Home Education Street is a large, mixed school, catering for all ages; with an intake drawn from both rural and urban areas. It is, unfortunately, impossible to say how many pupils are on roll, as staff are opposed on ideological grounds from taking Registration. Between 50,000 and 80,000 pupils seems to be a likely figure.
Home Education Street School, unlike other educational establishments in England and Wales, has never before been inspected and this presented a number of problems. For instance, it has proved very difficult to discover what subjects, if any, are being taught. Indeed, we were wholly unable to establish firmly whether teaching of any description had actually been taking place. There are no written records of lessons, nor are any statistics available regarding examinations taken by pupils. This is an unsatisfactory state of affairs.
I was able to locate some notes made by a former teacher at the school, Miss P. Rothermel. These suggest that 35 of the younger pupils were doing quite well 11 years ago. unfortunately, Miss Rothermel cannot tell us how they did in secondary school, or what became of them at all. Some members of staff claimed that similar schools in the USA are doing alright and that we should therefore stop badgering Home Education Street School with a lot of silly questions and just look at how well things were going in America.
The situation with examination results is also sketchy. Some staff say that pupils have gone on to university, others say that this is not important any way. Miss Shena Deuschars, a member of staff, has exam results for 52 pupils going back to 2001. She refuses to say who they are though, due to the Data Protection Act. Since an estimated 10,000 children a year graduate from this school, it seems possible that many, perhaps most, leave with no qualifications at all.
A major difficulty that we encountered during our inspection was that the asking of questions was usually met with a barrage of shouting and abuse from the staff. The general view among the staff was that asking to give any account of their teaching practice was a flagrant violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Recommendations
1. Keeping a proper register of pupils
2. Record to be kept of examination results
3. Brief annual account of teaching undertaken
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That's a fantastic analogy, because families are basically the same as schools.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to future installments on:
the scandalous facts about The Restaurant Of People's Kitchens And Dining Rooms, which is never inspected by government health and safety officials!
the anomalous situation of Guest Bedroom Hotel, which is not subject to the laws that regulate every other hospitality establishment in England and Wales
the shocking truth about The Mummies And Daddies Childcare Centre, where the staff are not routinely checked for suitability by the authorities (despite hundreds of cases of abuse in the last few years)!
(PS. I expect the parents whose children attend HESS will be shocked at the findings of your report, and will withdraw their children immediately.)
Brilliant reply anonymous, love it!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the main objections I have (beyond the obvious - that schools are inspected because they are working on behalf of the parents) is that inspections, submission of plans and government plans to "provide more comprehensive guidance on the practical interpretation of ‘efficient' and ‘suitable'" will severely limit our and more importantly, our children's choices. If government plans go ahead, home educated children will have a more limited education than even some schools provide!
Here are some quotes from school web sites:
"The important freedom at Summerhill is the right to play. All lessons are optional. There is no pressure to conform to adult ideas of growing up, though the community itself has expectation of reasonable conduct from individual. Bullying, vandalism or other anti-social behaviour is dealt with by specially elected ombudsmen, or by the whole community in its daily meetings.
The school is set in twelve acres of garden and woodland with plenty of space for cycling, hut building, tree climbing, bonfires, camping, imaginative games. There is a swimming pool for use in the summer time, a tennis court, playing field, basketball area as well as table tennis indoors.
During the winter and spring there is a Social Committee elected by the community to organise games and activities in the afternoons and evenings. These include capture, word games, board games, spontaneous acting, story telling, cinema trips, etc."
"Sudbury Valley School is a place where people decide for themselves how to spend their days. Here, students of all ages determine what they will do, as well as when, how, and where they will do it. This freedom is at the heart of the school; it belongs to the students as their right, not to be violated.
The fundamental premises of the school are simple: that all people are curious by nature; that the most efficient, long-lasting, and profound learning takes place when started and pursued by the learner; that all people are creative if they are allowed to develop their unique talents; that age-mixing among students promotes growth in all members of the group; and that freedom is essential to the development of personal responsibility."
There are schools like this all over the world, though sadly not enough. Until autonomous education is accepted as the excellent form of education that it is, I am not going to even begin to consider accepting registration, inspections and visits. Why should our children lose their freedom just because some adults are incapable of understanding their choices!
send uncle Simon round to inspect he shut it down then! and the children could take up home education! Simon a very big fan of home education!
