๐ ๐ฐ๐ถย ๐ฎ๐ข๐บย ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ตย ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆย ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅย ๐ฐ๐งย ๐ช๐ต.ย ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถย ๐ฎ๐ข๐บย ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ตย ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌย ๐ช๐ตย ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ดย ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.ย ๐๐ถ๐ตย ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆย ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏโ๐ดย ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จย ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅย ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ดย ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ญย ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บย ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆย ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ตย ๐ช๐ดย ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆย ๐ฐ๐งย ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆย ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ตย ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ดย ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏย ๐ญ๐ข๐ธย ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ดย ๐ย ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆย ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏย ๐ช๐ฏย ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณย 30ย ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ดย ๐ข๐ดย ๐ขย ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ.ย ๐ย ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณย ๐ต๐ฐย ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌย ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ตย ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ตย ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆย ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ตย ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณย ๐ถ๐ดย ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ.
If passed in its current form, this Bill will change the relationship between family and the state for ever. It wonโt just affect home educators, SEND families, and religious communities. Itย willย affect us all. Parents, grandparents, future parents, and anyone who believes in democracy should be deeply concerned.
There are five reasons why you should care:
1. Parents could be criminalised for protecting their child
The Bill introduces harsher fines and even prison sentences if the state disagrees with your educational choices. Today: freedom. Tomorrow: prosecution.
2. Councils will have the power to veto your decisions
The Bill proposes that parents of children with disabilities or under a child protection investigation must seek local authority consent to home educate or even change schools. The council โ not the parent โ would decide what is โbestโ for your child. David Wolfe KC spoke out againstย it.
3. The most intrusive surveillance powers ever proposed.
The Bill introduces a compulsory home education register that demands personal details about families and anyone who educates your child. Leading human rights KC Aidan OโNeill has called thisย โstate surveillance of family life on an unprecedented scaleโ.
4. Religious freedoms will be eroded
Strictly Orthodox Jewish yeshivot could be forced to register as independent schools and deliver state-mandated secular education. Professor Mark Hill KC has said this directly breaches Article 2 of Protocol 1 ECHR.
5. Disabled children and SEND families will be the first to suffer
I have represented more families in SEND disputes than I can count. Councils lose 98ย per centย of appeals at Tribunal. Yet this Bill proposes giving them even more power to deny parental choices. It risks further isolating the very children society should protect most.
๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช?
You may not have children today. You may have grandchildren tomorrow.ย You may have a brother, sister, friend or neighbour with children. You may otherwise be a concerned citizen pondering as to what else will come next for us all.
Why do I say it is dangerous? The answer is simple. History teaches us that liberty is rarely taken all at once. It is taken piece by piece, always under the comforting guise of โsafetyโ. Once these rights are gone, they are almost impossible to recover. Because democracy depends on freedom, and freedom depends on clear limits to state power. There must always be a proper separation between the state and the family. The moment the state claims a right to override the judgement of loving parents, or to criminalise them for making lawful choices, the line between citizen and subject begins to blur. That distinction between real parenting (rooted in love, knowledge, and day-to-day care) and corporate parenting (rooted in bureaucratic systems and distant decision-making) is vital to the soul of any free nation. If we lose that, we lose the essence of democracy itself.
Do not be silent. Silence is complicity.
๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค?
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Share thisย article. Spread awareness. Write to your MP: ask them to oppose or amend this Bill.ย Join the growing legal and civil rights movement calling for changes. Sign this petition.
We can still stop this. But we must act now.
