The Quiet Assault on Home Schooling

Across the West, growing numbers of parents are choosing elective home education (EHE). The reasons for this vary. Some parents make this choice out of a particular philosophical or religious conviction. Others are unhappy with the quality of education locally or have children with special needs that schools cannot cater for.

The rights of parents to choose a suitable education for their child remains enshrined in English law. It is therefore concerning that the Schools Bill may make EHE more difficult through the introduction of a ‘children not in school’ register. Many home educators are rightly concerned they could be unfairly targeted.

The motivations behind the register’s introduction are ambiguous. A Department for Education (DfE) factsheet (May 2022), referenced the 38% increase in EHE during the pandemic as a reason for the register. Rising numbers themselves ought not to constitute a reason unless it can be reasonably proved that EHE poses specific risks. Despite misconceptions, EHE poses no identifiable safeguarding dangers to children, as stated by the DFE’s 2019 guidance on home education. Yet in April 2022, the DfE cited the need to ‘help safeguard children in scope’ as a reason for this register. Though there may be a minority of EHE safeguarding case, there is no available evidence suggesting that this is proportionally greater than in state schools.

In principle, a register to identify the number of children receiving EHE is sensible. The concern of home educators is the lack of clarity on what information will be collected. As it stands, the Bill contains undefined and potentially intrusive measures. Local authorities will be allowed to inquire into the means of a child’s education, rather than whether it is suitable as currently defined in law, and will be permitted to request additional information prescribed by regulations or deemed appropriate by themselves.

Using regulations and local authority discretion removes parliamentary scrutiny to review whether the information requested truly chimes with a free society.  The fact that the government refuses to add definition raises questions about the register’s purpose. An indication was provided by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Baroness Barran, who said “it would be valuable to require the recording of reasons for home education”. But if the government believes this, it should be stated in the Bill.

The government may intend to record special category data relating to ethnicity, sexual orientation, or beliefs. Likewise, using ‘research purposes’ to justify the Secretary of State having blanket access to information relating to individual children, without giving a reason such as safeguarding or criminality, remains unsatisfactory. Taken together, this register could constitute the thin end of an intrusive wedge unless adequate protections are hard-coded into the Schools Bill defining what information can be collected.

The particular provision allowing for information on the means of a child’s education, rather than its suitability, suggests an instrumentalization of education towards specific ends. This educational mission creep occurred with the introduction of the ‘British Values’ guidance in 2014. The prescriptive definition of ‘British Values’, which it was claimed ‘celebrated tolerance’, appears intolerant of genuine heterodoxies. Some parents do not agree with the propagation of the latest culturally ascendant ideas and wish to protect their children from what they consider to be indoctrination.

A small number of children, either in state schools or EHE will receive an inadequate education as no system is perfect.  However, there are obvious indicators of an unsuitable education – illiteracy, sub-par mathematical skills, or poor attainment. Interventions may well be required here. However, for EHE children, the evidence generally suggests that they outperform those in state schools. Furthermore, the greater time invested in each child individually aligns more with the classical understanding of education for learning’s sake and the flourishing of the whole person. Whereas, the target-driven culture of state schools means passing examinations can become the primary goal.

Whichever form of education parents decide, they are best placed to choose for their child. The overwhelming majority will opt for state education given the benefits of regular social interaction with other children. For the minority that choose EHE, the means and content of that education should not be managed by the state, and the government’s refusal to clarify the details of the EHE register questions their commitment to this principle.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, joined the House of Lords in 2013 as one of the twenty-six Church of England Bishops in the Lords Spiritual. He serves as the current president of the Rural Coalition and is a vice-chair of Peers for Gambling Reform.