Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Written evidence submitted by Kati Morrish to The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Committee (CWSB 58)

Introduction

I am a home educating parent of my 13-year-old son and have been home educating for almost two years. I am concerned about some of the areas in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill with regards to home education. The Bill shows a lack of understanding of what home education is about.

Executive Summary 

In this submission I will cover the following:

· Background – our story and how we came to home education

· Areas of Concern - a look at my main areas of concern in this Bill from my perspective as a home educator. These concerns include: 

o Content and maintenance of registers (436C)

o Provision of information to local authorities: parents (436D)

o School attendance orders (436I)

o Offence of failure to comply with school attendance order (436P)

· Recommendations for Further Action

Background

My husband and I have three children. Our youngest has autism and anxiety and is demand avoidant. We believe he experienced school trauma during the summer term of 2022. Although we had already seen a small amount of school avoidance prior to this, he had mostly been able to cope enough to get through the school day but after this point, he couldn’t enter the classroom. Over time, his school anxiety increased, and his mental health suffered to the point where he was experiencing burnout, and it was ha rd for him to even attend activities he enjoyed or to see his friends. We deregistered him from school in February 2023 and began our home education journey. Shortly after dereg istering him, we started to see a significant improvement in his mental wellbeing, and this has continued to grow. Home education suits him so much and the difference in his happiness is huge. Because of this, his enthusiasm to learn has increased and he is accessing a better education now , and is more engaged , than when he was at school . Being home educated has allowed us to tailor the e ducation to suit his special educational needs ; w hen he was at school, he wasn’t receiving an education that was suitable to his needs. There are many different styles of home education, and we use a mix of formal, structured learning, conversational learning and self-directed learning.

Areas of Concern Surrounding the Bill

· 436C – part 1, d) Learning doesn’t only happen when an adult is teaching; many home educated children engage in self-directed learning. Home education is flexible; learning isn’t always ‘formal’ and happens all the time through conversations and going about our every day lives. The time can’t be quantified in this way because there are many styles of home education other than formal, structured learning.

· 436C – part 2, k) If there is any other information, it should be written into the bill, not added at a later date without the opportunity for families to address it.

· 436C – part 3 There are many local authorities that do not understand home education. This proposal would mean that local authorities can ask whatever they want. There needs to be standardisation over what local authorities can ask for.

· 436D – part 2, a) This means that the local authority would be able to ask for information whenever and as often as they want. Currently, we provide information on an annual basis. It isn’t necessary for it be any more frequent. It would be an undue burden on home education parents (and also an interruption on our home educating lives) to have to frequently provide information.

· 436I – part 2, a) and c) This will be misused to enforce home visits. Many home educated children are neurodivergent. Their home is their safe space and home visits will likely have a negative effect on their mental health and well-being. It’s also intrusive and would infringe on the privacy of family members.

· 436P – part 8 Currently, if the education a parent is providing is suitable, but the local authority refuses to accept that (this commonly happens) then the parent can go to court, where they can show a judge that the education is suitable. By increasing the penalty from a fine to imprisonment, many families won’t take the risk of losing and their children will be forced to go to school.

Recommendations for Further Action

· Have a proper consultation with the home education community about what changes need to be made to the Bill.

· Consult with experts such as Dr. Naomi Fisher and Jenn Hodge.

January 2025