The purpose of local authority visits to home educating families

On one of the home education Internet lists, a lively debate is taking place about the vexed question of accepting monitoring visits from the local authority. The list owner, Mike Fortune-Wood, has expressed the view that the only reason for such visits is to judge parents and then perhaps issue a School Attendance Order if they decide that the educational provision isn't up to scratch. This seems unlikely. The issuing of School Attendance Orders to home educating families is very rare and usually they are issued only when there are additional welfare concerns. It is exceedingly rare to hear of an SAO being sent purely because the education provided for the child is not of a high enough quality. In a survey conducted by Ofsted at the end of 2009, two thirds of the local authorities had issued no School Attendance Orders at all relating to home education in the previous year and the rest had each issued just one. If the real purpose of home visits was to catch parents out, one would expect SAOs to be flying around all over the shop. This is certainly not the case.

Some parents are vehemently opposed to allowing visits to their home by local authority officers. They feel that what is happening with their children is nobody's business and that in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, there should be a general assumption that their children are safe and receiving a suitable education. Others are less bothered about such things and do not mind discussing their ideas with others. I always saw such visits as a chance to be evangelical about home education and to criticise the maintained sector. There are also quite a few parents who actively welcome visits, because they want help and advice.

What is the real purpose of home visits to home educating families? Firstly of course, they wish to check whether the parent seems mad or is keeping the kid at home to work. This is not uncommon in the Gypsy/Roma/Traveller community. Girls past puberty tend to help their mothers and the boys are often learning the lifestyle of their community, rather than studying algebra and writing essays. Since in some counties, this group of home educators amount to a third or a half of known home educators, this is a concern for the local authority officers making visits. Apart from those above categories, local authority officers are also on the lookout for signs that a child is scared of the parent, undernourished or covered in bruises.

Of course it will not be possible to make any certain pronouncement about the mental health of parents or the welfare of children based upon one short visit a year. In cases where there are definite concerns, other agencies often become involved.

A surprisingly large proportion of parents actually welcome visits. They want information from the local authority, advice about examinations, admission to college when the child is sixteen; all sorts of things in fact. Despite the fact that nobody is obliged to have visits and that most local authorities mention this on their websites, it is relatively rare for parents to refuse point blank to have anybody visit their home. This can of course be tricky, because if everybody else is allowing the local authority to come round, one does appear a little out of the ordinary if one refuses to allow it even once. I have no doubt at all that although they shouldn't draw any conclusion from such a stance, some local authority officers will make a note that Mrs Smith, unlike all the other parents in such and such an area, refuses let anybody into her home to see her child. This is regrettable, but is simply human nature.

Of course no parent is forced to permit access to her children, whether or not she is home educating. Most of us do, for various reasons. Most mothers and fathers send their children off to school, invite the Health Visitor in to see their new baby, take the child to clinics and visit the doctor. Some parents on the list where the debate on visits is currently taking place are not registered with doctors because they are worried that their local authority will find out that they are home educating. This sort of behaviour would arouse anybody's suspicions and is practically guaranteed to bring attention in the long run and make it look as though there is something to hide!

I did not invite the local authority to visit us, but nor did I actively discourage them from doing so. It was their time and is they wanted to get somebody to make a round journey of a hundred miles from Colchester just to hear my kid play the guitar or read her poetry, well that's their business. I honestly have never understood this obsession with hiding, fear of truancy patrols and avoidance of doctors and hospitals; the desire in other words to stay 'under the radar'. Why would anybody bother to do that, unless they had a strong motive?

Apropos of School Attendance Orders, I wonder if anybody knows of any which have been issued to home educating parents on purely educational grounds? I am thinking of families who are not known to social services and where there is not other concern than that of the suitability of the education being provided. Such cases would be very interesting to look at.

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A new home education initiative

Once in a while one encounters something in the world of British home education which makes one feel like shouting; 'For fuck's sake! What is wrong with these people?' Readers will be relieved to hear that, as usual, they will be spared such vulgarity here. Instead I intend to discuss this matter in the calm and rational manner which has ever been my trademark; merely limiting myself to offering a few words of wise and good advice.

Staffordshire County Council, whose approach to home education has left somewhat to be desired in the past, has announced that they intend to start a support service for home educating parents. It is described like this in a local newspaper;

'Home-Educated children in Staffordshire will soon be able to get resources, tips and other support with their studies from a new online learning service.

Staffordshire County Council is planning to launch the 'Learning Platform' in the summer, initially through a pilot scheme.

It will also include a forum so young people and parents can chat online to other families who educate youngsters at home instead of school.'

I might remark that I advocate something of this sort in my book, Elective Home Education in the UK (Trentham Books, 2010). I said;

'A good many home educating parents would welcome practical help and advice from experts such as teachers and psychologists. Teaching one's child can be a lonely and on occasion unnerving process. Most parents, even the most confident, need reassurance and support from time to time....

