JOINT MEDIA RELEASE FROM SCHOOLHOUSE AND AHED
For immediate release, 1 June 2008

EVERY SINGLE PARENT MATTERS?
Families fight back in the face of Government forced labour regime

Parents and children across the UK are being urged to ask their MPs and Children's Commissioners if they will fight for families in the face of the UK Government's proposed new Social Security regulations which are due to come before the UK Parliament before the summer recess.[1]

Under the new rules, lone parents who depend on Income Support while caring for their children will lose benefits unless they actively seek work as soon as their youngest child reaches 12 (from November 2008), with the age threshhold reducing to seven by 2010.

The Every Single Parent Matters? campaign [2] has been launched by Schoolhouse, Scotland's national home education support organisation, and AHEd,its counterpart south of the border, in response to the draconian measures, which they have jointly condemned as a "forced labour regime for lone parents".

The campaign will involve a postcard lobby of MPs and Children's Commissioners throughout the UK by parents and young people who oppose the Government's plans to impoverish lone parents whose first priority is caring for their children.

The launch has been timed to coincide with the short consultation [3], which ends on Friday 13th June, prior to the regulations being brought before Parliament.

Launching the campaign, AHEd Chair, Barbara Stark, said:

"These regulations will effectively transfer parents' responsibility to decide what is best for their own children's care on to Job Centre bureaucrats, who will simply follow the government mantra to 'get lone parents into work' regardless of family circumstances.

"Financial sanctions will be imposed on lone parents who fail to comply because they already have a full time unpaid job, and the loss of benefits will plunge already poor families below subsistence level. If parents are punished in this way, their children will pay dearly."

Schoolhouse Convener, Alison Preuss, added:

"The UK Government has made it clear they see no value in parenting and would rather see mums and dads out flippping burgers on the minimum wage, topped up with tax credits, child care subsidies and housing benefits, than caring for their own children. This will of course cost the public purse far more than providing the safety net of Income Support for families, especially where children have special needs.

"Despite assurances from the Government that flexibility will be built in to the new system at local level, lone parents have reported that Job Centre Plus staff have already stated there will be no exceptions."

While Social Security matters are reserved to the UK Government, campaigners argue that the new regulations will impact adversely on children and families and should therefore also be a matter of concern to the devolved administrations. MSPs and AMs will also be asked what they will do to support lone parent families.

AHEd and Schoolhouse will collate the responses from elected representatives and Children's Commissioners and make these available on their websites, along with details of non respondents.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Barbara Stark ahed@ahed.org.uk
Alison Preuss media@schoolhouse.org.uk or 0772 962 3532

NOTES FOR EDITORS
[1] See http://www.ssac.org.uk/pdf/draft_regs_140508.pdf
[2] For campaign information, see http://schoolhouse.org.uk/pc or http://www.ahed.org.uk/pc
[3] See http://www.ssac.org.uk/pdf/consultation_140508.pdf

Joint media release from Schoolhouse and Action for Home Education
For immediate release, Friday 9 May 2008

UK GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF IMPOVERISHING CHILDREN THROUGH FORCED LABOUR REGIME FOR LONE PARENTS

Scotland's national home education support organisation, Schoolhouse [1], and its counterpart south of the border, Action for Home Education (AHEd) [2], have jointly expressed deep dismay and disappointment at the UK Government's decision to remove the safety net of Income Support (IS) from lone parents whose youngest child is aged 12 years from November 2008. The age threshhold will subsequently be reduced so that, by 2010, lone parents will be required to actively seek work when their youngest child reaches seven.

While the Government claims it will help "lift children out of poverty", the move promises to cause extreme stress and hardship for many families, including those who home educate, those whose children have special needs or disabilities and those who have been abandoned by partners, as well as widowed parents and mothers fleeing domestic violence.

Despite warnings from individuals and organisations representing vulnerable families that children will be further impoverished as a result [3], the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has indicated that it will press on with draconian measures to force lone parents into work as soon as their children reach the designated age threshhold, regardless of individual circumstances.

Danny Alexander MP has tabled a Parliamentary Question [4] seeking Government reassurances in relation to specific vulnerable groups who will be thrown into financial crisis by the new rules and for whom it was strongly felt that there should be no extension of conditionality during the 'In Work Better Off' consultation.

Meanwhile, Tom Clarke MP has indicated that he is to table a further Parliamentary Question seeking clarification from the Minister as to which specific regulations will apply, following the withdrawal of Income Support, to "home educating lone parents who are already engaged in full time employment providing a full time education for their children".

Schoolhouse convener Alison Preuss said: "These UK Government proposals were first flagged up in January 2007 by one of our members who was concerned that lone parents home educating their children, often through necessity as a result of special needs or disabilities, would have their Income Support withdrawn if they did not make themselves available for paid employment. Tom Clarke MP subsequently obtained assurances from the then Minister John Hutton [5] that home educating lone parents' responsibilities would be fully recognised, but the Government has now indicated that no exceptions will be made to its forced labour regime for single parents."

