HomeSchooler.org.uk

9:40 Barry Sheerman introduces meeting and welcomes witnesses. Intros

Zena: From Chard - good LA – review recommendations will undermine relationship with LA and make it unworkable – equal balance of power atm

BS: Good relationship – don’t want boat rocked?

Z: We were approached as cult minority and open dialogue; good things achieved

Jane Lowe (JL): HEAS, retired EHE, ex-teacher, fully involved with EHE. Concerned about review – hasty, ill-considered, won’t achieve what it sets out – independent study of costs

FN: EO GPG, EHE parent – good relationship with LA in Sheffield, meets many LA officials, broad experience – review

Carole Rutherford (CR): AiM – support parents with ASD children; report rushed and SEN was an add-on. Not enough time in committee

Simon Webb (SW): 16yo EHE

Graham Stuart (GS): Discrepancy between articulate representatives of EHE and LA’s experience with inarticulate majority

JL: freelance, 1-1 work; LA knows children with problems also known to other services. A number of such children in all LAs, but Badman recs are not going to address the issues – they are already known and are not EHE.

FN: agree but also danger of anecdotal evidence – everybody has diff experience of EHE in LA, need more research into community – look at 20K known EHEers – EO started to do research. Anecdotal evidence will skew policy

Z: take enquiries and support EHEers. Not all EHEers are vocal and articulate but they are in contact with the other EHE reps.

BS: CR, do you agree with FN on research?

CR: Absolutely – need research into SEN. Cannot say all SEN children OK in EHE but parents of SEN under too much pressure to comment directly

GS: More research? Do you all think Badman did not do enough research? Stats do not bear scrutiny?

All: Yes, agree.

FN: Yes – GB not robust or academic and work needs to be done. EO has sent Qs to LA

BS: Is it not strange we don’t know how many EHEs there are?

FN: Yes

Z: It is simply a dtat collection issue – we are all registered in many places

BS: Children go missing many times in LA

JL:; reg will not solve missing children - parent who wants to commit crime against children

Helen: Difficulty of identifying missing children at risk is diff of finding them among the others we don’t know about . Should we register all so that we can find them?

FN: we need to establish purpose of reg. Decent people eliminitaing themselves from enq?

H: If we can id EHE, then it would help id CME

AB: If we had a simple register w no strings – place of ed, would that be OK? We’d get indication of numbers.

SW: Can’t see objection. My daughter went missing as we moved when she was 6

CR: Not if it is an annual reg – SEN are already known therefore known. Have been pursued enough by

FN: bad time to ask question – if at beginning, we’d have stated fears; now? We are sure that there is a second agenda. If no review, then

BS: leave that – in favour of register or not?

FN: I thought it was inevitable. Not position on good or not

JL: not in favour – it would not achieve what it wanted to achieve

Z: echo JL – simple register OK but it would become more than that. Family determined to hurt child would ignore issues of not registering.

AB: How many register voluntarily?

SW, FN, CR

AB: Hoped for consensus on simple register; general lack of confidence in LA officers. Partnership can work. It is reasonable to want confidence in min stds [of EHE]. How can LA consider min stds w/o NC.

CR: Stds have to be relative to child – what can child do? SEN? Parents say that LAs do not. SEN outcomes are going to very diff from others. Parents out of system are so bruised and have so little relnship left that they do not want failing LA to come into home – fear among parents because they know where it could lead. It is difficult to prove SEN and school system ignore needs. If rel has broken down there is need to build trust and no training in SEN.

SW: Against overly prescriptive approach. But if 12yo illiterate or 14yo cannot work out change then it would be obvious there is stuff wrong.

FN: Why not reln with LA? We need more research . Ask people pushed into EHE and find out what did not work for them.

JL: Over 20 years supporting families in getting LA officer to understand what they do. Enquiries from LA officers who have no idea what they are supposed to do. LAs are in school mode – ret HTs who have no idea what they are looking for.

Z: Somerset – equality and diversity – open to finding out what cultural minority need. It works and other counties want to find out what happens in Somerset. Dorset new lead coming from idea of diversity and complex needs.

Paul Holmes (PH): Badman report about stmt of learning – EHE concerned that it would be presecriptive

SW: A parent who has no idea of what the child will be doing in a year would be a problem.