ReplyDeleteWell done Simon. Ignore the abuse and barracking - you have got it right which is why there are so many heated replies. People don't seem to grasp that EHE isn't being "shut down" nor does the government want to force children into school but there is a need for more stringent measures in ensuring safety for children in terms of emotional, physical, social & educational abuse. By educational abuse I mean allowing children to experience different educational subjects and topics to a high enough level to challenge them rather than being restricted by what parents / carers can offer - particularly those parents / carers with needs of their own, of which there seem to be a lot - mainly those with egocentric tendencies.
ReplyDeleteMary you really belive that do you? you want the address of the fool in charge of home education where we live? maybe you can get him to get off his backside and do some thing!I think he paid over £40,000 a year! not bad for some one who does nothing!
ReplyDeleteOf course the government wants to shut down EHE what stringents methods will we have Mary forcing down the door to see the child how will it work Mary will he knock at the door first or just force the door open! then what i have come to check on your education sit over they! now you will answer my question or else! shall we make him a cup of tea why he does this? do seat down make your self at home! want a slice of cake as well! what if the child says i dont want you here or i dont want you asking me those stupid questions will he say shut up i demand you answer at once! what happens if you fail his test does he take child away to a state school where we know that many of these schools have failed home educated children! is that how it will work Mary all children should be in school being told what to do by teacher as teacher never gets it wrong! your be pleased to hear Mary no home visits here and never have been! i think we need checks on parents who send they children to failing state schools this is abuse! can you go check on that simon? after all simon is a teacher but is to ashamed to admit it! how much you get paid by DCSF simon?
Mary said,
ReplyDelete"People don't seem to grasp that EHE isn't being "shut down" nor does the government want to force children into school"
Maybe not, but we are being channelled towards providing the equivalent of a school education at home. Having to make plans for a year ahead will end autonomous education unless they accept a plan of 'facilitating my child's interests as and when they arise', which seems unlikely. Their talk of yearly plans and providing "more comprehensive guidance on the practical interpretation of ‘efficient' and ‘suitable'" make it clear that an autonomous approach is unlikely to be considered acceptable, especially when combined with Badman's comments, "does [autonomous education] present a more serious concern for a quality of education that lacks pace, rigour and direction."
" but there is a need for more stringent measures in ensuring safety for children in terms of emotional, physical, social & educational abuse."
Have you considered the harm that could be caused to innocent children and families by 'safe and well' checks? False positives are inevitable (nobody is perfect, check out observer or surveillance bias) and it is recognised by many health authorities that false positives are likely to result in harm to the child and family. The US Prevention Services Task Force (USPSTF) suggests that they can result in:
http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/2/2/161
"...inappropriate labeling and punitive attitudes. Additional possible harms include psychological distress, escalation of abuse and family tension, loss of personal residence and financial resources, erosion of family structure, loss of autonomy for the victim, and lost time from work. Children could lose contact with established support systems including neighbors, siblings, school contacts, and peer groups."
The USPSTF also state:
"No studies were identified that provide data about adverse effects of screening or interventions. False-negative tests may hinder identification of those who are truly at risk."
So not only is there no evidence about the effectiveness of 'safe and well' checks, some cases of true abuse are likely to be missed because the knowledge that a family has been checked can lead to a false sense of security when someone else has concerns.
Another review of the evidence found that:
"Instruments designed to screen for child abuse had poor to fair sensitivity and specificity depending on the instrument and population. None of the instruments had been widely tested."
http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/CRDWeb/ShowRecord.asp?View=Full&ID=12004008388
Even if a screen had quite good sensitivity and specificity the results are not reassuring. For example, take a screening tick chart that has a sensitivity and specificity of 80% (80% of abusers and 80% of non-abusers will be correctly identified). If half of a high-risk population of 1000 are abusing their children the screen will correctly identify 400 of the 500 abusers and will result in 100 false positives. So whilst 100 are falsely accused of abuse, at least more genuine abusers will be found than mistakes made.
However, if we look at a normal-risk population of 1000 with a 5% rate of abusers (a much more likely figure in a group such as home educators), the screen will correctly identify 40 of the 50 abusers but will falsely identify a staggering 190 innocent families as abusive with all the harm this can do.
