Mr Caller, founder of the leading private tuition firm, Tutors International, aired his support for new regulations proposed by education secretary, Nicky Morgan, in January and has since received a concerned response from homeschooling parents.
Renewed calls for regulation of home educators and unregistered schools came following the revelation that children were being schooled in environments promoting extremist ideologies [1], and the preventable death of an 8-year-old boy [2] ‘invisible’ to authorities. However, Tutors International has been inundated with emails and messages on social media from homeschooling parents concerned [3] that such regulation is an invasion of privacy and a step back towards a system they feel has failed them.
Mr Caller commented: “The reaction from home-educating parents to these new proposals is completely understandable. Many of them choose to educate their own children at home because the traditional education system in this country has failed them or because they want their children to have the freedom to learn, according to their own needs, in the privacy of the family home. I sincerely believe that these families have nothing to fear from any proposed new regulatory system, as they are not the reason it is needed. In the case of Dylan Seabridge, local authorities had no power to intervene and no access to the boy in the run-up to his death, despite concerns for his wellbeing. The only way we can know for sure that more children aren’t falling under the radar in this way, is to implement some form of regulation. Those who approach home education with care and responsibility have no reason to feel threatened. It’s about having systems in place to alert authorities and allow them to intervene where a child’s safety or human rights are genuinely at stake.”
Prior to founding Tutors International, Mr Caller began teaching in 1987, and has since gained extensive experience in tutoring within both the private and state education sectors, with children of all ages and abilities. Having been employed previously in full-time homeschooling roles, it was his disappointment in the limited options available to both clients and tutors that lead to the development of Tutors International. The firm regularly receives requests to place tutors with families who want the benefits of home education, but are unable to fulfil the role full-time themselves.
In more recent years Mr Caller has actively campaigned for self-regulation among private tutors, in order to safeguard the interests of both tutors and families, and now believes that self-regulation could also provide a solution for homeschooling parents:
“Tutors International spoke out for self-regulation due to the lack of a formal qualification for private tutors and because parents had no professional body to turn to or seek advice from regarding tutoring. The introduction of The Tutors Association in 2013 provided a community comprised of both tutoring companies and individual freelance tutors, delivering a unified and coherent voice for the profession. I believe that, if such a body was formed within the homeschooling community, the government would not feel such a need to look for oversight themselves. If home educators can come up with a broad set of all-encompassing standards, a spokesperson to advocate for the community as a whole and a means to raise the alarm should any concerns arise, it is entirely possible for them to take full control and eliminate any need for proposed government controls. Whilst it may be tempting for the community to close ranks and fight, this could be the perfect opportunity for them to seize even further control over their children’s education.”
Tutors International is fully prepared to assist in the formation of such an organisation, help facilitate dialogue between the home educating community and the government and provide one to one support and guidance for for families, with no charge.
To find out more about the services provided by Tutors International, visit tutors-international.com, or for more information on Adam Caller, visit adamcaller.com
References
[1] Nicky Morgan orders review on home schooling amid fears of children having minds ‘poisoned’ by radicalised parents https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/nicky-morgan-orders-review-on-home-schooling-amid-fears-children-having-minds-poisoned-by-a6779886.html Tom McTague. The Independent. December 2015.
[2] ‘Concerns’ raised before Dylan Seabridge died from scurvy https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-35361261 India Pollock. BBC News. January 2016.
[3] Could self-regulation be the answer for home educators faced with renewed registration fears? https://www.adamcaller.com/ Adam Caller. February 2016.