PH: You’ve written about this in TES – your view is quite contrary

FN: Need to know what would be involved – Minister said 2xA4. I’ve helped lots of people – LA wants lots of info Two tier system – articulate parents will produce little and will be OK. Other parents will feel hounded. Proposal is that it would be an offence to provide too little. DCSF official in June said two lines; minister said two sides – some LAs refuse 30-page doc.

PH: what do you think?

FN: It needs to be on a case-by-case basis. If objective of meeting is to draw up template and child is tested a year later, that is too much

Z: if too academic, then aut eds – if child changes within year – if child achieves many things but not on plan, then will child fail?

JL: If child is dereg in pieces (e.g. suicidal) then “work” may be a problem for up to a year and parents will have fear and child will fear being pushed back to school.

BS: Aut ed? SW says that they may fail

JL: Watched over many years: children with input of interested adult will succeed. Alan Thomas has done research

PH: SW says that they may not be able to

FN: Lifelong learning – the idea that something stops at 16 and quals cannot be accessed later is not good – tear up the book. My 16yo has no quals but he can get the quals later. YP coming out of uni not nec get good jobs

CR: ASD children work better in an area of interest. If my DS can achieve and have life skills this is importante

PH: some EHE atnomous, some What about those who do nothing. I admire EHE who do stuff – as a former teacher I couldn’t do sci

SW: Sci is easy in kitchen, we did IGCSE sci. Conventional ed fails some children. We need research to see if aut ed does the same.

FN: Issue of support – yes, some parents need more support. LAs do not provide much support and Badman suggest it. I’m sceptical but if people could go for unjudgemental support, that would be good.

PH: GB said he wants support to give but says tat we need regi to be able to give support.

JL: voluntary reg for volu support.

PH: How do you reach the people who don’t know that they need support?

JL: People will work out whatever it takes to solve problems – trust parents.

Doyuglas Carswell 9DC): Clacton parents refused to go to school and demanded grant from LA. Would this be good.? If you accept grant, get interference, if not, no interference?

Z: Somerset approached group because couldn’t give money to individuals

BS: Answer question – would you like a legal right to access money in exchange for interference?

Z: yes.

FN: Clacton was small school. Some EHE would accept this. But not EHE. Don’t see how money would follow child.

CR: Diff to believe – money not avail in system, so how could itbe outside ?

SW: I paid £120 for each GCSE – it would only be just to access money.

DC: If those who are confident about EHE are reluctant to consider reg and monitoring (I understand that unconfident people would be nervous) but if confident, then why would you be reluctant.

JL: LAs do not leave families alone. They interfere.

DC: but no monitoring yet?

JL: Withdrawn children are checked up on – LAs take this duty to themselves. Parents dereg children and it takes time to settle into EHE and parents are therefore unhappy to be seen to have things in place within a short time and to have a plan.

DC: Should parents be able to set up as a doctor at home? What is the difference between teaching and doctoring?

JL: that’s not reasonable.

DC: Should there not be external monitoring

CR: not problem with quality of what we are doing. I have good relnship with LA but my son had cyclical vomiting for weeks. 6-7 years on, he is OK. Home is “place of education” my rep to educate child, not ministering in a medical capacity.

DC: understand about initial period but over a period of time...

CR: Autism doesn’t go away../

DC: so there should never be objective assessment?

CR: if someone was trained and could understand my son – ASD child will try to give answer to shut adult up

DC: Badman review mentions training

CR: It does not mention SEN training

FN: Initially we were asked about simple reg. Now already further than that – nothing to hide, nothing to fear – asked all the time.

BS: this is a committee with diff views

DC: if asked all the time, easier to answer. You are vol reg do you have a problem with outside assessor? I understand CRs comments but over years, how can you justify locking the door?

FN: I don’t know why you say that. In Sheffield we meet LA but not all parents are known officially as EHE – EWOs meet EHE people but they do not check up on individuals. If focus is on 1-1 inspection and monitoring, I disagree. I reg vol for specific reasons, to satisfy son’s father. Need to know why people do not approach LAs.

Z: Not officially reg but not hidden. The duty towards my children lies with me, not the state. I know my children are progressing and I don’t believe that the emphasis should change for the state to have more say in how they are progressing.

SW: Parents have duty but rights are with child. If the child is not receiving suitable ed, it is up to society to step in.

BS: thanked witnesses and closed session, inviting them to send further info if required.