All have complained about the Badman Report, the third government consultation on home education in four years.
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This article appeared in The Diss
Express on 18 December 2009
MP receives petition on home education South Norfolk MP Richard
Bacon brings Diss Express readers up to date with some of his recent work in the community |
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I have been corresponding and meeting with parents who educate their children at home.
The report calls for very intrusive monitoring and inspection, and understandably parents object to the deeply offensive implication that they are using home education as a cover for child abuse. Last week I was pleased to present a petition to Parliament from South Norfolk parents who home educate their children, calling for the proposed measures to be withdrawn and for home education guidelines for local authorities to be properly implemented.
I always enjoy
receiving school
groups at the House
of Commons and last
week I welcomed to
Westminster some 40
Years 7 and 8
students from Diss
High School. Before our meeting, the students toured both the House of Commons and the House of Lords to learn about parliamentary procedure and the history of the Palace of Westminster. The students came armed with a variety of questions. These included topical subjects such as the war in Afghanistan and whether our soldiers should come home. They were also concerned about whether the government is doing enough to stop global warming and I was asked if I was for or against wind turbines in East Anglia. They had obviously been doing their homework!
Recently I met with a group of consultants at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. I was shocked to learn that death rates due to alcoholism have doubled in the last 15 years.
I also recently visited a couple of hostels for homeless men – in Diss and in Wymondham – where I was told that alcoholism can be a major factor in someone losing a home. These are ‘sobering’ thoughts in the run up to Christmas, when most of us enjoy a drink with family, friends and colleagues. However, the modern trend of drinking to excess, especially in the young, is extremely worrying. With this in mind, please accept my warmest good wishes for Christmas and the New Year in the hope that the festive season will be a celebration and not a cause for sore heads or regret!
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