While we are watching Barry Sheerman, we must be careful that we do not take our eyes off Graham Stuart for too long. He is now the Chair of the Education select committee and also runs the APPG for home education matters. Yesterday, he tweeted to let people know that the next meeting of the APPG would be behind closed doors, by invitation only;
https://twitter.com/grahamstuart
This is so that he can bring together, 'home education experts from local authorities to set up a group to exchange info'. This sounds interesting, but something that we should all know more about. In particular, which local authorities have experts on home education working for them? We should be told!
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Okay... I was at the last APPG and this was raised just at the very end......so it wasn't discussed. The GS reason behind it is that there are some good LAs ( such as HCC, my LA , who had 2 managers present,) and that this professional group would enable these good LAs to help bad LAs. However I am a sceptic- whatever the law says some LAs are perfectly happy
ReplyDeleteharassing home educators and nothing will change- whether the bad ones will influence the good may be of some concern. The next one is thus invitation only ( which I am not expecting to get - my main focus is exams) because of the sheer numbers challenge - getting a seat is an issue anyway and so lots of LA staff will get invited - and a few, hmm, Educational Consultants who are HEers or ex HE-ers.
There is a lot of ill feeling about this elsewhere - I am not a great conspiracy theorist, I expect GS just thought it was a jolly good idea!
'ex HE-ers. '
DeleteIs that code for Fiona Nicholson?
Ah, and Jane Lowe, it seems!
DeleteHCC are not a good LA their tell lies Julie about parent and children who home educate.HCC want to destroy home education
DeleteGood to know you got an invite to the last meeting Julie. I would expect you to as a friend of Fiona Nicholson. Shame on you for not alerting your fellow HEors, who you purport to help, about the proposed new "expert" LA officer group. GS does not need you to defend his motives, it is not his lifestyles that is at risk nor is it yours, it is current HEors who will feel the repercussions of this frankly appalling idea.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, what a strong reaction! Why is a meeting between LA officers responsible for HE a bad idea, precisely?
Delete(And how is Julie suddenly the Bad Guy?)
Why do you think she's the bad guy? Do tell.
DeleteI can't tell if the commenter at 14.49 above is echoing my query about why on earth is Julie being painted by Marie Stafford (whoever she is) as an enemy of Home Education, or if they are trying desperately to be funny (and failing.)
DeleteThe thing is, when you are using the internet, you need to speak more plainly.
Whose 'lifestyle' is at risk by LA officers sharing good practice re exams?
DeleteI must be so dim, I'm just not getting this particular storm in a tea cup.
No one's lifestyle would be put at risk by LAs sharing good practice re exams, but that is a moot point because this group of 'experts' are not forming for that reason alone....or are they? No one knows because no questions are being answered.
DeleteHow come Julie gets invited but other home educators dont?
DeleteUm, maybe because they didn't ask? Or don't have any experience or expertise in the issue under discussion? In this case it was exams.
DeleteIf you have any experience or expertise in a particular aspect of HE that's up for discussion at a future meeting, why don't you just ask to go along?
Their invite Julie cos their know she agree with them
DeleteI got lots of experience of the lies HCC officers tell about parents and children
In that case, the next time they have an APPG meeting about lying LAs, you should go.
Deletethat may not be a wise move to leave me in a room with HCC LA officers lol
DeleteAren't they all different to the ones you dealt with now?
Deletethey all the same and those who are senior staff are still their such as Felicty Roe and others .Their tell lies about parents/children and wish to destroy home education.I see what their wrote to Badman i got hold of it in a freedom of information request their say one thing to people like Julie but behind you back are saying something else.Their fully supported Crazy Badman and where lobbying for it to be made law.
DeleteI have nothing but contempt for HCC LA officers.
"In particular, which local authorities have experts on home education working for them? We should be told!"
ReplyDeleteAny Sherlock hunting these down may need a v big magnifying glass. @fruitlessendeavors.
I took the "experts" to be the LA staff who concentrated on home education - not "experts" from outside the LAs, but a) perhaps I misunderstood and b) I am not sure wither category qualify as "experts!"
Deleteb) should read "I am not sure whether either category qualifies as experts"
Delete- I did also notice as I left that it appears that one LA represented at that meeting was employing a "consultant" who was present( and well known)"
That would be Fiona Nicholson and Oxfordshire County council
DeleteIt's about time that someone sorted out that situation.
Delete"It's about time that someone sorted out that situation."