This is why the health authorities of at least three countries have ruled out routine 'safe and well' checks of the general population, even those carried out by health professionals, and have reserved them for high-risk populations. The authorities will effectively be experimenting on home educated children.
Mary said,
ReplyDelete"By educational abuse I mean allowing children to experience different educational subjects and topics to a high enough level to challenge them rather than being restricted by what parents / carers can offer"
Even if this happens (and there is no evidence to support this theory), I think the money would be better spent on preventing the much higher levels of educational abuse carried out in schools. I've seen the effects of not being able to read until they are 12 on a child in school and it's not good. I struggle to imagine how an unchallenged child who has time to follow their own interests is worse off than one who is set work (e.g. read this chapter and answer these questions) and written tests repeatedly when they are unable to read. One in five of the adult population are functionally illiterate and this cannot be blamed on home education. All of these adults must have been educationally abused at school. With limited resources I know where I would prefer the money to be spent!
Ah, mary it is good to hear somebody who agrees with me for a change! I am not sure why Anonymous thinks that I am a teacher or in the pay of the DCSF. Typical conspiracy theorist, I suppose. Nor do I know why she signs her posts "Anonymous" rather than "Carol".
ReplyDeleteno else agrees with you simon only mary! she your wife? Let have answers to the questions? Mary how will it all work? will door be kicked in and by who what will happen simon when child says i dont want you here in my home i am not answering your crazy questions! go away and help state schooled children. lots of abuse their! its not going to happen Simon/Mary people will not allow their home to be invaded by a stranger you may want to have your home and child checked by a stranger will they have to strip off? you just plain daft it will never happen in this house i can see it now let me in go away leave us alone i must get in to see your well please go away i want to study no i must force my way in no dont break the door down we have children here! but i must speak to them i must check them leave us alone how dare you do this! i want to check the education but it is going well we dont want you here will you leave just go away! i cant must check i must tick boxes its for your own good! and we all go out the back door leaving him/her standing at front door shouting we will all go for a swim! the pool is always quiet durng school time! take it nice and easy pop back and see if he/she left a letter! i wonder what it will say sorry i missed you! call again soon!
ReplyDeleteJust to give you some idea of the likely sensitivity and specificity of a tick box type questionnaire an LA employee might use to check safety during a visit (seems the most likely approach to me). In one study looking for emotional abuse in school children, a questionnaire looking at 85 items indicative of abuse was developed with the help of a psychiatrist and carried out under research conditions.
ReplyDeleteThey found that sensitivity was 76.9% and specificity was 51.4%. So they found 76.9% of the emotionally abused children but incorrectly identified 48.6% of the healthy children as emotionally abused which suggests that my estimates of 80% for both measures was highly optimistic. This was in controlled research conditions with trained researchers looking at 85 indications of one type of abuse!
I'm going to post a longer piece about this whole business of screening, Sharon, but in the meantime I will just say a couple of things. When officers from the local authority visit home educating parents for the first time, they do not really make much attempt to assess the quality of the education. Remember, many of them are also parents and know very well what shit maintained schools tend to be. They rather assume that most parents can, if they try, do at least as well. No, they actually ask themselves three questions. The first is, "Does this parent seem mad?" Secondly, they ask themselves, "Does it look as though this kid has been taken out of school for some other reason, say looking after the house or being a companion to an ill mother?" Finally, the ask, "Does this kid look scared/neglected/malnourished/ill treated?"
ReplyDeleteIf this is waht you mean by a screening programmed Sharon, then it has been operating already for some years. It is rough and ready, but I think probably better than nothing. Health Visitors also have three questions which they aske themselves, so you could call that a screening programme too. Personally, I can see that this sort of thing is very unreliaable and many children fall between the gaps. I happen to think that it is not a bad system though.I don't think that many false positives result in harm to the child or family, more likely to be a few informal enquiries.
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ReplyDeleteMy children have been in the school system but were removed or more accurate we were backed into a corner by the education authority BUT our motives for home education have changed over time from the reason we removed them.
