Home education is under attack, it can only be protected by as many people as possible speaking out.

You have probably seen lots in the news lately, a home education register, the awful death of Sara Sharif being blamed on home education, the unprecedented rise in home education figures etc. Its time to stand up, it’s time to get the correct story out there.

Reply to news stories, provide clear and correct info that home education was not to blame for Sara’s death, there hasn’t been a massive rise in numbers (they steadily increase every year and have done for decades), explain that home educators do not need to be on a register that implies guilt, that the current legislation is more than adequate when used correctly.

We are also asking you to write to your MP and the Children’s Commissioner. Here’s how to find your MP and this is the Children’s Commissioner’s email [email protected]

Say something like:

Dear xx

I am writing to ask for your help, and give you the opportunity to understand an important topic in more detail.
I shall start by saying categorically, home education is not to blame for the death of Sara Sharif.  

Incorrect language, of home schooling, is being used in these discussions. This is incorrect, confusing and harmful as home schooling means a child is registered at school but can not attend, the LA/school provide learning at home. Whereas home education means not registered at school and the parent is responsible for ensuring the child receives a suitable education.

I acknowledge that the Elective Home Education (EHE) teams within Local Authorities (LA) have difficult jobs sometimes, especially when faced with abuse cases. I truly believe though, that current legislation allows them and children’s services ample opportunity to safeguard children who are being harmed. 

It is common knowledge in the UK home education community, that many home educating families each week are maliciously referred to children’s services by school, neighbours, doctors etc, most of these cases are based purely on the fact the child is home educated, with no previous or current safeguarding concerns being known. Social workers receive no training about home education, and with their limited understanding of home education they are assigned to these malicious referral cases. They end up inadvertently harming innocent families (stress from the investigation, misinformation about home education given from the social worker, ongoing or escalation of cases based solely on being home educated etc).  They are also wasting valuable resources that can be used on cases such as Sara, on cases that truly need a social workers involvement.

I believe EHE teams should encourage their social workers to actively engage in learning about home education, the legislations and the many approaches families use in their home education. I think this further training will help alleviate some of the unnecessary investigations and misinformation, it will also help social workers see where there are genuine cases to be involved in, and when the referral was malicious or from ignorance. 

Sara Sherif was known to the EHE team because she was deregistered from school, she was on the EHE team record, I am absolutely positive that also being on a Children Not In School (CNIS) register would not have changed her outcome.  Services failed to act on the information they had. Innocent home educators should not be penalised for these errors.

There are issues not being publicly talked about:
Were the EHE staff working during the summer holidays?
Did school raise concerns when they submitted the paperwork to EHE?
Did EHE ask children’s services about Sara? 

Without all of the information it is speculation, but it seems Sara was not in receipt of a suitable education and therefore swift action should have been taken because of the harm already known to have happened.  Action should have been taken immediately upon receipt of the deregistration notice.


What can EHE teams do now to prevent further cases like this? But without penalising innocent home educators?
I believe a CNIS register that includes home educated children will make the EHE job more difficult, home educators will feel as if they are under scrutiny, guilty without any reason, they will be more reluctant to engage with their LA in any meaningful way.
Home educators already have a distrust of the EHE team, whether it’s because school failed their child, whether the LA failed the child because of unmet SEN, or whether they see the daily problems home educators face from overzealous LAs.  The only way forward, that will benefit all parties is to ensure EHE teams act within legislation, that they are supportive rather than taking an ultra vires monitoring and judgemental role (which the majority do). That badly behaved LAs are held accountable.

The LAs who are well known for being supportive and helpful (currently less than 5 LAs) find they have more families reaching out when they need support, rather than struggling without it. 

I ask again, what can be done today to ensure children do not get missed like Sara? What can you do to ensure innocent law abiding home educators are not punished in the process. 

TO INCLUDE IN LETTER TO MP: I ask you to speak out loudly against the accusations that home education was to blame for Sara’s death. And we ask you to make your voice heard that you do not support including home educated children on the CNIS register as it will not protect the children they think it will. It will cause more harm than good. 

TO INCLUDE TO CHILDREN’S COMMISSIONER: I ask you to recant and apologise for your accusations blaming home education for Sara’s death. I ask you to consider if the CNIS register really will do what you think it will do.

I am aware that the UK home education service Educational Freedom have data, research and information posts on their website that explains in a lot of detail why a CNIS will not protect the children it claims it will. You can find their website here www.educationalfreedom.org.uk Please find attached the Educational Freedom statement.
PDF statement from Educational Freedom.

Thank you for your time.
Yours sincerely.

Remember to include your name and address especially when writing to your MP so they know you are one of their constituents. Your details will not be shared with your LA.