DeleteAbsolutely right, it's a scandal...shouldn't be allowed to happen in this day and age, I mean... erm... what situation needs to be sorted-out?
Well, actually the last meeting was open to all - there were quite a few ordinary HErs there - although it was a squash. The proposed group was only mentioned in the last few mins and certainly has been extensively discussed on a list I am on; and the minutes of the meeting are in the public domain,so it is hardly a secret. It was only GS tweet that Simon mentions that informed anyone (including me) that the next meeting is invitation only. As I have said above, I don't actually think it is a good idea, but we weren't invited to comment on it last time - it is a proposal for the next time.
ReplyDeleteGS Tweet clearly states that the last meeting and the coming meeting are invitation only. It was not open to all according to GS.
ReplyDeleteI obviously failed to notice that - even took my dh with me! I am terrible at politics!
ReplyDeleteOOOOOhhhh, is this all a jealousy thing? 'She was invited to the meeting and I wasn't?' Fiona Nicholson and Jane Lowe act as secretaries to the APPG. If you want an invitation and you have some experience in the particular subject under discussion (eg SEN or exams or whatever the subject is) then ask for an invitation! Don't go bitching abut the people who have been in the past.
ReplyDeleteYou're assuming people didn't ask. People have asked and been denied access even with more experience than others who were specifically invited and before the venue was fully booked.
DeleteI'd love to know who had more experience in helping HE families through the exam process than Julie and Jaki, who had asked to attend but were rebuffed.
DeleteUmmm... I'm clearly being thick again here.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that LA's already talk to each other about home education off the record, so at least this way Graham Stuart can hear them. If he's got any sense he'll do what he does so well and be charming and friendly and make everyone think he's on their side (standard politician operating practice!) Then they may well relax enough to give him a very interesting insight into their views.
I would really like to see an open debate where LA's could draw up a list of what they don't like about us and we could draw up a list of what we don't like about them and we could see if there were any ways to sort things out that didn't involve either misquoting existing legislation or wanting new legislation.
When I've debated with Simon before he's been able to quote legislation that shows where the confusion comes from at LA's and I can see that after Sharon Shoesmith and the Serious Case Review about Hamzad Khalid there is a lot of paranoia around about being caught having missed something and having 'missing children', so I think we have to accept that those who want HE regulated are not going to change their mind any more than those who don't want HE regulated will and start trying to find some common ground.
Looking outside the HE world, I think there'll be very little sympathy for a group who don't want their children's existence put on record at the moment, so maybe we need to focus on reasons why registration isn't a good idea rather than what may or may not be happening at meetings?
(Now retreats behind parapet...)
Anne
'Looking outside the HE world, I think there'll be very little sympathy for a group who don't want their children's existence put on record at the moment, so maybe we need to focus on reasons why registration isn't a good idea rather than what may or may not be happening at meetings?'
DeleteI think the point that concerns people is that what is being said at the meetings of the APG might at some later stage influence MPs who might be involved in framing legislation. You are right about people not having sympathy for parents not wishing for their children to be officially known about! To every non-educating parent I have talked about, this is a dreadful and potentially dangerous notion. You'll need to do a lot of legwork to persuade most people otherwise.
LA's undoubtedly want to influence MP's, but they're not the only ones who can lobby, so thanks for all you do to flag up 'incoming' problems.
Delete(And that's 2 thank you's in one week, but normal service will undoubtedly be resumed shortly!)
As for the registration, mine have Statements of Special Educational Need, complex medical needs and were at school. I've never not been known about so I can't comment on reasons why people feel so passionately that they shouldn't be because they're not something I've ever experienced. I respect their viewpoints though and am always grateful when people explain things to me because I learn a lot that way.
It's odd, you know. The biggest thing HE has taught me is how little I know and how much I want to learn.
Atb
Anne
Ann says "It's odd, you know. The biggest thing HE has taught me is how little I know and how much I want to learn."
Deletehow true that statement is
as for not being know that is almost impossible i have no problem with filling out a from to let some jobs wroth at the council know i was home educating but i would never have a meeting or allow them into my home.
'I would really like to see an open debate where LA's could draw up a list of what they don't like about us and we could draw up a list of what we don't like about them and we could see if there were any ways to sort things out that didn't involve either misquoting existing legislation or wanting new legislation.'
ReplyDeletePerfect. So would I.
Unfortunately, the clique who want to protect their 'lifestyle' and spend much of the day writing sarcastic essays or silly songs or parody websites about Simon don't actually approve of people talking to each other.
Apparently, that's too scary.