ReplyDeleteAnyway due to this we are known to the LA and seen yearly by an pleasant lady who has a cup of tea has no interest in what the children have or been studying instead they receive questions on activities, social and friends and how do they find and like home education. I have no fear of these questions as I know roughly how the children will answer as we spend so much time together. I think it might be parents who don’t know how their children will respond and fear they might say how they would like to try school etc hence opening a whole can of worms for the parents.
"If this is waht you mean by a screening programmed Sharon, then it has been operating already for some years. It is rough and ready, but I think probably better than nothing."
ReplyDeleteNo, this isn't what I mean. I'm talking about 400+ extra people being employed to inspect home educators with a new legal requirement to check specifically for safety and welfare, a huge increase in responsibility for the LA employee. Up till now Local Authority staff have only had to "exercise their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children". Presumably this will still be the case for teachers in schools and other Local Authority staff. This corresponds to the awareness all medical personnel have whilst carrying out their duties and this process is specifically distinguished from routine safe and well checks of a population in the US Task Force document, http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/2/2/161. They defined screening as the "assessment of current harm or risk of harm from family violence in asymptomatic persons in a health care setting", and go on to say:
"Many children experiencing abuse do not show obvious evidence of abuse. Whether screening all children leads to a decline in abuse is unknown, protocols for screening are lacking, and few clinicians routinely screen patients who do not have apparent injuries. The evidence for how to intervene effectively once problems are identified is limited."
"I don't think that many false positives result in harm to the child or family."
Well that's your opinion and you are entitled to it. But if the government expects home educators to allow LA staff into their homes for 'safe and well' checks, they are entitled to good evidence to support the need and safety of such an approach, especially when it appear to go against medical recommendations. There appears to be a staggering lack of evidence to support the theory that false positives do not result in harm to the child or family, and medical professionals around the world seem to disagree with you opinion.
"No studies were identified that provide data about adverse effects of screening or interventions. False-negative tests may hinder identification of those who are truly at risk. False-positive tests could lead to inappropriate labeling and punitive attitudes. Additional possible harms include psychological distress, escalation of abuse and family tension, loss of personal residence and financial resources, erosion of family structure, loss of autonomy for the victim, and lost time from work. Children could lose contact with established support systems including neighbors, siblings, school contacts, and peer groups."
When officers from the local authority visit home educating parents for the first time, they do not really make much attempt to assess the quality of the education.
ReplyDeleteThis is again your personal opinion and my experience was different. They came with a check list of the educational activities/attainments they expected to see and also took my second child into another room and asked them if they were reading, etc. This was when my eldest was about 7. This is how they carried out all visits in that area, and from the reports of friends who still live there, they do the same now and become more demanding as the children grow older, insisting an named and dated work, detailed plans, lists of resources, access to the home and child, etc.
yes Sharon is right officers from a number of LEA do come with a check list of educational activities/attainments they expect to see and DO become more demanding as child gets older
ReplyDeleteYou are wrong Simon about LEA visits many LEA officers are against home education so its not just some one coming round for a friendly chat you are just so wrong! officers will look for signs of weakness to say child should be in school these officers have no feelings for home eudcators the forced visits will be a disaster A lot of home educators have had the same officers who where dealing with any problems at school and these officers side with school! because school can do no wrong! these officers see home educators as a problem!
Anonymous has a distinct writing style but as I have read in other posts you mustn't assume it's Carol. Oh no, indeed it could be Peter Snr. So, Carol / Peter, just because I agree with Simon & disagree with you we must be married? No, but we have lots in common and can both see the irrationality in your postings... perhaps we have a future together Simon? Yours, as ever, Mary xx
ReplyDeleteyou going to marry Mary are you simon? she talks a load old rubbish like you do your both get on well maybe you could form a wedding plan tick box stye of course! home visit any one?
ReplyDeleteWe can't go meeting like this Mary....... It sometimes seems as though the whole world is against us! Oh no, wait a minute, it's just those pesky autonomous educators. Everybody else thinks we are probably right!
ReplyDeletehas Mary the guts to report us you want that fools address who is supposed to be charge of home education for our areas Mary? i am sure he be glad to hear from you Mary he always said he was up for it but in the end he went all shy and so quiet! give him a call Mary make Simon jealous! lets issue lots of school attendance orders for those pesky autonomous home educators i want one me to please any one else for one? i demand my school attendance order at once.
