Home-schooled children said more at risk

LONDON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Children being educated at home are twice as likely to be abused and should be closely monitored by social services, a British educator said Friday.

Graham Badman, former director of children's services in Kent, reviewed the home-school policy after a 7-year-old girl, Khyra Ishaq, was starved to death.

The child's mother, Angela Gordon, who removed her from school six months before her death, and her stepfather, are to be sentenced next week.

Badman says local school officials should be required to keep a registry of home-schooled children and social service workers should have more power to make home visits.

His recommendations have been incorporated into the Children, Schools and Families Act.

Badman said he believes the actual number of home-school children in the country is far higher than the official figure of 20,000.

Ann Newstead, a spokeswoman for Education Otherwise, a home-schooling advocacy group, said in Khyra's case social service workers failed to do their job and it is "ludicrous" to think stricter laws would have saved her.

"We are ending up with a witch hunt against home educators based on ill thought-out comments," she said.