Tens of thousands of home-educating parents are in a fury about a government decision to set up an inquiry into home schooling because of fears it could hide child abuse. They say there is no hard evidence, and the investigation smears them all with suspicion. Two thousand parents and organisations have written to the Government in protest at what pressure group Action for Home Education call "vile and unsubstantiated" allegations.
The inquiry is a "clear incitement to hatred of home educators" says Clare Murton, a supporter of Action for Home Education. Many rank and file home educators agree. According to Katie Bell, 45, a mother of two in Croydon, the Government is almost saying that home-educated children are prone to abuse: "It's an attack on our beliefs. If they said something like that about any other minority they would be lynched."
Vijay Patel, policy adviser for the NSPCC children's charity, also sees the need for a review. "Some people use home education to hide. Look at the Victoria Climbié case. No one asked where she was at school. We have no view about home education, but we do know that to find out about abuse someone has to know about the child."
The website is not accepting comments at present, I assume they are expecting a host of outraged responses. This is what I tried to post:-
Mr Patel, you do yourself no favours when you abuse the memory of Victoria Climbie yet again. This poor child has already had responsibility for Contactpoint foisted upon her (though the Children's Database was in fact conceived several years earlier than her death and she was simply a convenient justification for it) and now her name is dragged into justifying the home education review. Victoria Climbie was NOT home educated and was well known to at least SEVEN different agencies. The Spry children were also known to be at risk from their (presumably local authority vetted) carer before they were withdrawn from school as you are very well aware.Mr Patel you might have a shred of credibility if you held up your hands and admitted these were failures by the agencies concerned and nothing whatsoever to do with home education. As it is, the NSPCC is clearly just a Govt sock puppet for driving forward an agenda that is hostile to parental responsibilty and families and you clearly don't have any qualms about attacking the way of life and the good name of the families of home educated children on behalf of this so-called "children's" charity. Unfortunately for you, in your attempts to drag us through the mud the only one coming up looking grubby is yourself.
READ MORE at:-
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/is-the-government-right-to-be-concerned-about-homeschooling-1631969.html
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Mr Patel clearly does not know his own field of work very well. Poor Victoria Climbie was not home educated, the authorities did know her educational status and they did visit her on numerous occasions.
ReplyDeleteit was in fact failures by an overstretched social services that lead to her being let down by the state and was nothing at all, in any way anything to do with the issue of home education.
To bring up her name in connection with this issue at this time simply shows how desperate those opposed to home education are. They will not hesitate to stoop to any low trick to prevent home educators from continuing to home educate.
They hope that by mentioning her name in connection to home education the public could be hoodwinked into thinking that she was somehow connected to home education.
Indeed her case strengthens the points raised by home educators that random home visits of families where there is no evidence of any kind of a problem is simply a distraction for front line services and what is required is better targeting of efficient services upon children for whom there is some actual evidence of abuse.
Mr Patel owes thousands of families in Britain a public apology for this statement and I am certain they will be demanding one.
Quite right we are! That poor child - how dare they use her, yet again, to as you say *hoodwink* the public. I am utterly furious.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt's devastating to find myself on the opposite side of the table from an agency like the NSPCC. That their leadership would engage in such State-supporting rhetoric at the expense of children's welfare and the ability of citizens to look on the work of the charity without utter cynicism is unforgivable.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoul
ReplyDelete"The ghoul is a ... shapeshifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena. It lures unwary travellers into the desert wastes to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, robs graves, and eats the dead. Because of the latter habit, the word ghoul is sometimes used to refer to an ordinary human such as a grave robber..."
Vijay Patel. Ghoul for the NSPCC.
The column to the right of this article in the Independent is topped by the headline: "Schoolgirl earned £14,000 as a prostitute".
ReplyDeleteKind of says it all really...