Home-ed news around the world

USA
Mom turns to homeschooling to avoid 'experiments' on autistic child The school psychologist wanted to put the child in a room and expose her to known triggers to see how quickly she escalated and what her behavior would be.

Sweden
Court endorses 'kidnapping' of 7-year-old - Social services allowed to keep custody of homeschooled child

"Any nation that severely restricts the ability of parents to choose alternative forms of education, including home education, in the name of creating national unity, cannot call itself a free nation. Freedom necessarily requires the individual to have the liberty to think differently and believe differently than programs instituted by the current rulers of any nation. Educational freedom is the cornerstone for all freedom of thought and conscience," said Michael Farris, HSLDA chairman.

UK
It appears that the NASUWT supports a school-based system of education for all and reckons that the only way the Government can meet the Every Child Matters' aims is by making schooling compulsory for all children. FFI see this months' issue of their magazine (article on p. 23). You can read the NASUWT's submission to the consultation here.

Home educating parents bullied by authorities

Miscarriage of justice in Australia

To ask the Secretary of State for CSF...

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has provided to each local authority in England and Wales for children with special educational needs who are educated at home...

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Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which 15 local authorities will be contacted by Ofsted to discuss the potential inspection regime for home education...

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Special Needs Student Beaten over dress code

Still wondering why homeschooling is becoming increasingly popular?

Home ed is the best answer for some children

NOT many parents would take on the challenge of home educating their children, but Mick and partner Sylv felt they had no choice.

Read it here.

Home educated aspies on the news

"United by a love of dogs and photography two autistic siblings have worked together to make a special canine calendar. The siblings, who both have Asperger's syndrome, are home-schooled by their mother, who explained: "As part of their home education I believe it is important to do an annual project to raise funds and awareness for a good cause."

Read it here.

Save DLA and AA from being axed

Time is running out: A government green paper has revealed plans to stop paying disability benefits and hand the cash over to social services instead. Join the Benefits and Work campaign to stop these cuts here.

The mother who set up a new school for her son

"Eighteen months ago, Freddie Buckner's schooldays were often spent washing up mugs in the staff room after being excluded from mainstream lessons for lashing out at teachers and his fellow pupils. The eight-year-old's complex behavioural needs, including autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, meant that teaching him alongside other children in mainstream schools was deemed impossible. So the search began to find him a suitable school."

More here...

Home education on the news

A DOZEN friends and family of a young autistic boy took to the skies to raise £3,500 for his continuing home education.

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Alison was shocked when her five-year-old daughter Lily did not get a place at the nearest school, and education bosses offered her a place at a school two miles away, instead. She decided that she did not want Lily to have to travel unsupervised in a taxi, and began to give her home tuition.

A council spokesman said: “We have provided guidance and information regarding home education grants."

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Mother stopped from homeschooling

"Grace Robertson removed her daughter Elysha, seven, who has an illness so rare it has no name, from Newman Special School in Rotherham because she did not think she was making progress.

Rotherham Council's social services department, backed by the school, say that Elysha could be suffering isolation and missing the company of children by being kept at home."

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Autistic boy was Tased

"A middle-school student with autism was Tased twice by a Carmel police officer, according to a lawsuit filed by the boy's parents against the Police Department, one of its officers and a local school district.

According to the suit, the electrical bursts temporarily knocked the 90-pound boy unconscious during a confrontation at Creekside Middle School. The boy, who was 14 at the time, was taken to a local hospital before being released to his mother."

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Schools out

From The Star: "More and more parents are choosing not to send their children to school. [...] you won't find a desk, a blackboard or even any exercise-books in their household. The children don't have a set curriculum, lessons or homework. They simply learn through play and set their own agenda guided by their interests."

FACTFILE

Contrary to popular belief it is both legal and reasonable to educate your child at home. It's a growing phenomenon - last year 50,000 kids were home educated, that's a 17% increase on 2006.

Bullying, poor educational standards, religion, special needs and school choice are all common reasons for home educating. It can be a natural choice for parents who want to continue their child's early learning and see no reason to stop when the child reaches the age of five. The method of learning is entirely personal and parents can use any approach considered suitable.

A UK support website for those practising home education education-otherwise advises: "You do not need to 'know everything' - a more important skill these days, with the ever increasing volume of facts which changes and soon becomes out of date, is learning how to learn, how to think, how to find information and where to look."

Read it here.