In an effort to address extremism, not merely terrorism, the definition of “out-of-school education settings” now appears to include the Sunday Schools and Sabbath School for children and youth, 19-years-old and under. This would include church programs such as Pathfinders, clubs, and home schooling, etc. The Government intends to register these entities and therefore they would be subject to risk-based inspection by Ofsted. This approach, among other reasons, is to tackle extremism ‘in all its forms’ and seek to curb undesirable teachings, which undermine fundamental British values.
What is Ofsted? According to Independent Education Consultants, it is “the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. It reports directly to Parliament and is both independent and impartial. By law it must inspect schools with the aim of providing information to parents, to promote improvement and to hold schools to account.”
In other words, Ofsted is a British government enforcement division that handles educational issues. It is attempting to get control of what is taught to children by church programs and also of homeschoolers in an effort to combat extremism.
In the age when Christianity is increasingly viewed as out of step with society and extreme, any entity that does not teach acceptance and tolerance of all social lifestyles, tolerance and even acceptance of other religious ideas, etc, this will inevitably restrict what Christian people teach their children. Even biblical values will and are coming under the radar of government enforcement agencies. Ultimately, it is an attempt to restrict religious freedom, and the freedom of homeschooling parents to teach their children according to their own understanding of truth.
“When we reach the standard that the Lord would have us reach, worldlings will regard Seventh-day Adventists as odd, singular, strait-laced extremists.” Fundamentals of Education, page 289.