Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

 Written evidence submitted by Written evidence submitted by Carly Bateman to The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Committee (CWSB19). 

· Section A - Personal experience of the education system and reasons for choosing to Home educate

· Section B - Concerns I would like to raise with sections of the bill.

My name is Carly Bateman, I am submitting evidence as an individual to explain the reason we came to Home education and our concerns within the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Section A –

I have been Home Educating my daughter for a year. We came to Home Education due to Emotionally Based School Avoidance and unmet SEN. In January 2023, I deregistered my 7 year old from a Mainstream Primary School. This was not a decision we as a family took lightly. I left a job I loved; our family income has halved. We had no other option though by this point, my daughter was experiencing was I now know to be Autistic burnout, from three years of not having her needs identified and ignored in the classroom.

By the time she had started Year two, she was experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance. She has struggled through Reception and Year One, she was physically pulled off me each day. She was distraught each day when I dropped her off, and she was shrinking before my eyes at home. She had crippling separation and generalised anxiety and was having violent meltdowns daily.

My previously happy little girl was not able to manage in school, we had no idea why. School would tell me each day that she was fine once she had calmed down, this was not the case. Whilst in school, she chewed holes in her clothes, she picked the skin on her fingers to pieces, she bit her nails down until they bled.

It was evident by Year One that she had sensory issues and issues with communication and language. She found phonics and reading difficult and would freeze when it came to having to write sentences or read out loud in the class. She failed her phonics screening in years one and two.

I had meetings with the Class teachers, all who told me that she was trying her best and not to worry. At the beginning of Year 2, I met with the SENCO to ask for a Neuro Developmental referral, she worked only 10 hours a week and explained to me that she had 13 referrals to make before ours, she did not think we needed to look at an EHCP before Year 4 and it would need to be in place for Secondary School. I contacted the Doctor to ask him to make a Neurodevelopmental referral, he stated that he could not as he didn’t know her and it needed to come from the SENCO. I met with her two more times over the year to let her know it was vital she made the referral; she ensured me she would. Due to her capacity and huge workloard, she wasn’t able to. I live in a rural area, the waiting list for an Autism/ADHD assessment is nearly three years long. This is not acceptable.

By the beginning of year three, my daughter was completely refusing school. She was placed on a part time timetable due to "extreme anxiety", of an hour a day. Our whole days were spent trying to get her into the building for an hour to access Numeracy and Literacy. She was a broken little girl, she couldn’t be on her own, she couldn’t wear clothes, and she had nightmares and night terrors.

We deregistered after three months of a part time timetable. It was not possible to continue to live like this, my daughter was experiencing a mental health crisis. We paid privately to see a Mental Health Nurse; she asked if I had considered the possibility that my daughter was Autistic and that we should move quickly to get her an assessment. I investigated how we could do this; we could pay to go Privately which was around £3000 or we could use the Right to Choose Option. We couldn’t wait on an NHS waiting list for Three years! She also said we should seek a full SLT assessment and an OT assessment. We have paid for both privately due to the ridiculously long NHS lists for support in our area.

Within the year my daughter has been out of school, she has received a diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder, ADHD combined type and Autism with a PDA profile. Is it any wonder that three years in school with no support, or any of these conditions identified or even suspected, almost broke, her? No child at the age of Seven should be unable to wear clothes, or leave the house due to Autistic burnout. I wish with all my heart that no parent ever has to go through what we have been through.

Home Education has allowed us to let our daughter access an education in a way that is tailored and appropriate to her needs. She is beginning to Thrive, she can access the outside world again, she is beginning to trust that we as a family are able to put her needs first and not force her into an education setting every day that was breaking her. She is starting to heal from the Trauma, she can see that she has a future, that she can learn and is not stupid. None of this would be possible without the right to Home Educate as we do. We follow a child led approach due to her PDA profile, we strive to give her high standards of numeracy and literacy with the support of Speech and Language therapists and tutors we pay for privately.

