Parents of children known to social services will be banned from home schooling without special permission
11/16/2024 03:54 PM
PARENTS of children known to social services will be banned from home schooling without special permission under a crackdown.
Ministers believe the rules for parents teaching their children at home have been "too lax for too long".
And the fear there are not enough measures in place to protect vulnerable kids from the worst kinds of abuse.
It also comes amid concerns that some children are ending up in dodgy illegal schools.
Under the plans, parents will lose the right to teach children at home if social workers are investigating potential harm, or if the child is on a protection plan.
Adults who then fail to take their children to school will be fined or taken to court.
Labour also plans to introduce long-delayed home-schooling registers after thousands of "ghost children" dropped out of the system during the pandemic.
Estimates suggest over 90,000 children were being home schooled last year, up from 80,000 the year before.
Reforms led by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson are due to be unveiled next week.
A government source said: "The rules around home schools have been too lax for too long – it's time to get tough to protect kids who could be at risk of harm.
"This government is making sure kids get the care they need – stopping them dropping out of school, getting drawn into gangs, and ending up on the wrong side of prison gates.
"After years of drift and neglect, we're doing the right thing for these children, and the right thing for communities."
