March For Children: A United Stand Against The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Written by and published with the permission of Poppy Coles.
On 18th May, home educating families, teachers, SEN families and many others will be gathering as one united voice to stand against the government's proposed Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The Bill will radically change academies, independent schools and home education in England and Wales, bringing all more in line with a state controlled education - an education which is failing so many children already. Contrary to the government's rhetoric that the Bill will protect the wellbeing of children, it does far more to discriminate against and target independent institutions and a minority community in a bid for more state influence over children's education. Instead of protecting the interests of children it will instead detrimentally effect the quality of their education and their mental wellbeing.
With proposals to introduce costly VAT charges to independent schools (many of which are vital to SEN children), harsher school fines and punishments for non-attendance, a loss of independent governance for academies and tighter, overreaching restrictions intended for home educating families, amongst others, the clauses within the Bill take no consideration of the impact such measures will have on children, their families and the quality of their education. The government wish to remove any form of autonomy in education, pushing the constricts of a standardised and outdated national curriculum onto all who've thus avoided it. It will restrict the quality and diversity of education received by children in academies, independent schools and through home education.
Home educators are perhaps set to be most severely effected by the Bill. Under the Education Act 1996 a parent or guardian has the responsibility to ensure their child receives an education "either by regular attendance at school or otherwise", and many choose to take an alternative route if their child is struggling in school, or if they feel a more suitable education could be offered at home. Despite their legitimate action, home educators have been targeted and criminalised throughout the Bill's campaign, with the abuse of children being consistently correlated with the act of home educating. There is no evidential correlation between the two, but it's being used as a factual statement to justify the need for harsher regulation on the home educating community. I care deeply for this community, for I thrived during my own time amongst it and now help support the next generation of home educated children with educational resources. It's not a community founded on a desire to abuse, but rather on a deep respect for children and their individual, unique needs. I'm passionate about protecting home education in its current form for others like me. However, the government's proposals have the potential to drastically reshape the lives of those who choose home education as an alternative to an education system which doesn't suit all.
The Bill oversteps lawful boundaries, breaching several acts which were put in place to protect our rights. Local authorities (LAs) will be given the ability to deny a child's deregistration from school if they're under a Section 47 enquiry (which can be triggered for the slightest reasons) or have been placed on a child protection plan, regardless of whether it's in the best interests of the child or not, with little ability for a parent or guardian to contest. This threatens the ability for parents or guardians to remove their child from the school system if it's negatively impacting their wellbeing. Data collection will be heavy, with many personal details required as part of the Children Not In School (CNIS) register, some of which have the possibility to endanger vulnerable families who were victims of abuse, or similar, if breached.
It will give LAs the power to enact stricter monitoring on home education provision, with the need for consistent, heavily detailed reporting by home educating parents whenever any change in educational provision occurs. Home educated children enjoy a much broader educational experience than that offered in a standard educational setting, learning through many mediums and through real life experiences. Some resemble more traditional learning styles, whilst others are more autonomous and child led, but all help to foster a lifelong passion for learning. Each day, or even hour, can see a variety of changes in the content of education, with the fluid, unquantifiable nature of education giving home educating parents cause for concern at the unrealistic reporting expected of them. The need for educational providers to supply details of home educated students who access their services is also a concern, not least because of its breach of data privacy, but also due to the threats of monetary penalties if an educational provider fails to do so when requested. These particular measures will see the quality of educational provision for home educated children diminished, both as a result of the timely burden extra reporting will place on parents and guardians, and the potential for educational providers to withdraw support for the home educating community for fear of the repercussions of the Bill's measures.
LAs have little understanding of the nature of home education and many in the home educating community are fearful that their educational provision will not be judged fairly by authorities who do not understand their ethos. This ignorance has the very real possibility to wrongly place children back into a school system which hampers their growth and wellbeing, with threats of intrusive home visits and school attendance orders if education is deemed insufficient. All are an extreme overreach of power and threaten the rights of both children and parents alike.
It's vital we all stand against this Bill, for it won't just have implementations on any one party - once such a law is passed through it will give the government grounds to propose yet more heavy handed bills, with the ability to effect all our lives. This is bigger than any single issue. It's an affront on parental rights and responsibility, regardless of whether you're a home educating parent or take advantage of the school system. It undermines a parent's ability to judge what's best for their child, with the new government policies surrounding children all seeking to place an increasing amount of their care into the hands of the state, threatening the bond between parent and child.
These measures will be costly, invasive and will give no further protection for children at risk. The Bill does nothing to address the failings within schools, from a lack of SEND support to huge increases in mental health issues amongst students, and will only act to further advance the severity of these deep routed, societal problems. Government funding should be used to improve our education systems to make them more accessible to those who do wish to access them, as well as ensuring current, established safeguarding procedures are more effectively used, rather than funding a costly register of children not in school. There's already sufficient measures in place to protect all vulnerable children, with the government targeting a minority community to try and address a wider, systemic issue. This isn't an educational problem, but rather one of failings by those who already hold the power to protect those at risk.
The protest of 18th May brings together all these concerns to create a march for children - a visible, united stand to show the government that we do not agree with their intended policies and that so many feel they'll do far more harm to children than good. If you, too, believe in the importance of protecting parental and children's rights, the right of educational choice and the need for a reform of the school system please consider supporting the campaign against the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The family friendly protest will begin at 2pm at Whitehall before following a pre-determined route. This will be followed by a two and a half hour rally with a number of speakers highlighting the issues with the Bill, and how it could have been drafted more effectively with children's wellbeing in mind. It would be fantastic if you could go along and join the protest to add another individual voice to the cause!
You can find out more details about the march here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FLtnUW7h3/
If you can't make it to the protest due to prior commitments or additional needs (anxieties, disabilities etc.) don't feel downheartened or discouraged, for there's plenty of ways you can help out at home. Due to autism, OCD and anxieties in our own family unit we won't be able to attend the protest, but I'm using my own personal strengths and abilities to play my part in the campaign.
Share this article as widely as possible to highlight the wide range of issues the Bill presents and to raise awareness of the march, even if you can't attend yourself.
Add your name to the following petitions to help each reach their signature goals:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722377
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/702270
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/716515
Even if the petitions receive a negative response from the government it can be used as extra evidence of the lack of consideration and support the government is truly offering those who'll be effected by their Bill.
You can also sign this brilliant open letter calling for any unlawful, overreaching clauses to be withdrawn from the bill:
Check out the following pages to keep up-to-date with the campaign:
Stop the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (organiser of the protest)
Jenn Hodge - Doing Education Differently
https://homeeducationaction.substack.com/
Together we can fight back against the overreaches of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill and show the government the power of our united voice!
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Handy links to everything are on this sharable webpage.
