UK aims to boost homeschooling safety after Sara Sharif murder

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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called for better safeguards for homeschooled children and said there were “questions that need to be answered” after the brutal murder of 10-year-old British-Pakistani Sara Sharif.

Sara’s father and stepmother were convicted of murder on Wednesday in a trial that revealed gruesome details of the abuse inflicted on her, and the failure of child protection services to intervene despite warning signs.

Starmer said the “awful” case was “about making sure that [there are] protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled”.

The girl was found dead in her home in August 2023, with extensive injuries, including broken bones, burns and even bite marks, after being subjected to years of abuse.

Months earlier, her father Urfan Sharif had taken her out of school to be taught at home, after Sara’s teacher reported her bruises to child services.

At the time, child services had probed the incident but did not take any action.

Sara had also been in and out of foster care after Urfan separated from her mother, Olga Sharif, to marry the stepmother, Beinash Batool.

Despite previous allegations of abusive behaviour against the father made by Olga, Urfan won custody of Sara in 2019, just four years before she was killed.

Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza said Sara’s death highlighted “profound weaknesses in our child protection system”.

De Souza said it was “madness” that an at-risk child could be taken out of school, calling for a ban on homeschooling of suspected abuse victims.

The Department for Education said it was “already taking action to make sure no child falls through the cracks” and “bringing in greater safeguards for children in home education”.

Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, said that details would be announced soon on the “long overdue” homeschooling safeguards and reforms to children’s social care.

According to a child safeguarding report published today, 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect in the year to April 2024.

Urfan, Batool and Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, who was cleared of murder but convicted of causing or allowing her death, are due to be sentenced on Tuesday.