Media Release – Beneficiary Parents “Not Able to Home School” Under Social Security Bill

October 24, 2012

Palmerston North, NZ – Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett last week told parents that under the new Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill, beneficiaries will face increased government discrimination in seeking exemptions to home educate their children.

In a letter dated October 18, Ms Bennett told the concerned Kiwi dad who contacted her that “in general, a beneficiary parent will not be able to home school their child.”

Under the Education Act parents currently have the right to apply to the Ministry of Education for an exemption to home educate their children. Exemptions are granted if the Ministry is satisfied that the child will be taught “at least as regularly and as well” as in a registered school.

But according to Ms Bennett, the Social Security Bill will only allow beneficiary parents to home educate in strictly limited circumstances, where the parents can prove that it would be “unreasonable” for their child to attend school where transport is unavailable or because of severe physical or learning disabilities.

Ms Bennett alleged that these draconian terms are intended to provide “better outcomes for children”. But Barbara Smith, National Director of the Home Education Foundation of New Zealand, says that they are harsh and discriminatory.

“These new hurdles will effectively make it impossible for beneficiaries to choose the kind of education their children will receive—which is a basic human right under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Mrs Smith says.

“All the research on home education shows its superiority to the school system. This bill makes it impossible for beneficiaries to give their children an excellent education.”

Mrs Smith says she has heard from hundreds of concerned parents who treasure the opportunity to learn with their children at home.

“Everyone has questions. What about the many responsible, dedicated home educators across this country? If their breadwinner loses his job, will they be forced to choose between their way of life and food on the table?

“What about the single-parent home educators, some of whom have left dangerous situations and gone on the benefit to keep their children safe? Will they be forced to part from those children because Paula Bennett doesn’t think they’re doing a good enough job of raising them at home?

Mrs Smith emphasises that current law already requires home educators to prove their children are being taught at least as regularly and well as in a registered school. “Requiring beneficiaries to prove that it would be ‘unreasonable’—according to the Ministry of Social Development—to send their children to school gives no benefit whatever to children,” she says. “By law, if the parents are home educating, they’ve already proved that their children are better off at home than at school. Why would Ms Bennett force them into an inferior education?

“It’s time the government stopped treating beneficiaries and home educators like second-class citizens.”

Mrs Smith encourages all concerned Kiwis will make a submission to the Select Committee by the deadline on November 1. Ms Bennett’s letter and materials for writing a submission can be found at www.hef.org.nz.

About the Home Education Foundation

The Home Education Foundation has been informing parents for 27 years about the fantastic opportunity to de-institutionalise our sons and daughters and to embrace the spiritual, intellectual and academic freedom that is ours for the taking. Through conferences, journals, newsletters and all kinds of personal communications, we explain the vision of handcrafting each child into a unique individual, complete with virtuous character, a hunger for service to others, academic acumen and a strong work ethic. For more information, please visit www.hef.org.nz or more specifically hef.org.nz/2012/make-a-submission-reject-compulsory-early-education-for-3-year-olds/

Already appeared here:

Scoop: Beneficiary Parents “Not Able to Home School” Under Bill

Voxy: Beneficiary parents ‘can’t home school’ under Bill

NewstalkZB: Welfare reforms may limit home schooling

As well as 3 Radio interviews today so far:

Radio Rhema at 9:45am
NZ Talk ZB
Radio Live

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Related Links:

• Media Release 4 – Social Security Bill Targets Responsible Parents for Toughest Penalties
• Letter from Paula Bennett to Samuel Blight
• Opinion Piece in Truth
• Possible timeline for Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Media Release 3 – Social Security Bill’s ECE Obligations Breach Human Rights
• Media Release 2 – Vulnerable Children Not Benefited By Social Security Bill
• Media Release 1 – Social Security Bill Coerces Parents, Removes Freedom
• Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds
• Some of the main links
• Comment on Q+A: Social Development Minister Paula Bennett
• Human Rights in New Zealand Today: The right to education
• Raymond S. Moore on Early Childhood Centres
• Should preschool be compulsory?
• TVNZ One this morning Q&A with Paula Bennett
• Maxim Institute: What is best for children?
• HUGE Concerns over the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Letter from Paula Bennett concerning beneficaries and home education
• Toby Manhire on Benefit-slaying Nats starting to look plain nasty
• Linking welfare to preschool attendance a world first
• New Update on: How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?
• How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?

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Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

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Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

https://hef.org.nz/2012/make-a-submission-reject-compulsory-early-education-for-3-year-olds/

Media Release – Social Security Bill Targets Responsible Parents for Toughest Penalties

October 23, 2012

Palmerston North, NZ – Under the new Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill, parents who want to make their own decisions about their children’s health and education will be targeted for open-ended penalties including CYFS investigation.

