‘HEY, Bridget, leave us kids alone!”

That was the message from home-educated young people in Taunton on Saturday (March 7) to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson as they protested the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which they claim threatens their freedom and wellbeing – and their right to choose an education.

MP Gideon Amos (Lib Dem, Taunton & Wellington) joined demonstrators from the Somerset home-ed community, who have branded the proposed law the ‘Misery and Surveillance Bill’.

Home-educating families claim proposed changes to the education system will place restrictions on who can learn at home, while encouraging councils to issue School Attendance Orders “at the drop of a hat”.

To make their point, the group sported attire and posed with props highlighting their individual interests, pursuits and hobbies – often not possible through a school education – ranging from gymnastics to maths, Dungeons and Dragons, costume making, Lego, horse riding and kick boxing.

“The children were making the point that they must be free to be themselves and follow their passions,” a spokesperson said.

“None of the children want their wings clipped or to be forced into school.

“On the day, they spoke out about why they oppose the Bill and want home education protected.”

The demonstration came as the Bill makes it’s way through Parliament, with home-educators across Somerset and the UK opposing moves proposed which they say will make their lives – and those of home-educated children – harder, with no evidence young people who learn outside a school setting suffer any greater risk of abuse, or underachievement.

One protester in Taunton, Tom, said: “I was adopted from an orphanage. I needed more help than any school could give me. My parents were able to help me and teach me. Why would the government want to stop them?”

Another, Jude, said school “makes me feel like I’m too stupid to exist on this planet”, while Inara said school “made me shrink”.

Youngster Molly added: “I can learn at my own pace and take the time I need to learn things.”

MP Mr Amos said: “Government needs to listen to children and simply take the measures which would harm them, i.e. those restricting home education, out of the Bill.”

Across the UK, around 126,000 children are home educated, with more than 2,500 in Somerset.

A survey by Somerset Council, which has recognised how taking a ‘positive and supportive approach to home education’ makes for ‘better relations with home educators and better outcomes for home educated children’, showed positive impacts on children’s learning and wellbeing, including:

• 91% of parents said home education has had a very positive (48%) or positive (43%) impact on their child’s learning.
• 97% of parents said home education has had a very positive (73%) or positive (24%) impact on their child’s happiness and wellbeing.

If passed, the new Education Bill would require digital ID for home-educated children, with their data able to be shared by agencies, without their or their parents’ consent. It comes after the Government u-turned on digital ID proposals for adults and other young people.

Currently, parents have the right to remove their children from the school setting, so long as they provide a ‘suitable’ education, with local authorities already allowed to contact home educators and make checks.

However, parents have been angered by the new proposals, which they say go further for home-educators than for families with children in mainstream education, taking away rights for home educators that are enjoyed by everyone else.

MP Gideon Amos, right, and Somerset Councillor Caroline Ellis, left, joined the demonstration

They also point to data which shows home-educated children to be less likely to require a Child Protection Plan – required when a child is deemed to be ‘at risk of significant harm (abuse or neglect)’ – despite being referred to social services more often than children in mainstream education, often by those who see they are being home educated.

Previously, Education Secretary Ms Phillipson said the Bill aimed to be “the most far-reaching piece of child protection legislation in a generation”.

“It will make sure that home-educated children are receiving a safe and suitable education, and that public bodies are clear on what information needs to be shared to keep children safe,” she said.

But home-educating families say the law would put an unnecessary burden on people like them, while not doing anything to protect children.

One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told your Leveller: “There is absolutely no evidence home-educated children are any more ‘at risk’ than youngsters in school. In fact, quite the opposite – we are inspected more, but require less intervention.

“The government seems to want to have the right to enter the home and check on any home-educating family – a right they don’t have for any one else, even to homes where the risk to children is higher. It doesn’t make any sense.

“If this aims to protect children, why doesn’t the government want the right to enter the home of any family with an obese child, for example, which does real, long-lasting physical harm, to check what they’re having for dinner? Or the homes of children who are violent, or abusive to other young people?

“That sort of abuse and neglect is rife, yet instead, they want to target families where children are shown to be less at risk, and often have far higher rates of educational achievement than those in school.

“The government is not interested in pursuing families where abuse is actually more likely to occur, they just seem intent on pursuing people for whom the system is not working. It’s absolutely outrageous. Change the system, don’t punish us.”

Another parent, who also wished to remain anonymous through fear of reprisals, added: “Most of the home educators I know didn’t really choose it, it was forced upon them by a system completely unable to cater for children with complex needs, or special educational needs.

“That’s not their fault – it’s the government’s fault – and now they want to punish those families for doing the best by their children.

“What other parents choose to do is their business – and this is our business. How would other parents like the government coming in to their house to check how they feed their children? Or to check whether their children brush their teeth? Or that their house is tidy?

“As far as I am concerned, I would not want to send my child into a system that has far higher rates of abuse, of violence, of underachievement, than home education.

“If they wanted to support us, that would be great, but they are making us feel like criminals they can punish, simply for making a different choice – a choice we know is best for our children.”

READ MORE: Education news from your Somerset Leveller