Yet one more basic freedom is threatened by our government but not without protest. Seymane's case¹ established the basic right that an englishman's house is his castle but, in its usual way, this government is attempting to slide a change to this basic freedom. This time for those who decide to educate their children at home. Home Educators today; another small group tomorrow, you the next day and thus this government removes our basic freedoms little cut by little cut, and hardly anyone notices.

1"the house of every one is to him as his castle and fortress, as well for his defence against injury and violence as for his repose"

is a famous quote from Semayne's Case (1604), where the principle of "knock and announce" was established. It lead to the 4th amendment to the US Bill of Rights.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The outcome of Semayne's case was to show that the King had limited authority to enter his subject's "castle", but recognised that, when a warrant was obtained, government agents could conduct searches and seizures. Following the case, a number of general warrants were issued until John Entick's house was forcibly entered by the King's agent. In Entick vs Carrington (1765) it was shown that the warrant lacked probable cause to justify the search. This case established the principle that the crown is limited in intruding on private property by Common law.

In this case, however, the government have discovered that they have taken on a very eloquent and feisty group who are not taking this change in the law, lying down. A large group of Home Educators met outside of the Houses of Parliament yesterday (Oct 13^th) to protest against this and other changes. The concerns are summed up in this note from one Home Educating Mum:

Why are that nutty family going to parliament today?

 

Lots of people have asked me this question, so I thought I would put into words how I am feeling today and what brought us to this point.

In law it is the PARENT who is responsible for the education of their child. The 1996 Education Act says:

"7. The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable-

(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and
(b) to any special educational needs he may have,

either by regular attendance at school or otherwise."

I am currently educating my children "otherwise" than at school. Not because I dislike school, just that this way suits us and our children's particular needs. I sent my children to school when they were little and have now been home educating for 3 1/2 years. [The oldest] was 9 when he came out of school.

The new guidelines, which will very quickly become law, give the local authority the right to refuse registration as a home educator. In effect, I will have to ASK the authorities if I can educate my child and they can say "no" if they wish. Currently the reasons for saying no include drug use, mental health issues and that old catch all " or any other reason for concern". I can't begin to tell you how disturbing that sounds to me!

That means that the law will no longer favour the parent. It will favour the authorities. I will no longer be the person who decides how my child is educated. That is crucially important for all parents. Do you like your private school/ faith school/ Steiner school? What if the government decides that is not a suitable way for your child to be educated? What if your state school made a decision you didn't like?

Currently the Local Authority have a right to check that I am educating my child. They do not have right of access to my home or a right to see my children. Actually I allow them to come here on the basis that they will then leave me alone for the next year. They see my children, but that is MY decision. The new law will mean that my Social Worker (yes we have a social worker!) will be able to see my children ALONE to check that they are SAFE.

The POLICE do not have the right to see any child alone and there is no other section of society who is subject to this. This is to check if I am abusing my child. Just because no other government organisation regularly sees my child, it is considered that they are unsafe. This is because the government no longer consider that children are safe with their parents. Now, I don't doubt that a home educator is capable of abuse, but this kind of measure is akin to considering any man a potential rapist and checking their home incase. Social services are there to deal with these situations whether my child is in school or at home. This is NOT an education issue. It is a WELFARE issue and should treated as such.

If you have a preschooler, that child is not required to be seen by any government organisation. How would you feel if the government brought in measures to check that you are not abusing them? Maybe you wouldn't mind. I would mind ALOT!

Please don't consider that this is Party political. It isn't. I suspect that the Conservatives will do just the same. This is just me, a parent with four wonderful children who wants to continue to have the right to decide how they are educated. We are a Christian family, but I am there for families who educate their children at home because they have a different faith or no faith at all. It is your right to decide for your children, not the government's.

I am sorry if this sounds like a rant and well done for getting this far! A year ago I didn't even know who my MP was. I have never engaged in the parliamentary process at all. I don't expect everyone to agree with me; that is the whole point of this. We won't all agree. That is the beauty of having the freedom to choose!

 

See also Douglas Carswell MP's comments at "Hands off home education!"