bothered it is a far from a guarantee. You'd have to be prepared to gamble your privacy being invaded far more frequently, far less politely and to a far greater degree than it would be in the UK, even under the new proposals.
It's a bit like roulette, some will hit the jackpot, others won't be nearly so lucky.
Choose your destinations very carefully. Not just on a national level but also on a regional level.
A whole heap of issues need to be looked at if anybody is seriously considering this option and wants to shorten their odds of doing a frying pan to fire. Both in terms of having their privacy invaded or getting their kids used to seeing their parents regularly complying with requests to prove who they are and answer questions about themselves and handing over their data in way they would not have been exposed to back in the UK.
Your lack of a right to privacy in some countries, tourist or not, may be well outside your comfort zone, especially if you look like you might be a member of a group that experiences discrimination.
The same beady eyed "can't expect best case scenario" mentality towards the new HE proposals really should be utilized for any potential solutions.
"The traveler lifestyle is not one that is free from discrimination. It can highlight you and your kids presence to the authorities in a way that staying in B+Bs or short stay accommodation does not."
ReplyDeleteHow would they distinguish you from an ordinary holiday maker? We've taken month long holidays abroad without drawing attention to ourselves.
"How would they distinguish you from an ordinary holiday maker? We've taken month long holidays abroad without drawing attention to ourselves."
ReplyDeleteYou'd distinguish yourselves, normal tourists don't usually pitch up and stay for a month or two even in high season, they tend to wander around seeing as much as they can see. That's why parking areas for campervans created for tourists have limited stays imposed to make sure they are only used by genuine tourists rather than travelers in some countries/regions.
Pitching up and staying for a month or two off season, or out of the expensive touristy areas, spending your days not doing the usual touristy thing all the time, mainly cos a lot of them are closed for a good part of the year, distinguishes the nomad from the tourist even more so.
The reality is that campervans are associated with people the police and locals in some countries/regions are not keen on having in their village, town or area of the city. They tend to be subject to more stop and searches, more ad hoc license plate checks and more suspicion than your average car. If you are on the road 8 months of the year, every year, until your kids are all over 16 your probability of incurring unwelcome intrusions into your privacy is somewhat higher than the same family on a months holiday.
cont ...
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking since the topic first came up, have you thought of maybe looking into backpacking in Asia ?
I lived in Thailand for a few years (but left over 15 ago so things may have changed - it's an idea to check out NOT a recommendation of "do this, all will be fine") and did come across families doing the extended travel thing. Some did incur the interest of the local police, but that was because they were either utterly neglectful of their children or because the parents had sought work, or they had been taking drugs. I didn't see or hear of anybody being hassled just because their kids were on an extremely long holiday. The majority seemed to wander utterly free of any interest in what they were doing or why. I don't know what it costs these days but back in the day the outlay for food and accommodation was a damn sight cheaper than motoring around 1st and 2nd world countries. As long as you don't try and settle anywhere outside of the touristy areas or spend an inordinately long time in one place I think the odds are good that, with so many of the nation's own children to worry about, nobody in authority will give a second thought to the kids of a family that seems to be taking a very extended holiday without showing any signs of trying to settle, work or overstay their tourist visa. It's just a tentative idea based on what might be very out of date information, it still needs to be carefully researched if it sounds like your cup of tea.
I've spoken to several families who have travelled through Europe, staying a month or so in each location without problem. One had a disabled child which involved hospital visits for supplies at various points. Where have you heard of these problems happening? Maybe some places are better than others?
ReplyDelete"I've spoken to several families who have travelled through Europe, staying a month or so in each location without problem."
ReplyDeleteYes. I know.
If, as far as you are concerned, that is a good enough basis for your choices then there is not much I can really add to what I have already written.
Either you are open to the idea of research and a cautious stance, when it comes to protecting yourself from potential unwanted (but perfectly legal outside of the UK) intrusions into your privacy/data, before making a decision ...or you are not.
So my research carried out by questioning people that have done it doesn't count, but yours does even though you are not prepared to say where problems happened and how you came across the information?
ReplyDelete