Tuesday 26 October 2010

Monitoring and inspection of home education

An awful lot of local authority officers inspecting or supporting home educating parents seem to be ex-teachers. This never used to bother me; nearly all our friends are either teachers or social workers, so one more visiting the house didn't make much difference! Many home educators though have very negative feelings towards schools and conventional education. For them, having a teacher come round to check up on what they are doing is intolerable. I wonder if parents would be more agreeable to the idea of other home educators carrying out such visits, following a protocol agreed between home educators and the local authority?

During the review of elective home education which he carried out on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Graham Badman briefly floated the idea of the 'Tasmanian Model', asking if people thought that such a scheme might work in this country. He later changed his mind, conceding that this might have been 'a step too far'. But was it really?

Tasmania is a state of Australia with a population of around half a million, half of whom live in the capital city of Hobart. In 1993, the Minister of Education in Tasmania set up the Tasmanian Home Education Advisory Council (THEAC). This body oversees home education on the island, including registration and monitoring. It has no connection with the Ministry of Education, but is directly answerable to the Minister of Education in person. The council has six members, three of whom are home educators and three who have been appointed by the Minister of Education from the wider community. They pay a small staff to register and monitor home education. At the last count, there were around seven hundred home educators in Tasmania, about the same number as in an average English county. The THEAC employs two people to visit them and check on the provision which they are making for their children. The whole process is devised and implemented by home educating parents themselves.

It is hardly surprising that this idea of a Home Education Advisory Council was rejected out of hand by most parents in this country when Badman suggested it. For one thing, most home educators hoped that if they stood fast, then things would just carry on as before. For another, Education Otherwise was mooted as being the natural partner in such an enterprise. This alone was enough to damn it in the eyes of many. We need not go into the politics of the thing, but the fact is that some home educators in this country cannot stand Education Otherwise and would be as reluctant to allow them in their house as they would officers from their local authority.

A few days ago, I put forwards the idea of locally elected councils of home educators composed partly of local authority officers and partly of parents who had been vote onto this council by other home educating parents. I am wondering how people would feel about the idea of such a council being responsible for the registration and monitoring of home education in their local authority area? I am perfectly well aware that many parents are not keen on anybody checking what they are doing with their child's education, but there is going to be pressure for this from some quarters for the foreseeable future. I am kicking around an idea and trying to see how many parents would be satisfied to deal with a parent who is or has been a home educator herself and therefore knows about the whole business from the inside. Would this be any more acceptable than having an ex-teacher from the local authority asking questions? Or, which is entirely possible, are both unacceptable to the majority of home educating parents? What if this plan, of having former home educators as advisors, were combined with access to various facilities such as free examinations and use of school sports and music facilities, that kind of thing?

I am very interested in knowing how strongly parents here are against any sort of involvement at all with anybody and how far they might compromise if they got something from it. This is not, by the way, an attempt at what is being called 'rent seeking'! I have no interest in the matter other than in debating ideas. So nobody need bother to start describing me as 'a rent-seeking vulture queen' or anything of the sort, as I have seen one well known home educator described on a forum recently! Don't you just hate gendered insults of this sort? I have an idea that a new set of guidelines for elective home education in England is likely to emerge soon from the discussions between Alison Sauer, Imran Shah and a few others. It is less a question of whether change is happening, than what that change will be. For my part, I would like to see democratically elected representatives of home educated parents at the heart of policy making, both at the Department for Education and local authorities. This is not possible at the moment and so people have volunteered to step in and help. This is beginning to cause the most terrible divisions among home educators and the only way that I can see this stopping is if those working on behalf of parents can acquire some sort of legitimacy.

25 comments:

  1. 'I wonder if parents would be more agreeable to the idea of other home educators carrying out such visits,'

    ROTFLOL! Common sense would say so, but then they'd be despised as 'rent-seeking, narcissistic psychopaths' wouldn't they? And if they'd ever so much as looked in the direction of a workbook during their time of HE'ing, then they'd be 'coercive, rent-seeking, narcissistic psychopaths'.

    Good luck with that idea.

    As I've said before, I'm not in favour of routine monitoring and inspection. I am in favour of good voluntary relationships with genuinely helpful LA's offering free resources and contact faciliated between new HE'ing parents with experienced mentor parents.

    Mrs Anon

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  2. ' helpful LA's offering free resources and contact faciliated between new HE'ing parents with experienced mentor parents.'