Barbara Smith, National Director of the Home Education Foundation (HEF) of New Zealand, believes that Kiwi parents should have “huge concerns” about the Bill. “Under the ‘social obligations’ in the Bill beneficiaries will be compelled to send their children aged 3-5 to an approved Early Childhood Education provider for at least 15 hours per week, ensure that their children attend school from age 5/6, register their children with a general practitioner, and attend all the government-approved Well Child checks.

“Hundreds of parents have contacted me over the last few weeks really concerned about this new policy,” Mrs Smith says. “Many of them realise they could be on the benefit if their breadwinner loses his job, or are currently on the benefit and don’t want to be parted from their children.”

Unfortunately, beneficiary parents who make informed and responsible decisions not to follow the government’s health and education programme will face open-ended penalties.

“Under the Bill, parents who fail to comply with the ‘social obligations’ will undergo three phases of ‘support contact’ with their caseworker,” Mrs Smith explains.

“After that, if the parents continue to stick with what they believe to be right, they’ll undergo a 50% benefit cut.

“Worst of all, beneficiaries who continue on the 50% cut will be subject to what the Bill calls ‘intensified case management support.’ This sounds fine until you discover what that actually means.”

According to the Ministry for Social Development’s Welfare Reform Paper E, “There are already operational processes in place for clients to be referred to CYF or fraud investigation if they continue on a fifty percent sanction.”

“In other words, if a beneficiary refuses to do what someone else thinks is best for her child, she will face ongoing harassment by social services,” Mrs Smith says.

Mrs Smith points out that irresponsible parents can be easily persuaded to send their children to preschool or attend Well Child checks. “Paula Bennett, who sponsored the Bill, says that it’s trying to help vulnerable children. Why is there no option for parents who simply want the freedom to make their own decisions? Only conscientious parents who want something better for their children and are willing to suffer the consequences will be targeted by these onerous sanctions.”

Mrs Smith believes a significant minority of Kiwi parents will suffer under these sanctions because of their responsible and principled decisions.

“Many parents would never send their children to preschool as a matter of conscience, and are dedicated to providing quality learning environments in their own homes. Others have made informed decisions against immunisation and don’t want to be forced to attend Well Child checks where they will be pressured to follow the programme.”

Mrs Smith hopes all concerned Kiwis will make a submission to the Select Committee by the deadline on November 1.

“It’s vital that we stand up for the beneficiaries, who are about to lose so many of their rights. Otherwise, when they decide to extend these ‘social obligations’ to the rest of us, what will we say?”

More information and materials for writing a submission can be found at www.hef.org.nz.

About the Home Education Foundation

The Home Education Foundation has been informing parents for 27 years about the fantastic opportunity to de-institutionalise our sons and daughters and to embrace the spiritual, intellectual and academic freedom that is ours for the taking. Through conferences, journals, newsletters and all kinds of personal communications, we explain the vision of handcrafting each child into a unique individual, complete with virtuous character, a hunger for service to others, academic acumen and a strong work ethic. For more information, please visit www.hef.org.nz or more specifically hef.org.nz/2012/make-a-submission-reject-compulsory-early-education-for-3-year-olds

Already published here:

Scoop: Social Security Bill Targets Responsible Parents

Voxy: Social Security Bill ‘targets responsible parents’

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Related Links:

• Letter from Paula Bennett to Samuel Blight
• Opinion Piece in Truth
• Possible timeline for Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Media Release 3 – Social Security Bill’s ECE Obligations Breach Human Rights
• Media Release 2 – Vulnerable Children Not Benefited By Social Security Bill
• Media Release 1 – Social Security Bill Coerces Parents, Removes Freedom
• Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds
• Some of the main links
• Comment on Q+A: Social Development Minister Paula Bennett
• Human Rights in New Zealand Today: The right to education
• Raymond S. Moore on Early Childhood Centres
• Should preschool be compulsory?
• TVNZ One this morning Q&A with Paula Bennett
• Maxim Institute: What is best for children?
• HUGE Concerns over the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Letter from Paula Bennett concerning beneficaries and home education
• Toby Manhire on Benefit-slaying Nats starting to look plain nasty
• Linking welfare to preschool attendance a world first
• New Update on: How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?
• How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?

Paula Bennett: As far as home schooling goes, the existing home school policy remains unchanged under the welfare reform changes. However, it is fair to say that, in general, a beneficiary parent will not be able to home school their child.