AHEd and Schoolhouse have challenged the Government to explain how it is possible to lift children out of poverty by removing IS payments from lone parents when they will effectively be precluded from claiming JSA due to already having full time caring and/or educational responsibilities. In particular they have questioned the justification for withdrawing IS from home educating parents when the costs to keep a child in school are considerably greater than the costs of providing benefits.

AHEd chair Barbara Stark said: "One of our members received via her MP a wholly unsatisfactory and insulting response from the Minister, Stephen Timms, who suggests that home educating parents can be much more flexible in their working arrangements than schooling parents. Who exactly will be available to look after and educate children while their parents are at work outside the home? These parents are already working hard with parenting and education responsibilities and doing an excellent job. Does the Minister only deem child care and education to be 'work' if it is undertaken by someone other than the parent?"

Despite the revenue savings to the Treasury, the Minister suggests that home educating families are receiving a subsidy by accepting subsistence benefits, stating in his letter: "The Government position is that parents who choose to home educate their children will not receive any financial assistance from the State for doing so. It is therefore consistent with the Government principles. Under the new welfare reform changes, we require home educators to look for work when their child reaches the new relevant age threshold."

Schoolhouse and AHEd have jointly condemned the Minister's failure to recognise that schools are unable to accommodate the needs of a significant number of young people, leaving some parents no choice but to take full responsibility for their children's education, since schools are unable or unwilling to provide for the needs of individual children.

Former Schoolhouse member, Karen Best, who was a lone home educating parent reliant entirely on IS until her daughter reached school leaving age, has also spoken out against the government's proposals which she believes will remove an essential lifeline from desperate parents. Describing her own circumstances, she said: "I removed my daughter, who has profound learning difficulties and special needs, from school when she was 10 years old after a prolonged period of bullying which had resulted in her self harming and threatening suicide. I was a single parent on Income Support and struggling to cope financially as well as with an extremely unhappy child. Since the school and local authority failed to deal with the problems, home education became the only option for us and we never looked back, although I lost entitlement to free school meals and clothing vouchers as soon as I removed my daughter from school and got no support or resources from the local authority. Now, it seems, the Governnment wants to completely pull the financial rug out from under the most vulnerable parents and children. How on earth can they justify impoverishing children and penalising single parents in this way?"

Karen went on to obtain higher qualifications and now works full time in the travel industry, while her daughter Charlene, now 20, is currently on a work experience placement in Greenock, having previously undertaken supported learning at her local further education college. Commenting on her own experience, Charlene said: "I hated school so much because it was full of bullies and the teachers didn't want to know about it. I have a great life now because home education saved me from the bullies."

ENDS

For further information, please contact Alison Preuss on 0772 962 3532 or media@schoolhouse.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] See www.schoolhouse.org.uk

[2] See www.ahed.org.uk

[3] One Parent Families Scotland's comments on the proposals when first mooted:

"Lone parent organisations are strongly challenging this simplistic view, and we need to....counter the underlying assumption that work should come before parenting responsibilities.

"We agree that those who choose to should be helped to work, but suggest that benefit penalties will damage the very families who need support. Many lone parents of teenagers have strong reasons why they want to stay at home - let them decide."

[4] Lib Dem spokesperson for Work and Pensions, Danny Alexander, MP, has tabled the following PQ:

"To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he thinks that lone parents receiving income support should be subject to increased conditionality in cases where they are a) parents of disabled children b) carers of both disabled children and adults c) mothers fleeing domestic violence d) parents who choose to home educate."

[5] Excerpts from a reply by John Hutton, former DWP Minister, to Tom Clarke MP in February 2007:

"We have been very clear that we are not proposing to force lone parents into work, nor cut lone parent benefits - this would be wrong in principle and damaging to the health and well-being of children. It is a matter of individual choice for each lone parent as to whether they look to move into work or continue to claim benefits.

"I hope this reassures your constituent that our aim is to help those parents for whom work is a realistic option to take the necessary steps so that they can get back to work and lift their families out of poverty"

Schoolhouse Conference

On behalf of the Schoolhouse Management Committee, I am delighted to confirm that we are going ahead with our planned conference to celebrate International Freedom in Education Day. The event will take place in Arbroath, Angus, over the weekend of 12th/13th/14th September 2008.

We are all especially delighted to announce that John Taylor Gatto has agreed to be our keynote speaker, with other speakers to be confirmed shortly.

A formal conference for individuals and public, private and voluntary sector representatives will run alongside a more family orientated gathering on the Friday, while an informal conference for families and interested individuals will run throughout Saturday and on Sunday morning.

We will be teaming up with local charity Angus Arts (run by home educators) to put together an exciting and varied programme of activities. We also hope to secure assistance from members of the Arbroath Pageant Society to cover the historical perspective.

Coincidentally, today (6 April)happens to be the 688th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath.