ReplyDeleteSimon, Do you mean the 71% who voted against you in the TES and the 80% who answered Yes to the question, Do you think the current system for safeguarding children who are educated at home is adequate? in the Badman review (68% of respondents were HE parents and only 8% of respondents answered No).
ReplyDeleteAh, Anonymous, did you not hear about the great multiple voting scandal on the TES survey? Go back and look at almost the last post to see what I mean. I was, in any case, thinking more of the world in general, rather than those intimately involved one way and another with home education.
ReplyDeleteAnd they know so much about HE of course. If I want a medical diagnosis I go to a doctor, I don't ask a random sample of the general public.
ReplyDeleteAnybody living in Alton who wants a School Attendance Order need only apply to James McGivery at the New Forest Local Education Office. His telephone number is 023 8081 2113. But I really don't know why the Williams family think that we should be the ones arranging it.
ReplyDeletehis he still alive James McGilvery thought he was dead or retired.is he really still working there? i cant belive good old Jim is still there you sure? such a brillent mind wasted in that job!
ReplyDeleteBut I really don't know why the Williams family think that we should be the ones arranging it.If you have concerns about a child's education you have a duty to report it at once simon and mary well have you the guts to do it?? give uncle Jim a phone call he love ithe could be your best man when you marry Mary.Has she said yes?filled in the right tick box got your paper work in order?
Tell me something, Anonymous/Williams. I have never met you or your son, know nothing at all about you and have no interest in you or your family. Why on earth do you want me to contact your local authority? If you are not providing a suitable education, then why not do something about it yourselves?
ReplyDeletethat is just amazing to hear that Jim is alive and well i really thought he was dead,hes alive and kicking good old jim! still taking the tax payers shilling. that is such good news i can feel a letter coming on! are you up for it Jim? better hurry up Peter soon be 16!
ReplyDeleteWell, he won't actually be sixteen until March 4th 2012, but I'm sure the time will fly by.
ReplyDeletebecuase you belive that autonomous education is not a right home education for a child? so you must report it to Jim? or Jack Cawthra?(mind you he is so lazy) would he do anything?that men is so idle he can not get to the phone?
ReplyDeletehome educators are not going to allow Badman report to work no home visits no meeting never! home eudcators want there complaints over schools and home eudcation taking notice of not brushed aside home educators want justice not Badman rubbish Badman made everything much worse many home eudcators who where sort of geting along with their LA now not! Badman done that he thought he could bully just like a teacher would! he done us a favour showed all home educators what he thought of us and our child/home some home eductors wanted to give him a chance but when they see his rubbish report they turned on him!
good news Peter won anther brillent chess game to night he just phoned he on his way home and soon we off to Gurnsey to play chess! When he get in we shall take a nice long look at the chess game well done Peter(autonomous educated child) Peter is a star!
ReplyDeleteI really couldn't care less about a child I've never met supposedly winning a "brillent" chess game or going to "Gurnsey" (sic).
ReplyDeleteahh but he is an Autonomous educated child something we knew Simon does not like Gurnsey will be fun last time we went the hotel was really nice great food to!
ReplyDeleteThe game was brillent give up knight and rook to beat Adult you should have seen the man face how did i lose to child.Tip he did not study it enough.
autonomous not Autonomous?
ReplyDeleteGuernsey?
too not to?
brilliant?
adult not Adult?
the man's face not the man face?
Very sloppy and poor punctuation. Tip you did not study it enough.
You say,
ReplyDelete"Very sloppy and poor punctuation. Tip you did not study it enough."
But then, the writer probably went to a state school. His child's writing seems much better (his letters have been copied into the 'Is Graham Badman my friend/colleague/brother/secret identity?' thread).
You really believe that Peter Jnr writes all those letters? My concern would be that poor Peter Jnr will be taught poor spelling, grammar and and penchant for use of exclamation marks!!!!!! (Yes, Williams family, I know the number for Jim and yes, he is still alive) yawn.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you might be for Badman, you obviously have trust issues.
ReplyDeleteI can think of worse things.
ReplyDeletephone him up then? ask good old Jim to go for it last time he last his balls phone him up and say Peter jur not geting an education and Jim you must take action and you know what he do nothing.
ReplyDeleteJim McGilvery is rubbish at his job.
ReplyDelete