Elective home education comment

Alison Michalska, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, said:

“Education is a fundamental right for all children and young people and ADCS recognises that parents have the right to educate at home in this country. Where they choose to do this, we want it to be a positive experience and we believe this is best achieved when parents and local authorities recognise each other’s rights and responsibilities and work together. Where concerns arise is when the decision to home educate is not a well-informed, considered decision but as a result of the relationship between a school and family breaking down, when it is used as a cover for an informal exclusion or is a further symptom of parental abuse and neglect.

“ADCS believes a national conversation is required about how we can ensure that children and families can be supported to make informed decisions, how we can collectively ensure that risks, however small, are minimised and that their rights in terms of socialisation, health, and education are being met. Children and young people must not be lost from sight.”

ENDS

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