"Given at Arbroath Abbey on the sixth day of April AD 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was seminal in its eloquent plea for the liberty of man. It affirmed Scotland's Nobles' allegiance to Robert the Bruce as their king and declared the right of the Scottish nation to self-determination. This created a tradition in the Scottish understanding of rights which reached its peak in the Scottish Enlightenment, and the philosophers of the eighteenth century who set the tone for our modern understanding of human rights. Many now see it as a precursor to the US Constitution and the UN Declaration of Human Rights." http://www.angusahead.com/VisitAngus/AboutAngus/History.asp

All who have already expressed an interest in attending the conference will be sent full details as soon as they are available. We would ask you to please bear with us a little longer while these are finalised as we have only just received confirmation of the required top-up funding for this event and there is still some number crunching to do.

Please email media@schoolhouse.org.uk if you wish to be added to the mailing list for updates.

We look forward to welcoming home educators and all those with an interest in education to this international celebration of diversity and freedom in education.

Alison
for the Schoolhouse Management Committee

The Scottish Government Education Directorate issued revised Statutory Guidance

The Scottish Government Education Directorate issued revised Statutory Guidance on home education on 10 January 2008 and sets out the respective roles and responsibilities of parents, children and education authorities.

You can read the Guidance online here:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/17133313/0

Also available to download here:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/17133313/11

(10 January 2008)

Better Guidance needed in Scotland to help home educated familiessays a report from the Scottish Consumer Council.

Click to download the full news release in pdf.

(16 Febuary 2007)

Home-based Education: Towards Positive Partnerships. A summary ofthe research carried out by the SCC during 2006/2007 in associationwith Schoolhouse.

Click here to download a copy in pdf format

(16 February 2007)

Home-based Education: Towards Positive Partnerships. Report of theresearch carried out by the SCC during 2006/2007 in association withSchoolhouse.

Click here to download a copy in pdf format

(16 February 2007)

Download the PDF press release here.

(14 February 2007)

Schoolhouse response to the Scottish Executive guidance review

Click here to download a copy in PDF format

(This should open fine with Acrobat Reader 6 or better (1998).
If you need Acrobat Reader Version 8 is available free from here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html)

(12 February 2007)

Schoolhouse slams council ignorance of the law on home education

The national home education support organisation Schoolhouse (1) has reacted angrily to comments made by Highland councillors who have inferred a direct link between home-based educators and 'dysfunctional families'. (2) In the wake of representations from its members and the wider home education community, Schoolhouse is now considering making a formal complaint to the Standards Commission, the body which investigates alleged breaches of the code of conduct for elected members.

Schoolhouse spokesperson, Alison Preuss, said: "Schoolhouse invites Highland councillors to withdraw the comments they have made about home-based education being a cause for concern and would remindthem of their duty to respect and uphold the law at all times. According toScottish Executive guidance (3), home-based education is a key aspect of parental choice and parents do not require the local authority's permission to educate their children outside the school system. The only consent that parents in Scotland currently require is for the withdrawal of their child from a state school, and this may not be unreasonably withheld by the council.

"Highland councillors have evidently expressed grave concern at the number of children in the area who are being home educated, describing it as 'scary'. But it should come as no surprise that parents are bypassing a school system which is no longer fit for purpose and is widely held to be failing countless youngsters.

"Highland councillors also seem to believe that parents need a reason toremove their children from the school system when, legally, the provision of education is a parental function. Schools are there to serve families and should of course be subject to a rigorous inspection regime so that parents can have confidence in those to whom they entrust their children's education.

"Our own grave concern is that some elected members are misrepresenting the legal position, deliberately or otherwise, and inferring that parents are generally not to be trusted with their own children's education. In reality councils already have adequate powers to intervene if they have evidence that suggests a failure on the part of parents, and claiming that the law is about to be changed to suit their Big Brother agenda is disingenuous. We are now considering whether to make a formal complaint to the Standards Commission about a possible breach of the councillors' code of conduct as it is unacceptable for elected members to seek to mislead the public in this way.

"Home educating families in Highland have been asked to speak to the media about their experiences, but none we have contacted is prepared to do so in the light of such irresponsible comments by people who should know better.Research evidence is stacking up that home educated children are moresocially adept than their schooled peers and that they consistentlyoutperform them in standard academic tests. The bad news about home-based education is very hard to find, and a deliberate smear campaign against law abiding home-based educators will not be tolerated."

Schoolhouse met with representatives from the Scottish Executive last week to discuss aspects of the statutory guidance on home education which is currently being reviewed. There are no plans to amend the primary legislation in which "education by other means" is enshrined as an equal choice to state schooling. (4)

ENDS

For further information please contact media@schoolhouse.org.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS
(1) See http://www.schoolhouse.org.uk
(2) Report in Press and Journal, Saturday 27 January, 'Concern over amount (sic) of children taught at home'
(3) See http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/gcech.pdf (PDF)
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/gcech-00.asp (Online)
(4) Education (Scotland) Act 1980, s30

(29 January 2007)