It has been reported that  the current guidelines on Elective Home Education have suddenly gone missing from the DCSF website, calling into question once again the Government’s ability to prevent data losses and leaks from its own systems.  Unless, of course, there is some other explanation?

Published in  November 2007, the EHE guidelines are relied on by local authorities across England  to inform good practice in their dealings with home educating families.  The guidelines are also highly relevant to the coming Select  Committee inquiry into the controversial Badman review of elective home education which  advocates the breaching of children’s rights under the UNCRC.

Commenting on the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the guidelines , Barbara Stark, chair of the home education action group AHEd said:

“The existing guidelines are relevant to both the inquiry by the select committee and the current public consultation on the Government’s proposed legislative changes.  We are concerned that the disappearance of relevant data could be a deliberate attempt to frustrate access and manipulate the process of consultation and government inquiry.”

Fortunately, back up copies are hosted on other websites, including this one, and the Select Committee has meanwhile been informed of this latest worrying development.

26th September 2009