    Which is a pretty good idea in itself, Mrs Anon. All we need now is a bit of open mindedness from more local authorities and a little bit of give and take among home educators, together with a lot of good will on both sides and something might be able to happen. Or is this hopelessly optimistic?

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  3. It would be interesting to see what happened nationally if all the LA's suddenly started being open-minded and genuinely helpful, wouldn't it?

    I suspect that after a few years of them consistently remaining within the law, not being patronising and reaching out to HE'ers to offer no-strings attached assistance in such matters as exam fees, HE'ers would probably melt into their arms.

    It's a bit unlikely though, eh?

    Mrs Anon

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  4. 'It would be interesting to see what happened nationally if all the LA's suddenly started being open-minded and genuinely helpful, wouldn't it?'

    Or indeed if some home educating parents stopped acting as though their local authority were the local emissaries of Satan! Both sides need to change their attitude is there is to be any progress.

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  5. Which is a pretty good idea in itself, Mrs Anon. All we need now is a bit of open mindedness from more local authorities and a little bit of give and take among home educators, together with a lot of good will on both sides and something might be able to happen. Or is this hopelessly optimistic?

    I think it is optimistic at best, and worst, just a pipe dream. As an individual I dont feel that a notification system would be a terrible thing. Equally I have heard suggested that a two tier system could be a good thing (tier 1- yes we are here, thanks leave us alone, tier 2 - yes please support us, and in return you can ask about our provision) and I could see that working. I would even go so far as considering voluntary registration if there was something in it for me.

    How that would work though is a whole other matter. Every LA official would continue to be viewed suspiciously, every home educator who volunteered their services in any way would be considered a traitor. (Many HEers are considered that already becuase we own a workbook *rolls eyes* )

    Those who currently shout loudly about their rights and wanting to be left alone blah blah are the same people who would fuel suspicions about any new thing that is introduced. A few dissenters making it difficult for others of us to reach a compromise we can live with.

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  6. Mmm..I enjoyed a happy relationship with my LA but I do know others who have been hounded and harried, for no earthly reason, by theirs. Isn't that the reason for the problem? Of course, the Badman Review made things unspeakably worse.

    It will take time, and genuine effort on the part of the LA's, I think, to improve the situation.

    Mrs Anon

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  7. Well, I can't see it working in a million years... the HE world is too divided to ever cooperate with each other, let alone the Govt. Any such scheme would merely replace the reports about over zealous LA bods with tales of "unreasonable home educating bods" instead. The trouble is that we (ie home educators) can't agree on what is a "satisfactory education" in the first place......

    I am all for better relationships between LA and parents-more support/help with exams and so on.... eventually that will make many families want to engage with the LAs....but it won't atttract the "very anti authority" types, or, of course, the tiny percentage of would-be abusers, who are of course the ones that the LAs are worried about in the first place......

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  8. "(Many HEers are considered that already becuase we own a workbook *rolls eyes* )"

    You and Mrs Anon should really change your 'friends'. I AE and we own workbooks and we have good friends who AE and others who follow more parent-led approaches. I'm so glad I'm not in the same groups or email lists you are, they sound horrible. In every group I've belonged to, autonomous educators have been in the minority and research has shown that this is a national trend. Don't let them get away with dominating your groups to this extent!

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  9. "Those who currently shout loudly about their rights and wanting to be left alone blah blah are the same people who would fuel suspicions about any new thing that is introduced."

    Why is it impossible for both groups to get what they want? It's entirely possible for you to register yourself now. How would me not registering stop this and how would me not taking up offers stop you taking up offers? It should be possible for the LA to support those who want it without reducing the freedoms of those who don't want the support.

    "A few dissenters making it difficult for others of us to reach a compromise we can live with."

    How does one group disagreeing with registration stop another group registering and compromising? Suggesting that everyone must register and compromise is as bad as saying that nobody should.

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  10. You and Mrs Anon should really change your 'friends'.
    I do have friends who dont judge my choices. I find I come up against wide-eyed negativity quite a lot from AE people who arent so liberal in their views.
    How does one group disagreeing with registration stop another group registering and compromising? Suggesting that everyone must register and compromise is as bad as saying that nobody should.
    I agree! which is why I feel a workable situation is so hard to achieve. How can we work it so that everyone is happy.

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  11. "I agree! which is why I feel a workable situation is so hard to achieve. How can we work it so that everyone is happy."

    I don't think I'm explaining myself very well. I can't see how the current situation - where those who want to register can, and those who don't aren't forced to (except of course if they are 'found') prevents you from getting what you want. You are not prevented from registering today. So why do you there is a need for compulsory registration/notification (if that's what you think)?

