Are You Listening Now? – How to take part.
A campaign for parental choice and to enable families, including children, to have their voice heard.
Please get involved with as much as you can!
#AreYouListeningNow
Current and Ongoing Action:
1. Add your story (or share) these collections of unheard voices:
Link: Childs Voice (children share their views on education and life)
Link: School Stories (adults speak up about school having a negative impact on them or their children)
Link: Home Ed Alumni (proving that education does not have to happen in school)
2. Digital protest:
Use the #AreYouListening with relevant graphics or information or use in response to political social media posts, which fail to recognise the harm being caused or push a negative family narrative (or to support positive posts!).
3. Sign the Open Letter
Link: Withdraw clauses from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that do not reflect a free and democratic society.
4. Sign the petitions
Some of these may not impact you at the moment, but they are the basis of protecting educational rights and freedoms. And you never know if one day, you might value having a safety net, if school goes wrong for someone you care about. Petitions take around 4-8 weeks to be approved (if they are!) so more will appear here over time.
Link: Don’t introduce a unique identifier
Link: Remove clauses that impact education rights and freedoms
Link: Recognise Flexischooling and code it correctly on registers
Link: Make GCSE’s free for home educators
5. Write to your MP
Just use your own words, expressing your concerns (don’t rant or be rude).
It is totally worthwhile, be it a paragraph or a couple of pages.
Feel free to contact them regularly on this matter – especially if they are not responding or you are not happy with the response.
6. Contact member/s of the House of Lords
Keep it to one page and from the heart. The Lords want to hear about the impact on people.
7. Use your contacts
Media, journalists, celebrities, CEO’s, influencers, charities, organisations – contact them, make sure they understand, ask they to speak up.
8. Attend the national protest on May 18th, 1:45pm at Whitehall
Join with many, many others who disagree with the Bill and the greatest overreach and removal of parental rights in the 150-year history of the Education Act. This family friendly walk will take us from Whitehall and end in Hyde Park, where engaging speakers will inspire and motivate.
More details will be coming soon.
Action Archive
8 Days of Action (and a day off to rest!)
Friday 28th February 2025: Nationwide Digital Protest
Organised by Doing Education Differently
Saturday 1st March – Friday 7th March: “Daily Actions” & Live Content
Organised by Home Education Action Group
Saturday 8th March: Regional Rallies (in person)
Organised by Home Education Action Group
Full Details:
Friday 28th February 2025: Nationwide Digital Protest
A day of digital protest to flood social media, raise awareness and have our voices heard.
We have chosen this day as it is International Stand Up to Bullying day. It is to recognise the ongoing trauma of bullying that many young people experience AND the bullying of children & families by schools, councils and legislation.
You can join in alone or with friends and family. All you need is a device and a social media account/s.
Worried about your privacy?
You do not need to say what your educational “status” is or making any personal comments – just liking and sharing the hashtag graphic is fantastic!
How to take part on Friday 28th February
1. Choose your location
Home, at a friends, in the park, at a group or at work etc
2. Create a poster or download one of the images here, saying #AreYouListeningNow
You can do this ahead of time if you prefer.
3. Photograph you (and your children/family/friends/organisation) holding it up
Children or anyone camera shy can be behind the banner/s!
4. Post to some local social media groups you are in – not too many or the spam filter will get you 🙂
(making your post public helps – but it’s not essential!)
Your profile, your village/town/city, family/parenting/childrens groups – tag in media, Government, MP’s & Councils
5. Include #AreYouListeningNow
And this link: www.doingeducationdifferently.co.uk/areyoulisteningnow
6. If you are happy to – you can grab a copy of our Press Release using the button below. Just give it an edit and copy and paste into an email to your local paper!
Saturday 1st March – Friday 7th March: “Daily Actions” & Live Content
Keeping the momentum going with different actions and content to motivate!
Saturday 1st March
Algorithm Push
All you need to do is: Share | Comment | Like as many of the #AreYouListeningNow posts that you see on social media! Doing it in this order help’s show you are not a bot and it will help push our posts forward!
Sunday 2nd March
Rest Day!
Time to chill and relax. Have a well earned break from your socials and prepare for the week to come!
Monday 3rd March
Impact you MP!
Email or MP and get tagging them on Social Media! If you don’t know the link just search for their name and it should come up or ask in the action group and someone will help you! Remember to tag everything with #AreYouListeningNow and www.doingeducationdifferently.co.uk/areyoulisteningnow/
Tuesday 4th March
Influence Influencers
Today is the day to tag the policy makers! Department of Education, Children’s Commissoner, Shadow Ministers, Heads of Parties – post a message or share something from Doing Education Differently social media (includes Facebook, Tik Tok, Insta, X) – or any other page you follow! Remember to tag everything with #AreYouListeningNow and www.doingeducationdifferently.co.uk/areyoulisteningnow/
Wednesday 5th March
Impact The Lords
Today is the day to tag the Lords! Share your thoughts in a post, share something from Doing Education Differently social media or any other page you follow!
Thursday 6th March
Learning Everwhere
If you home educate or use schools – children will learn every day and anywhere they are! The Government think they can assess a “suitable” education – but we don’t agree that they can. Get out and take some fun pictures of where you learn! You could set up a doll’s house size take and chair in fun places – like the supermarket, library, swimming pool or woods. Try not to get any faces in the pictures and get them posted. If you really want to you could take a folding chair to use instead! Remember to tag everything with #AreYouListeningNow and www.doingeducationdifferently.co.uk/areyoulisteningnow/
Friday 7th March
Prepare for the rallies – or take a break!
Make sure you get some rest today – tomorrow is the in person regional rallies! If you can’t access them for any reason – no worries.
You can join in virtually by sharing any pictures you see coming through on social media.
This is also a great day to design your rally placards. Remember to tag everything with #AreYouListeningNow and www.doingeducationdifferently.co.uk/areyoulisteningnow/
Some placard designs can be found here.
Saturday 8th March: Regional Rallies
Finishing off our WEEK OF ACTION we have the regional peaceful, in person protests.
Bring a placard or just turn up and be counted. Children welcome. Arrive and leave as suits.
Some placard designs can be found here.
Birmingham
Victoria Square
Birmingham Facebook Event Link
Exeter
Bedford Street, between H&M and Bedford Square.
Map pin
Exeter Facebook Event Link
Jenn From Doing Education Differently will be speaking at Exeter – so come and say hello!
Leeds
Victoria Gardens, Briggate
Leeds Facebook Event Link
Liverpool
St Georges Plateau
Liverpools Facebook Event Link
London
Parliment Square
London Facebook Event Link
Manchester
Outside Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square
Manchester Facebook Event Link