With a SEND system in crisis, the lengthy and all-consuming battles to secure an EHCP, limited spaces at suitable specialist schools, limited ability to obtain EOTAS provisions, is it any wonder that parents are exercising their right to Home Educate their children and provide a rounded education that tailors to the child and doesn’t cause anymore trauma.

We are already known to the LA and are required to provide yearly reports to check the suitability of our education. Placing us on a register with a unique identifier number will not change this in any way. My daughter is Autistic, the thought of someone coming into her home to check on her would be incredibly distressing to her, it is her safe space. We regularly see the Doctor, the Dentist, an SLT and a Play Therapist, we are not ever going to "Fall through the cracks" nor is my child at risk and needs to be safeguarded in any extra way than I as a parent already do.

Section B - I would like to raise the following points of concern within the Children’s wellbeing and Schools Bill.

I am confused by the purpose of the Home Education Register. LA’s already keep a register for Children who are Home Educated in the area, we as parents report to them yearly for them to check that our child is receiving a full time and suitable education. The proposed register does not include Children missing in education, so will do nothing to protect those children.

436C Part 1 -The proposed register requires an unobtainable level of details from Home Educators

A, and b, is information the school already passes on to the LA at deregistration.

D, it is mot quantifiable as hours in homes education are flexible

Part 2,

K, any other information should be written into the bill and not added at a later stage as secondary information.

Part 3,

I am concerned that Las may be able to add in their own criteria, this would cause a hige overstepping on their part. I f a register must be in place, the criteria must be uniform across all LA’s

436D

1b, Does this mean that both parents will need to provide the information.

2 b, It is unrealistic to expect Home Educator’s to update the LA within 15 days every time they try a new group, tutor or website.

436E

1a, and b, plus 3 a, and b,

I have grave concerns that this information from small and unspecified groups will lead to groups refusing to accept Home educators, Scouts, Cubs or Swimming lessons for example. Not all groups know a child is home educated as it is not a criteria known in afterschool and weekend groups.

Schedule 31A

This section places an unrealistic burden on parents to provide extensive and detailed information, which many may find impossible to supply. Failure to meet these demands could lead to fines or imprisonment (7), penalizing parents who aim to educate their child in a way that suits the child’s needs but does not align with the bill's excessive requirements.

436H

This serves as a replacement for the existing 437(1) notice to satisfy.

5(c)

Why should the Local Authority (LA) have the authority to determine what is in the child’s best interests?

6

It is unreasonable to penalize parents who are unable to provide the extensive details required for the register, especially if there are no concerns about the quality of education being provided.

436I

2(a) and (c): These provisions are likely to be misused and misinterpreted to justify forced home visits before an SAO is even considered-something that already occurs.

There is no consideration for cases where a home visit could harm the child, such as for autistic children, for whom the home serves as a vital safe space.

What qualifications or training will the person conducting these visits have?

Is this even lawful? Currently, only individuals with a warrant have the right to enter a home.

Refusing a home visit to protect a child’s safe space could be unfairly used against families. Given that many LAs mistreat families on a weekly basis, it’s unreasonable to place such trust in their decision-making. Even families with nothing to hide may feel the need to protect themselves from unjust treatment.

436K

This section adds unnecessary complexity to the existing 437(1) and SAO processes. The proposed measures are likely to confuse both LAs and home educators, whereas the current procedures are already adequate.

436P

8: This is deeply concerning. At present, many LAs misuse SAOs to enforce compliance with unlawful policies. If a parent provides a suitable education but the LA disagrees, they can currently present their case in court with minimal risk-typically, the worst-case scenario is a fine.

Under this proposed section, penalties would increase, discouraging families from defending their case in court, even if their education provision is suitable. This opens the door for LAs to misuse these powers further, with little accountability.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and consider our concerns with the bill. I hope that amendments will reflect the grave concerns of thousands of Home Educators who feel there are being used a Scapegoats.

January 2025.