HomeSchooler.org.uk

DISCUSSIONS
We have been discussing the qualifications and work experience of the proposed
inspectors, how interviewing children without parents would work in practice and
how Ed Balls' letter had a slightly different meaning from the report. (Report
and letter are in the files section.)

There has also been a discussion about the importance of us appearing "above
reproach" so that we don't lose credibility with MPs or the general public. It
was suggested we be careful about grammar and spelling and make sure that we
don't do what Mr Badman himself seems to have done, i.e. selectively choose bits
of the report and take them out of context. Otherwise when our letters lead to
further investigation we might not be taken seriously.

We're still discussing letters to LAs. A draft letter has been produced. Check
out message 2462 to find this thread.

There is also an ongoing discussion about contacting the union(s) of the LA
inspectors.

WRITE TO AND/OR VISIT YOUR MP

107 letters or emails have been sent to MPs and quite a few positive replies are
being received.
Some of these MPs are taking action on our behalf.
There are 562 of us altogether!
If you haven't done this yet, PLEASE do it if you can – you CAN make a
difference.
One MP said that she knows this is a "hot issue", so we are getting through.

We need to get our message to them well before the summer recess. (They are not
in parliament from 26th July to 12th October)
After you've done it, enter your MPs details in the database section and update
with any reply you receive.

Ann Newstead has done some brilliant work listing every MP so that we can see
"at a glance" how we are doing with reaching them.
Thanks Ann! This can be found here http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/mps.
This page also has useful information on contacting your MP.

Some people have expressed concern about giving their address to MPs but they
have to have it to check you are in their constituency. They should not report
you.

There are sample letters you can use in the files section if you don't have time
to write your own from scratch.

If you know home educators who are not on the Internet, why not print one off
for them to send in too?

Several people have been to see their MP and some of these have had positive
discussions.
Why not get together with a friend and arrange to visit your MP?
Lil was one of those who originally went to see Mark Field, so her advice in
message 2399 is worth taking!

CONTACT DAVID CAMERON
Several people are writing to or emailing David Cameron – seems like a good
idea. Lord Lucas said we should work on the Tories and Lib Dems.
camerond@parliament.gov

DAWN PRIMAROLO THE NEW CHILDREN'S MINISTER. BUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HE?
*Dawn Primarolo, the new Children's Minister invited people to post here
http://tinyurl.com/l5exa8 with things they want to say to her. Lots of good
comments have been sent in now. However the journalist involved has today
stated that Dawn Primarolo is not responsible for Home Education. I quote,

"Certainly it seems that home educators are fired up about the Badman review,
which, incidentally, will be my reading on the Tube tonight. I just wanted to
let you all know however that Dawn Primarolo does not, to the best of my
knowledge, have home education in her remit. It was Delyth Morgan who responded
to the Badman review so I am guessing she is the one to talk to. That is not to
say we can't discuss the review, but if you want to keep discussing it let's
start a new thread. I may do that after reading the review anyway!"

I found a document detailing the responsibilities of various ministers and I
have posted it in the files section. Basically, Delyth Morgan's remit is not to
do with education but with runaways, child protection, the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Children and ContactPoint – amongst lots of other
things.

Dawn Primaro worked "closely with Ed Balls" for 10 years in the treasury – just
so you know!

ED BALLS AND THE DCSF
Quite a few of us have written or emailed, but we have just had the reply back
that our comments are being treated as submissions for the consultation. They
kindly said we could give another submission as well – thanks guys!

However the DCSF are apparently seeking the views of the general public, so
let's tell them!
**Contact the DSCF - "If you are directly affected by our policies, we need your
practical suggestions for further improvement. Is there a particular piece of
bureaucracy that you consider is unnecessary? Do you have a practical
suggestion
for improvement? We would like to hear from you!"

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/betterregulation/

THE PRESS
**Complain re the article in the Independent where they say Badman stated that
"twice as many HE children are
know to SS for abuse", where on the review he stated that "twice as many known",
he did not say 'for abuse'.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/children-educated-at-\
\
home-more-at-risk-of-abuse-1703220.html
Press complaints commission. http://www.pcc.org.uk

There is another negative article in links.

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS SURVEY
*A reminder from Ann that any children who haven't filled in the children's
rights survey do so, as it closes on 30th June.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7FN02SW4ktRkEvwLtk0BWg_3d_3d

SUGGEST YOUR CHILDREN SEND A MESSAGE TO THE CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER
http://www.11million.org.uk/commissioner/

PETITION
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ehereview/

HELP! I NEED SOMEBODY…
Linda has received some extra help with writing daily summaries, but she really
needs more people to take on doing "a day" of the summary and some other admin
jobs. Email Linda for instructions.

INFORMATION:
*That's the summary for today. If you're currently set to receiving individual
emails or digests and are finding it hard to cope with the amount of mails,
please don't unsub! If you set your preferences to "special notices", then you
can continue to receive these daily summaries to keep you informed of what's
been happening here through a simple once a day email. If any topic in the
summary interests you, you can then go to the web and check out the full thread
there. Thanks for your continued interest and support! :)

*****United we stand - diverse we remain!******