The Christian Institute has welcomed the federal government pulling back from quite a few controversial home education measures within the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill but warned that dangers remain.
The proposed bill would have required home-educating parents to offer local authorities with a register detailing how much time each parent, and some other adult, spent educating their child.
The Christian Institute described these plans as “intrusive”, “administratively burdensome” and “impractical” for all concerned.
During a House of Lords Report Stage debate last week, this requirement was shelved.
However the Institute warned that a Conservative amendment stating that local authority officials relatively than parents can determine what’s within the “best interests” of a “child in need” present a danger to parental rights.
John Denning, head of education at The Christian Institute, warned, “Many home-educators will still have reservations in regards to the register, however the Government’s changes are definitely welcome. Of course it can be crucial that there may be intervention where a baby is in danger, however the Conservative amendment goes far beyond that.
“The law must respect the principle that ordinarily, it’s for folks to make decisions about children. We can pray that the Government will have the opportunity to remove this overbroad amendment from the Bill before it becomes law.”
Such concerns were echoed by the Labour government, whose minister identified that children with disabilities are sometimes classified as “in need” with the intention to access support services. The Conservative amendment, signifies that parents of such children would lose their unilateral right to home-educate.
Concerns were also raised about planned pilot schemes that might mean that children withdrawn from school to home-educate wouldn’t officially be faraway from school rolls until a gathering with local officials has taken place.
Such a provision would mean that home-educating parents would technically be breaching the law until the meeting takes place and possibly expose them to risk of a positive and even prison time.
Last 12 months The Christian Institute commissioned Aidan O’Neill KC to look at the bill’s compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights and data protection law.
In his evaluation, O’Neill said the bill raised “significant questions” and may very well be “Convention incompatible” because of its disproportionate nature.
 The Christian Institute has welcomed the federal government pulling back from quite a few controversial home education measures within the proposed Children’s Wellbeing...){kind=link}