Conservative peer Nathanael Ming-Yan Wei warns of ‘mass information gathering’ under children’s wellbeing and schools bill as Prevent link surfaces

A UK government bill aimed at improving child wellbeing and regulating home education has sparked controversy, with Conservative peer Nathanael Ming-Yan Wei warning that it could lead to increased surveillance and suspicion of Muslim families. During the second reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in the House of Lords, Wei criticized the proposed requirement for local authorities to maintain detailed registers of children not in full-time school. He described it as an “unprecedented intrusion into family life” that grants sweeping powers to monitor home-educating families.

The government argues that the bill, which applies only in England, is designed to safeguard children by ensuring none slip through the system. The legislation follows the high-profile case of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old who was murdered four months after being withdrawn from school for home education. In 2023–24, approximately 153,000 children were recorded as being home-schooled, up from 126,100 the previous year. Factors contributing to this rise include concerns over mental health, dissatisfaction with special education provision, and cultural or religious preferences.

Lord Wei expressed specific concerns about the potential targeting of Muslim families under the bill. He revealed that the Department for Education’s home education team had connections to Prevent, the government’s counter-extremism initiative. Wei cited a 2023 job posting indicating the same division also oversees Prevent operations in education. Amnesty International has previously criticized Prevent for having a “racist and discriminatory impact,” particularly on Muslims, children, and neurodivergent individuals.

Wei cautioned that the bill, under the pretext of countering radicalization, effectively enables mass data collection on families without public consultation or transparency. Unlike parents of children in mainstream schools, home-educating families will be required to submit extensive information, including details on the educator, education methods, and involvement of third parties. These families must also report any changes within 15 days, and their data could be shared across multiple public agencies.

Research by the Universities of Birmingham and Portsmouth has shown that Muslim families often choose home schooling to avoid bullying, and scholars like Dr. Amber Fensham-Smith have warned that measures targeting such families risk reinforcing systemic inequalities.

Wei concluded by questioning whether the government considers all home-educating families potential threats, warning that many law-abiding parents would feel unjustly scrutinized simply for exercising their legal right to educate their children at home.

Source: Hyphen