Some parents claim they are educating their children at home to hide the fact they are abusing them, welfare officers say. The Association for Education Welfare Management has asked the Children’s Minister, Margaret Hodge, for the power to check up on home educators. It says the forthcoming Children’s Bill is a good opportunity to change the current practice. Home educators regard the move as offensive and unnecessary. [FACT Comment: The strategy seems clear. First it was care workers, then schools, then priests, now its parents. The moral of the tale is that it will soon be you who are accused]