Congratulations on drawing attention to the serious issues raised in your double page spread about home education and the threat to educational freedom posed by the Badman Review (The Argus, August 7).
The review was commissioned by a government that is obsessed with being seen to “do something”, but much less concerned about the impact of its hasty policies on real children.
Despite Graham Badman finding no evidence of a problem with home education, the government is rushing ahead to implement his draconian recommendations.
No sooner was the ink dry on his report than it announced a consultation on the most intrusive changes he suggested. What’s worse, legislation to “improve monitoring of home education” has already been announced for the next session of Parliament, before the consultation has even been completed.
No wonder home educators feel that the whole process is a foregone conclusion. Now that the Children, Families and Schools Select Committee of MPs has decided to investigate this whole business, the Government should do the decent thing and call a halt to the consultation and the changes to the law.
The freedom to home educate should matter to all parents.
For some, like Ros Barber who was quoted in your article, it enables them to keep their children safe – surely the primary duty of any parent.
Do we really want council officers deciding for us whether we can take action to protect our own children from bullying and abuse?
I urge all readers of The Argus to make a stand for this basic freedom and write to their MP to call for a halt to the consultation.
Dani Ahrens
Southampton Street, Brighton
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