12/2/2025

#areyoulisteningnow is the next step in the campaign against the wording of the home education elements of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

We won’t go into detail (again) about the wording of the bill, you can read any of our previous posts to see what the proposals are. Instead we will will stay focused on what to do now we are at the committee stage (and soon the Lords) of the children’s wellbeing and schools bill.

As per our previous post, we need you to still be writing to your MP, tell them about home education, how your children are not hidden etc, explain how the bill will ruin home education as it is now and how it will negatively impact your child. AND write to as many Lords as you possibly can. Our previous post explains how to do that and what to say. You can include our scrutiny committee submission as extra information about how the bill will negatively affect home education. (Note, the amended bill, to date, has no changes to the home education elements.)

We are now at the stage to shout loudly (whilst still being polite), rallies, petitions and social media are great ways to get our voices heard and many have now been arranged. Government don’t seem to acknowledge that the 100 thousand plus home educated children are just as important as any other child, their freedom to learn in a way that suits them best is worth fighting for. That they are our children, not the governments. Their voice is vital, as is yours. If you are able, you can head to one of the organised rallies, take a picnic and a placard, meet lots of other home educators, and be proud that you are supporting the rights of home educated children.

Make sure you use #AreYouListeningNow in your social media posts whilst discussing the home education elements of the children’s wellbeing and schools bill. You could also use #EducationalFreedom. Make sure you are sharing this post, and/or links to the rallies (online and in person), as well as public posts about how the bill will do harm, and won’t protect the children is is meant to. Get people talking, engage with those who think a register is needed, or more checks should be made, explain to them that this bill actually does nothing to protect children, that every harmed child was known to services and sadly this bill wouldn’t have saved any of them.

There are coordinated rallies happening around the country on the 8th March in London, Leeds, Manchester, Exeter and Birmingham (this is the link to see any other destinations that have been added since writing this, plus any links or other details).

And an online protest on the 28th February has been arranged, details on the link. But it is an opportunity to flood social media with positive stories of home education, explanations of how the bill will be detrimental to 100k+ children (not a small number by any means), and hopefully draw attention to the situation.

There is also a petition waiting to be given the go ahead, whilst there are others in existence their wording isn’t necessarily suitable, we ask that you keep an eye out for the official petition which we will share across our socials.

Remember, the alleged purpose of the bill is to make sure no child falls through the cracks, that no child is harmed whilst being hidden, rallies and protests are a great way to show that we are visible, and a chance to explain that home educators are not the people to be going after. Those who do harm to their children are not actually home educating, they are not going to be found with the proposed changes. We all agree these children need support, but the bill won’t do that.

Please note, we are not the organisers of these events, but we fully support them, and our team will be attending where we can.

Make sure you are informative and passionate, but keep your cool, we need home education to be seen in a positive light, we need to be heard.