DOES IT REALLY MATTER IF THE ODD KID DIES?: A Look at the Death of Dylan Seabridge

Record: Chris Waterman, “Does it really matter if the odd kid dies?” in Education Journal 256 (2016): 15-19. [Abstract]

Summary: Waterman is the former Executive Director of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS). In this article he addresses the death of Dylan Seabridge, an eight-year-old, home educated child who passed away from scurvy, and how the British government could have prevented it.

In the UK, parents must register their children at birth, but they have no further educational or health obligations. Therefore, if a parent so chooses, a child can easily stay under the radar. The parent simply has to home educate the child and refuse to engage with health services. The child thus is unable to exercise her or his right to have a quality life.

About 80,000 children are home educated in the UK. Because of concern for these children, a review of home education was commissioned. The report was supposed to investigate whether there are appropriate safeguards in place to ensure the well-being of home educated children. The Badman Review, published in 2009, gave 28 recommendations based on its findings. For example, it recommended that parents should be required to register their children for home education annually. However, for various reasons the credibility of the report was challenged, and the recommended measures were dropped from the Children, Schools and Families Bill in the lead-up to the 2010 election. Graham Badman, the man behind the report, and his family were vilified by some members of the the home educating community.

The issue of home education remained quiet until 2012 when a new report was commissioned to see how the government could support (rather than challenge) home education. The government met this report with a similar, do-nothing response. Currently, the Children’s Commission for Wales has called for a home education registry in Wales, thought it remains to be seen whether anything will come of it.

In conclusion, Waterman repeats his message that the laws of England and Wales are skewed so that the rights of parents are valued over the rights of children. He does not believe that children should be able to disappear from view after birth like the laws currently allow.

Appraisal: For a more in-depth look at how lax homeschooling laws can risk child abuse, I would recommend reading the reviews of Knox et al. (2014) and Green (2015). Both of these articles give very informative looks into the possible dangers of homeschooling. While Waterman is only able to provide a brief overview of the topic here based upon one anecdote, it is notable for being one of few articles that analyze the potential dangers of home education outside of the United States.

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