Portsmouth home schooling parents launch legal action against council

PARENTS in Portsmouth who home-school their children on a permanent basis have launched a High Court legal challenge against a 'bullying' council.
The Portsmouth Home Education Group is taking legal action against Portsmouth City CouncilThe Portsmouth Home Education Group is taking legal action against Portsmouth City Council
The Portsmouth Home Education Group is taking legal action against Portsmouth City Council

Members of the Portsmouth Home Educators Groups (PHEG) have claimed Portsmouth City Council is unlawfully trying to force their children into school - despite meeting home educating requirements.

According to freedom of information requests submitted by the group, the authority threatened 58 per cent of local home educators with legal proceedings in the year to September 2020, with a further 36 per cent having received legal notices in the last term alone.

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Portsmouth home educators threaten legal action against council
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Wendy Charles-Warner, a spokesperson for the PHEG, said: 'We believe that Portsmouth home educating families have the interests of their children at heart and educate them according to the legal requirements.

'Where families don’t do so, proper procedures are in place for the council to use and it must do so in a legally compliant manner. It has failed to do so.'

An application for the challenge was placed with the High Court of Justice on February 12 after the group raised £30,000 to cover legal fees.

Group admin Vicky Campbell added: 'Never before has our community been asked to do this and it’s highly unlikely that even a modest part of this feat could ever be repeated. We are truly grateful to those families for helping us protect our children's right to the best education possible.'

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Christina Goodred, a member of the group who has been involved in the process, believed the council was acting unlawfully by saying the children should be in school.

She said: 'Having to deal with Portsmouth City Council whilst pregnant and during the Covid-19 pandemic has caused unneeded stress. It’s taken the magic of home education away from our family these last eight months.

'We have had threats of legal action in an attempt to force us into sending our children into school.

'We believe there has been bullying, scare tactics and threats, with the possibility of being made a criminal, simply for trying to provide the best opportunities for our children.

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'All we want, as parents, is what’s best for our children, just like schooling families.'

Portsmouth City Council was approached for comment.

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