There are some very limited exceptions:

Click on each page of the letter to enlarge to make it easier to read:

Home educators we must all be putting in submissions. 

https://hef.org.nz/2012/make-a-submission-reject-compulsory-early-education-for-3-year-olds/

When you look at the White paper and Supporting Vulnerable Children then you will realise that the government wants this for ALL 3- 5 year olds.

https://hef.org.nz/2012/media-release-vulnerable-children-not-benefited-by-social-security-bill/

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Related Links:

• Opinion Piece in Truth
• Possible timeline for Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Media Release 3 – Social Security Bill’s ECE Obligations Breach Human Rights
• Media Release 2 – Vulnerable Children Not Benefited By Social Security Bill
• Media Release 1 – Social Security Bill Coerces Parents, Removes Freedom
• Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds
• Some of the main links
• Comment on Q+A: Social Development Minister Paula Bennett
• Human Rights in New Zealand Today: The right to education
• Raymond S. Moore on Early Childhood Centres
• Should preschool be compulsory?
• TVNZ One this morning Q&A with Paula Bennett
• Maxim Institute: What is best for children?
• HUGE Concerns over the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Letter from Paula Bennett concerning beneficaries and home education to Barbara Smith
• Toby Manhire on Benefit-slaying Nats starting to look plain nasty
• Linking welfare to preschool attendance a world first
• New Update on: How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?
• How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?

Click this link to see the page from Truth:

TRUTH_Page_10_Oct18_BW

Bennett’s ‘social obligations’ are unfair

By Suzannah Rowntree

Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett must be behind on her kindergarten quota.

The ministry’s ‘Supporting Vulnerable Children’ crusade pledges a 98% early childhood education attendance rate throughout the country by 2016, to say nothing of a 95% immunisation rate.

You’d think this quota would depend on the willingness of parents to comply.

But instead of trusting people to make informed decisions about surrendering their preschoolers to strangers or having them injected with chemical cocktails, Bennett’s new slew of welfare reforms makes preschool attendance and the statesponsored Well Child checks compulsory for beneficiaries.

Under the “social obligations” of the new Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill, parents receiving a benefit will be compelled to send their children to an approved preschool from the age of three, ensure regular school attendance from the age of six, register children at birth with an approved healthcare providerand attend all Well Child checks.

Who knew losing your job disqualified you from making decisions about your children’s health and education?

Bennett insists that the reforms are not invasive or coercive. “It doesn’t feel like I’m going into their homes and telling them exactly what to do, it just feels like I’m trying to put the right kind of care around themand their kids.”

Well, that’s nice for you, Paula, but feelings don’t always reflect reality. Let’s look at the sanctions that await recalcitrant free-thinkers.

Parents who refuse to cooperate with the compulsory programme will undergo three stages of “support contact” with WINZ to “encourage” them to submit to their “social obligations”. Parents who continue to show evidence of independent thought after this will have their benefit slashed by 50%. And in case anyone should be foolhardy enough to continue defying their benevolent overlords, “there are operational processes in place for clients to be referred to CYFS or fraud investigation if they continue on a 50% sanction,” according to the MSD’s Welfare Reform Paper E.

The Bill reflects these sanctions, dressing the CYFS threat up as “intensified case management support”. There’s literally no choice for parents who just want to opt out.

The structure targets responsible parents making principled educational or medical decisions for their children. Not irresponsible parents with neglected children, unless you want to redefine irresponsible as committed to providing better educational alternatives than those available at the local “cookie cutter kinder”.

But this legislation doesn’t just affect beneficiaries who want their three to five-year-old children to learn in a rich and stimulating home environment. It should also be a concern to everyone who sees that 98% early childhood education and 95% immunisation quota.

Because the Social Security Reform Bill proves one thing.  If coercion is needed to achieve this goal, coercion is what we’ll have. If the MSD believes it knows best,  and is willing to impose its vision on beneficiaries, why should it stop at them? Today the beneficiaries, tomorrow the rest of us.

Submissions to the committee are due by November 1, 2012. For more information and help making a submission, visit hef.org.nz

Suzannah Rowntree is paralegal
for the Home Education Foundation.

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Related Links:

• Possible timeline for Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Media Release 3 – Social Security Bill’s ECE Obligations Breach Human Rights
• Media Release 2 – Vulnerable Children Not Benefited By Social Security Bill
• Media Release 1 – Social Security Bill Coerces Parents, Removes Freedom
• Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds
• Some of the main links
• Comment on Q+A: Social Development Minister Paula Bennett
• Human Rights in New Zealand Today: The right to education
• Raymond S. Moore on Early Childhood Centres
• Should preschool be compulsory?
• TVNZ One this morning Q&A with Paula Bennett
• Maxim Institute: What is best for children?
• HUGE Concerns over the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
• Letter from Paula Bennett concerning beneficaries and home education
• Toby Manhire on Benefit-slaying Nats starting to look plain nasty
• Linking welfare to preschool attendance a world first
• New Update on: How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?
• How will the new Social obligations which will be required of all beneficiary parents effect home schoolers?