    You said above,

    "A few dissenters making it difficult for others of us to reach a compromise we can live with."

    Going back to the beginning, what change to the current system do you thing is needed in order to allow you to get what *you* want?

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  12. "Many home educators though have very negative feelings towards schools and conventional education. For them, having a teacher come round to check up on what they are doing is intolerable."

    As home educating parents are under no obligation to follow the prevailing educational paradigm employed in school and, as the flexible nature of home education typically incorporates an alternative, innovative and more varied programme of study, this disparity must inevitably confound any meaningful comparison or evaluation. Therefore the question remains as to how realistic and impartial appraisal can be achieved within the professional boundaries of the system that failed to meet our children's needs.

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  13. 'Therefore the question remains as to how realistic and impartial appraisal can be achieved within the professional boundaries of the system that failed to meet our children's needs.'

    Quite. That is why I wondered if having other home educating parents draw up guidelines, devise protocols and actually conduct visits might be a better idea than using ex-teachers.

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  14. "Quite. That is why I wondered if having other home educating parents draw up guidelines, devise protocols and actually conduct visits might be a better idea than using ex-teachers."

    Which assumes there is need to conduct visits. Why?

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  15. 'Which assumes there is need to conduct visits. Why?'

    Some people like to have visits, others might want them if there was something in it for them. Some might not want visits at the moment precisely because most are carried out by ex-teachers. Some of these might be happy to have another home educator come round and provide support.

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  16. So you are suggesting visits should continue to be optional as they are now?

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  17. I am suggesting that some of those who currently decline visits because (a.) there is nothing in it for them and (b.) they don't care for ex-teachers, might feel differently about the whole thing if there were advantages to be had by the process and it was also carried out by home educating parents.

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  18. So are you suggesting that visits should continue to be optional as they are now?

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  19. 'So are you suggesting that visits should continue to be optional as they are now?'

    Well, I hadn't really got that far yet. I was musing about possible reasons why some people at the moment object to having visits and how we might be able to address those objections.

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  20. "Quite. That is why I wondered if having other home educating parents draw up guidelines, devise protocols and actually conduct visits might be a better idea than using ex-teachers."

    Of course you could encounter the same problems with a home educating parent conducting a home visit as you would with an ex-taecher.
    My son was diagnosed as having APD and associated language difficulties (not via his school, I hasten to add). Any attempt to ascertain his academic progress would involve an extensive and specialised knowledge of Auditory Processing Disorder, together with an acute awareness of the overwhelming and often incapacitating nature of this condition and the resultant challenges that he encounters on a daily basis.

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  21. "I agree! which is why I feel a workable situation is so hard to achieve. How can we work it so that everyone is happy."

    I don't think I'm explaining myself very well. I can't see how the current situation - where those who want to register can, and those who don't aren't forced to (except of course if they are 'found') prevents you from getting what you want. You are not prevented from registering today. So why do you there is a need for compulsory registration/notification (if that's what you think)?

    You said above,

    "A few dissenters making it difficult for others of us to reach a compromise we can live with."

    Going back to the beginning, what change to the current system do you thing is needed in order to allow you to get what *you* want?

    Sorry for being late replying to this, I have been away.
    I actually dont want to see ANY change. I would love it to stay the same and to be left alone. However, it doesnt look like we are getting that choice so I am doing the next best thing and suggesting things that might possibly work as compromises. No-one is going to get their own way in this I fear.
    As for why I dont register; its because I dont want to be known. There is no benefit to me and I am not in need of inspection in my homeschool provision. I am sure lots of people feel this way. I still think we need to reach a compromise for the benefit of those who are known though.

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  22. "I actually dont want to see ANY change. I would love it to stay the same and to be left alone. However, it doesnt look like we are getting that choice so I am doing the next best thing and suggesting things that might possibly work as compromises. No-one is going to get their own way in this I fear."

    Then in that case I suppose the question should be, why do those that think there needs to be a change want from the change? What do they want to achieve? Unless we know this, we can't really suggest possible compromises or even decide if compromise is necessary. A solution that everyone is happy with has got to be better than a compromise solution.

    "I still think we need to reach a compromise for the benefit of those who are known though."

    I'm still not sure how the unknown becoming known is going to help those who are already known. I've been in both positions and, like you, prefer to be unknown. But when I was known I didn't mind that others were unknown and cannot think of any benefit in changing that.

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