I have been Home educating for 19 years and talk of a Home Education Register has rumbled on for many of those years. Many Home Educators oppose the idea as they fear that having the Local Authority involved in their children’s education will mean monitoring, target setting, proof of education and loss of the parents freedom to decide about everything to do with their child’s education. Some of the opposite opinions are that it could lead to extra support for those who feel they need it and also pick up any cases of neglect, abuse or child labour.

Personally I think it is inevitable that there will be some kind of register eventually but what it will actually mean for Home Educators is a minefield. The how/what/when questions are endless. I know our Local Authority has always been overwhelmed with work so I’m not sure they could cope very well with such a huge increase in their workload.

I hope that it will be done in a way that parents can continue with the freedom they currently have to meet their child’s individual needs without too much interference and form filling.