Keir Starmer speech on home education: why families are concerned
What Keir Starmer said about "homeschooling" and why it matters
I am genuinely outraged.
Listening to recent comments from Keir Starmer's speech in Hastings left me stunned. To hear home education spoken about in the same breath as extremism. To hear it framed as something that needs “tougher regulation” because schools are supposedly essential for integration. It felt deeply offensive.
I am a home educating parent. I know hundreds of home educating families across England. We are not against British values. We are not disengaged. We are not a threat. We are parents doing our job.
Home ed is not about opting out of society. It is about stepping up for children who need something different. Children who were failed, harmed, overlooked, or simply did not fit a system that was never designed for everyone. We do this thoughtfully, responsibly, and with huge personal sacrifice.
What angers me most is the tone. This constant suggestion that parents are the problem. That if you choose home education, you must justify yourself to the state. That responsibility to the government should come before responsibility to your own child.
That is not wellbeing. That is control.
If this government truly cared about suitable education for children, it would invest in support. It would offer resources. It would work alongside families. Instead, we see proposals that widen surveillance, raise suspicion, and erode trust. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill does not feel like protection. It feels like power being pulled upwards and away from families.
I do not accept the idea that children only belong if they pass through a school gate. I do not accept that community pride means compliance. And I do not accept that a government that increasingly dismisses parental judgement should decide what is best for our children.
This matters. Not just for home educators, but for anyone who believes individual rights still mean something.
If you are angry too, you are allowed to be. You can write to your MP or to the Prime Minister’s office. Keep it clear. Keep it calm. But do not stay silent.
This isn’t about party politics, or who you voted for, it’s about whether families are trusted to act in their children’s best interests.
Excerpt from the speech:
"And so frankly, we do need to be much clearer as a society…
About what we expect of people…
And the responsibilities that come with rights.
That means:
Much stronger powers for the Charity Commission to shut down charities that promote extremism.
It means tougher regulation of home schooling…
Because schools are so important for integration…
And so we need a higher bar for people who want to opt-out of that responsibility. "
Read the full speech here: https://www.gov.uk/.../pm-remarks-in-hastings-5-february
Contact number 10 (must be under 1000 characters): https://contact.no10.gov.uk
Email Starmer: keir.starmer.mp@parliament.uk
