Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Written evidence submitted by Dr C. Biggs to The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Committee (CWSB79)

Introduction

I have worked with children and families for over 27 years, initially as a GP and more recently as a Teaching Assistant in a Primary School, working predominantly with children with additional needs. I am also a mother to two teenagers. Through my work and through raising my own children I have seen first hand that school is not always the best place for all children. I have grave concerns about the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as it removes parental choice as to where and how a child is educated and places undue burden on parents who have chosen to home educate their children.

Our story

My children loved Primary School and I assumed they would continue along the traditional path of school, GCSEs, A-Levels then University. For my son, this path suits him and he is currently studying A levels with hopes to go to University. For my daughter, the path has not been so easy and we have ended up on a path less travelled, that of Elective Home Education.

My daughter started to struggle in year 7. She would come home with tales about the things that had happened in school which had upset her. Behaviour of others was a big one for her. She’s a quiet, bright girl and wanted to learn but found the behaviour of other pupils interfered with her learning due to constant disruptions in the classroom. She didn’t feel safe due to their unpredictable behaviour and began to struggle socially. I didn’t know about home education then and thought she’d just have to manage and become more resilient, after all that's what the schools tell you when children struggle. And so we continued until part way through year 8 when she developed a physical illness which meant she was unable to go to school. After several months at home of rest and recuperation we felt she was physically able to return to school part time. We arranged with school for her to try and attend one lesson. Her favourite lesson with her favourite teacher. This was when I realised it wasn’t going to be that easy. My daughter couldn't go to school. Not wouldn't, couldn’t. The thought of entering the school building consumed her with fear.

After several months of trying to go to school, emails, meetings, phone calls and a lot of distress for the whole family we decided there had to be a better option and began to research alternative types of education including home education. We decided home education was the best option for her and deregistered her from school. That was a year ago. It has been a slow process. School had caused more trauma than we initially realised, but over time with lots of love and patience she is starting to recover. She now attends lots of clubs and activities and has made new friends. At school she struggled socially - break times and lunch times were especially difficult for her, but now in the right environments where she feels safe and respected, she is thriving.

That’s the bottom line really. In school she didn’t feel safe. Children simply can’t learn when they don’t feel safe. At home, and doing the activities she enjoys that she has chosen to attend, she feels safe. Then she can flourish. School is not always the best option. Do I wish I had deregistered her earlier, absolutely. Does she enjoy being home educated, absolutely. Would l send her back to school just because an EHE officer who doesn’t know her thinks it’s in her best interests, absolutely not. Would you send your children into an environment where they didn’t feel safe?

Areas of concern

After reading the Bill I have a great number of concerns but I am going to focus on those that specifically impact my family's current circumstances.

Clause 25 - 438B Duty to register CNIS

Do we need another register? LA EHE teams already have a list of home educated children. When pupils are deregistered from a school the school has a duty to pass on information to the LA including any educational or safeguarding concerns. A CNIS register will not find so called "missing children" and will cost huge sums of money.

Clause 25 - 436C Content and maintenance of registers

(1d) This is almost impossible to quantify. Education happens from waking in the morning to going to sleep at night. It varies day to day and week to week. Flexibility is one of home education's main benefits.

(1e) This is unworkable and puts an unnecessary burden on home educating families. What do you class as education? Is Granny visiting and teaching your child to knit considered educational? Is discussing books with the local librarian educational? Is going to Guides or Scouts educational? What about dance class, violin lessons, swimming lessons? It is not feasible to list all these activities including postal addresses. What about online learning? Lots of home educated children take part in online lessons or watch Youtube videos as part of their learning. Do we need to provide details of every website they use? Informing the LA within 15 days of any changes (4c) is also unworkable.

(2) How will LA’s keep our children's information safe? We know data breaches happen. This is a lot of information to hold about a child including protected characteristics (2a). It goes against the privacy of the child and could actually create more issues regarding safeguarding. Who will have access to this information? It could also put parents off from seeking medical advice or support. (2k) is particularly vague and worrying.

(3) Any other information the LA considers appropriate. This is too vague and open to misinterpretation and misuse.

Clause 25 - 436E Provision of information to LA : education providers

What do you define as out-of-school education? (2a) defines it as any other kind of structured education. Does that include gymnastics classes? Forest Schools? What is the prescribed amount of time? (2b) No specific time frames have been mentioned. (3a) How would a provider know a child attending their class or activity is home educated in order for them to notify the LA? (3b) Providers wouldn’t necessarily hold this level of information about the children who attend and if they do may not feel comfortable passing that information to the LA especially with GDPR. There is a danger education providers may stop home educated children from attending due to section (3).

Clause 25 - 436I School attendance orders

What do you class as suitable education? (1bi) There is already a postcode lottery with regards to how you are treated by the EHE teams. Some are unfortunately not supportive of home education and are renowned for being very difficult and serving lots of SAOs. There needs to be consistency and clarity. Will the EHE team be aware and supportive of different types of home education and different learning styles including SENs. Home education is not school at home. That is why it is so fantastic. We can adapt it to suit the needs of our children.

(2a+c) must consider all the settings where the child is educated and where the child lives. As with previous sections, what is the definition of education? Will the LA need to visit Scout groups and swimming lessons? They are educational. With regards to visiting the child’s homes this will create undue stress for parents and especially for children many of whom are home educated because of school trauma or SENs. Home is their safe space. What criteria will the EHE team use to determine if a home is suitable? This is very subjective and therefore open to misuse and could discriminate against lower socioeconomic families. As part of the home visit would the staff member need to interview the children? As mentioned, lots of children who are home educated are so because of difficulties in schools and have SENs, mental health issues or have suffered trauma at school and may therefore struggle to talk to a stranger. I know my daughter would. Would our education then be deemed unsuitable because she hasn’t told the EHE staff member about what she has been learning? And if we were issued with a SAO and I refused to comply (because, like I said earlier, would you send your child into an environment where they don't feel safe) then I could receive a custodial sentence. How does that help anyone?

Conclusion

I hope you can see from our story that school isn’t always the right environment for all children. Home education allows our children to feel safe, supported and to thrive. It should be up to parents (in collaboration with their children) to decide where and how this education takes place, taking into account their differing needs. Parents should be supported by the LA EHE teams rather than feel threatened. If the government truly cares about the wellbeing of children then it needs to address the fundamental issues within the school system particularly for those with SEND. Threatening to send children back to those same schools is not the answer.

January 2025