Shedding more light on the latest home education 'scandal'

I have been poking around, trying to find out what this famous scandal is that Barry Sheerman has been hearing about. here is something which might be relevant.  A ministerial working group, made up of MPs like Eric Pickles and Nick Gibb,  published last year a report on tackling inequalities experienced by Gypsies and travellers. Very laudable, I hear you say! The report may be found here:

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/discrimination/files/roma_uk_strategy_annex2_en.pdf

Observe this part:

The Department for Education will introduce the following measure designed 
to tackle poor attendance among Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils. 

Existing legislation (set out in Section 444 (6) of the 1996 Education Act) 
protects mobile Gypsy and Traveller families from prosecution for their 
children’s non-attendance provided that: 

• they are engaged in a trade of business of such a nature that requires 
them to travel from place to place; 
• the child has attended at a school as a registered pupil as regularly as the 
nature of that trade permits; and 
• any child aged six or over has attended school for at least 200 half day 
sessions during the preceding year. 

The Government believes that this concession has come to be seen by some 
schools - and by Gypsy and Traveller families themselves - as giving tacit 
consent for mobile pupils to benefit only from a significantly shortened school 
year. We intend to look again at the impact of this legislation and to consult on 
whether it should be repealed. 

In parallel with this action, we intend to review the statutory guidance in 
relation to Children Missing Education and will make sure this reflects the 
need to identify Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, who are missing out on 

their education.

A consultation was held this year  on the proposed  change to the  provisions of the 1996 Education Act and many Gypsies and travellers expressed strong opposition to it. Possibly, other home educators felt that it didn't really affect them. The fools! Notice this little bit:

we intend to review the statutory guidance in 
relation to Children Missing Education and will make sure this reflects the 
need to identify Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, who are missing out on 

their education.

What is not stated explicitly here is that most of those about whom concern is being expressed are technically being home educated. If the guidance on Children Missing from Education is going to be altered, then it will be in a way which refers to home education. For reasons at which I have already looked today, it is unlikely that it would be framed in such a way as only to apply to Gypsies! Readers who wish to know a little about consultation into a change in the law, which closed on February 22nd this year, may see here:

http://www.acert.org.uk/blog/2012/12/11/education-of-nomadic-children-under-threat/


Just to make it perfectly clear, what we are talking about here are changes to the 1996 Education Act, which will only affect Gypsies and travellers, and also a review of the guidance relating to Children Missing from Education; which could affect every home educated child in the country.