Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Homeschool in Great Britain

HOME-SCHOOLING PARENTS MAY FACE CRIMINAL RECORD CHECKS

Parents who teach their own children at home must undergo criminal records checks, say Government education inspectors. The estimated 40,000 parents who choose not to send their children to school should be vetted, says Ofsted. It said that parents whose records throw up suspicions should be barred from teaching their own children.

Vetting to root out any record of violence against children would be by the Criminal Records Bureau. Parents who fail the checks could also find themselves receiving attention from child protection social workers. If accepted by ministers, the Ofsted rules would be the first state attempt to investigate and vet ordinary parents over the way they bring up their own children.

Are the Brits taking their cue from the Germans?

[Thanks to Travis Holte]

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10:51 am on November 30, 2009