In this episode I am joined by Ian Cunningham, the founder of the Self-Managed Learning College (SMLC) in Brighton; Dr Naomi Fisher, a clinical psychologist who sends her children to SMLC; and Ellie Costello, the Director of Square Peg, a social enterprise that supports young people and families with barriers to attendance.

We are here to discuss the Schools Bill currently going through the English Parliament, which presents a significant challenge for people seeking to rethink education; indeed, if it goes through largely unamended, it looks like it will be a hugely retrograde step in many alarming ways, all of which we will get into in the podcast. And so, with apologies to international listeners, this episode is strongly Anglocentric.

CORRECTION: Regarding Andy Bilson's research: 44% of all children will be referred to children's (social) services before their 16th birthday.

RESEARCH LINKS:

The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report A child-centred system: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/175391/Munro-Review.pdf

Bilson et al - How child protection’s ‘investigative turn’ impacts on poor and deprived communities: http://bilson.org.uk/Family_Law_prepub.pdf

MacDonald & MacDonald - Safeguarding: A Case for Intelligent Risk Management: https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article-abstract/40/4/1174/1631451

Munro - Predictive analytics in child protection: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332528200_Predictive_analytics_in_child_protection

Hardy (2017) - In Defence of Actuarialism: Interrogating the Logic of Risk in Social Work Practice: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02650533.2017.1394828

Contact your MP - or member of the House of Lords: https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/contact-your-mp

Petition - We must stop the Schools Bill: Act now to protect vulnerable families from persecution: https://www.change.org/p/updated-attendance-guidance-encourages-prosecution-and-fines-of-families-facing-barriers-to-attendance-undiagnosed-children-with-send-are-particularly-at-risk-time-for-positive-action-for-send-in-education

LET'S GET TOGETHER - THE RETHINKING EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2022:

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