All children need nature

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is moving closer to becoming law in England, and with it comes the most sweeping and intrusive changes to home education in England and Wales in modern history. Wales is yet to vote on this (17th march) but England's vote has passed and is just needing royal assent. For home educators these changes are not ideal at all. Despite months of campaigning, evidence, submissions, legal arguments, and thousands of parents explaining how home education actually works, the direction of the bill has remained the same... control over our children and their minds. The government has pushed forward — and many MPs and peers have either misunderstood home education or accepted deeply flawed narratives about it. Amendments have been agreed and the home education element of the bill pretty much finalised. This is not minor reform. It is a fundamental shift in the relationship between families and the state. The amendments that have survived the parliamentary process have not provided any protection to home educating families from the misuse of these powers by the LA. Instead, they risk handing already overreaching Local Authorities even more tools to pressure, harass, and control families who are lawfully educating their children outside the school system. The gap between what the law actually says and what Local Authorities tell parents it says is about to become concerning. Allowing the LA to overstep on our rights as parents. The next step will be the EHE guidance consultation, this will document how LAs should behave, the things they should ask for when considering the suitability of the actual education. The bill does not consider the actual education, the bill is about the register, ‘safeguarding’ and the SAO process. But it does mean the EHE guidance becomes statutory, something LAs must follow. At its core is the creation of a mandatory register of children not in school, controlled by Local Authorities. Parents will be required to provide information about the child. Details of the child’s protected characteristics such as race, religion and gender, name and details of all parents, and estimated time each parent provides education.

Petition: Pause & review the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill regarding home education https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/759310

New article available in the home ed looks like this classroom. Let me know your thoughts.