Response to the Scottish Executive on the Revised Draft Guidance entitled:

"Guidance on the Circumstances in which Parents may choose to educate their Children at Home"

Produced by ARCH - Action on the Rights of Children in Education

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ARCH is a not-for-profit organisation committed to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

It supports the rights of children to have their views on educational issues that affect them considered within the family, within schools and at national level in future planning and decision-making.

ARCH members are children, parents, educators and anyone else with an active interest in ensuring that children are respected. Families within ARCH have chosen a range of educational provision, depending on their family circumstances and their children's wishes.

We respect and support each other's choices and work together for children's rights.

We can be contacted at ARCH, c/o 62 Wallwood Road, London E11 1AZ.

Or via our website at www.arch-ed.org

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ARCH welcomes this document as a much-needed improvement on the first draft. Notwithstanding these changes, there are still areas of concern to home educators that require further attention if the guidance is to meet the challenge of its remit.

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Title

We think the title incorrectly suggests that an impediment exists to home educating. We would like to see the title changed to "Guidance for Elective Home Based Education," or something very similar, so that it accurately reflects the purpose of the document.

Section 2 - Legislative Position

2.3 "Home education is a right conditional upon…" incorrectly suggests that an impediment exists to home educating. We would like to see the wording changed to reflect the true situation. Home education is a right not a privilege and is a choice that is equally valid to schooling. It carries with it the same responsibilities that all parents have, namely those stated in Education (Scotland)Act 1980, Section 30. Local authorities need to be mindful of this in their dealings with home educating families in order to foster good relationships.

Section 3 - Withdrawing a Child from School

Who Needs Consent?

3.2 Given that it is the responsibility of the parent to choose how to educate their child, we believe that the consent issue is discriminatory. Parents who choose to educate their children at a private school or who home educate from the start are not hampered by consent requirements. There are two issues:

1. the inherent unreasonableness of these restraints upon legitimate choices and parental responsibilities,
   

2. the fact that it is discriminatory to apply these restraints to one section of the community only (families who are presently using state schools).
   

Until such time as the law is changed, local authorities will need to be mindful of this situation and ensure that there is no time delay in granting consent.

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