Experts demand change to the home education laws after it was found that religious extremists are allegedly exploiting lax home education laws to subject children to material full of hatred at many unregistered “schools” and secret teaching groups.
Extremist material that were seized from illegal schools alleged that homosexuality is an “abomination”, that anal intercourse is punishable by death. The text also suggested that a wife cannot “refuse sexual intercourse without sound reason”, as well as suggested boys and girls should be married once they reach puberty. The material also blamed the way women dress for rapes, stating, “If a sweet thing is left uncovered, swarms of dirty creatures are liable to prey upon it and corrupt it.”
According to the education regulator Ofsted, there are at least 350 unregistered schools that have been established across Britain. Experts state that these illegal schools have been fuelled by an increase in home-educated children whose number has gone up by almost 50% in five years to at least 33,000.
Although these schools can be technically inspected by the education regulators, it is said that about 80 smaller “teaching groups” have been set up in places such as warehouses and above shops. These are outside the controls of Ofsted.
Head of the Commons education committee, Robert Halfon said, “I have huge concerns about unregistered schools and the lack of regulation and inspection. Any school of any kind shouldn't be unregistered. There shouldn't be room for grey areas. Even if they have less than five pupils and are open less than 18 hours they should be inspected and registered.”
The education regulator has issued warning notices to 50 schools that are suspected to be unregistered, 38 have closed or discontinued to operate illegally and 12 are under criminal investigation.
Illegal schools have been located in London boroughs, Birmingham, as well as Luton – about ¼ are faith-based schools.
The Department for Education said it and Ofsted agreed on sending cases to the Crown Prosecution Service. “If the director of public prosecutions takes a decision to charge, the case comes to the secretary of state for his consent. So far no cases have reached that stage.”
