North East Herts MP Oliver Heald was in the Chamber of the House of Commons when over 130 petitions were presented by Members of Parliament on behalf of home educators from across the country.
The Government has recently put forward proposals for home educators to be treated like schools, with regular inspections, private discussions between inspectors and children and other provisions designed to regulate the sector more heavily. Home educators believe that this is too strict and interferes with their liberty to teach their children at home. 119 home educators signed the petition from North East Hertfordshire.
Commenting, Oliver Heald said, “The Government is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut on this and I do believe these proposals go too far. At present, there are checks to ensure that children are taught a proper curriculum and I think the suggestion that there should be much more bureaucracy and heavy regulation is misconceived.”