Will or won’t parents retain the right to withdraw their children from sex education? Education secretary, Damian Hinds MP, reignited the sex education debate recently when he confirmed in several interviews that parents would retain the right to withdraw their children from sex education classes once the new compulsory subjects of Relationships Education (RE) in…
The press hysteria surrounding home education shows no sign of abating – if anything, it seems to be getting worse. Following the introduction of a Private Members’ Bill by Lord Soley last autumn, which attempts to introduce registration and enforce home inspections, pressure has been building from a range of sources. The Times appears to…
The dubious practice of off-rolling Ofsted has announced that it is to conduct an investigation into exclusion figures, in particular trying to establish why two regions in the north-east (Yorkshire and the Humber) have higher rates of excluded pupils than anywhere else in England. Six of the 10 worst offending areas are situated in the…
Life in Ms Spielman’s totalitarian democracy Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, caused something of an upset recently when she spoke at the Church of England Foundation for Education Leadership conference. She advocated the use of muscular liberalism to counter religious belief. Ms Spielman thinks that religion should be removed to…
So the reshuffle came and went, together with the appointment of yet another Secretary of State for Education. Previous incumbents have not been noted for their longevity – Damian Hinds is the fourth to hold the position since 2010. That fact alone raises concerns in the minds of many in the teaching profession, who regularly…
Elective Home Education (EHE) is a well worn path for thousands of parents in the UK, who choose to exercise their duty and responsibility for their child’s education themselves. Some opt out of school settings for part of their child’s education, some for all of it. These choices are protected in law, with parents having…
Three recent cases illustrate what could be called a curious revisiting of some of the less encouraging moments in British History. After the crises of conflicting beliefs in the 16th century, whoever was in power would often impose penalties on those who would not or did not conform to the official viewpoint on religion. Believers…
Parents in the UK have a right, enshrined in English law and in European Human Rights law, to educate their children according to their philosophical or religious views. That includes the right to home educate. In 2007, the government clearly stated that it was the job of parents, not the state, to raise children. And…
In 2005, the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) was hailed as world leading: it did not require people who wanted to change gender to undergo a surgical procedure. Wind the clock forward 12 years. The same GRA is now seen as outdated, humiliating, demeaning, bureaucratic and in need of significant revision. Why? Under the current law,…
The Teachers’ Voice on Bullying in Schools A strategically generated hysteria claiming epidemic levels of ‘homophobic bullying’ in our schools has served as one of the main justifications for the enforcement of LGBT ideology at every level of the education system — including in our children’s classrooms. Headline findings from ‘surveys’ commissioned by special interest…
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