Parents with questions about anything from the legal position surrounding home education to the age at which a child should be reading independently could be sure of hearing views from teachers and from other home educators. However, Several of the most popular existing support groups on the Internet bar professionals from membership. So myths, half truths and outright falsehoods proliferate.'

There now, I couldn't have put it better myself!

The news of Staffordshire's new scheme is being described on the HE-UK list as 'registration through the backdoor'. It is worth pointing out that when people are trying to do something 'through the backdoor', they seldom advertise the fact by sending a press release to the local paper. The person who first posted about this, says that it is a 'carrot and stick'. I am baffled as to what the stick might be. We don't even know that those joining this scheme will have to identify themselves to their local authority. In some areas, Hampshire and North Yorkshire for example, it is possible to join in activities and obtain information from the local authority like this without being officially 'known'. Others commenting on HE-UK express the hope that this will be boycotted.

Try as I might, I am unable to grasp the objection to this, although judging by the response it is certainly regarded as a bad thing by some people, including Mike Fortune-Wood. Here is an opportunity for parents who might be isolated, to ask questions of professionals. Perhaps they might want to know what children the same age as theirs who are at school are studying. They might have questions about GCSEs. Maybe some readers here could help me to get a handle on this and explain why anybody in their senses should oppose this enterprise?

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Education Otherwise

Shena Deuchars and Heidi de Wet in Swindon continue to stamp their authority on Education Otherwise. They have recently revealed, which will come as little or no surprise to those familiar with the organisation, that two thirds of EO's expenditure has been going on an office in Sheffield. This is now to be closed, marking the complete triumph of the new trustees in Swindon over the old clique in Sheffield.

Many people have noticed in recent years that Education Otherwise, once noted for being a friendly organisation devoted to helping parents who have chosen to educate their own children, has turned into some sort of aggressive political group, very ready to savage its own volunteers and members and cast them aside if they asked too many questions. It had been noticed that this trend really began around 2007. That this has not been popular with members can perhaps be seen by the fact that membership numbers are down 60% on what they were in 2006. One would have expected the Badman review to drive up membership, but this did not happen. Since the bulk of Education Otherwise's money comes from subscriptions from its members, this means that the organisation is in serious financial difficulties; it is spending far more than it is earning. This is not of course a situation which can continue. It is thought that there will be an attempt to recruit volunteers and try not to have paid staff. Of course, there may well be other reasons for the fall in membership numbers; I look at one possible explanation below.

The question is, has Education otherwise reached the end of the line now? Sometimes, groups which were once very valued and useful, fade away and decline for no other reason than that their time is over. There is no doubt that EO was a tremendous help to parents in the past and that it once had a role to play, particularly when home education was a fringe activity of which few were aware. Now that it is a well known option for parents, perhaps organisations like this have less of a part to play. If one wished to find out about the legalities and practicalities of home education in the early 1990s, then Education otherwise was an invaluable resource. Now, with so much information freely available on the Internet, there is less reason to pay an annual subscription. There are various Intrent lists, such as EO's own list which is free to non-members, for those who wish to ask questions and solicit support.

I used to belong to EO myself, but in recent years simply could not see the point in maintaining my membership. I have an idea that many others feel the same way, which might account in part for the fall in membership. I think that this year will prove crucial for the organisation. The full extent of the financial crisis which has engulfed Education Otherwise is now dawning on the new trustees and I think that the next AGM should be interesting. The rumour circulating is that certain individuals in the north of England were running EO in such a way as to help their own positions, rather than for the ultimate benefit of the membership. Surprise has been expressed at some of the claims for 'expenses' which have come to light. No doubt we shall be hearing more about this sort of thing in the near future. It will also be interesting to see if any of the new trustees decide to pay themselves for the work which they are doing. Many people thought that this was a bit of a slippery slope when the practice began a few years ago.

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The unwritten rules of university admission

In order to maximise your chances of getting into one of the best universities, whether you are home educated or at school, there are a number of rules which most people do not even know about. For instance, GCSEs matter a lot. When a group of candidates all have three A levels at grade A, their GCSEs are often used as a tiebreaker. It is not so much the number of GCSEs as the subjects which have been taken. Physics counts for a lot more than media studies. This is not something which a lot of children are told when they choose their options.

There are a whole bunch of A levels like law, business studies, psychology, general studies, film studies and so on which are disregarded by some universities during the admissions process. A child who wishes to study law at university might be encouraged by her school to take A level law, only to find that universities do not want this A level and will not count it in their offer. Again, this is not something which most teenagers or their parents can be expected to know. The decisions made by a child at the age of fourteen or sixteen can thus have a huge impact upon the type of university he gets to study at. This is incidentally why so few state pupils make it to Oxbridge. It is not prejudice against them, simply that they have not got the right academic qualifications to stand a chance. This is the fault of the maintained schools rather than the universities themselves.

More and more home educated children seem to be doing Open University course instead of GCSEs and A levels. One hears from time to time of one such young person getting into Oxford or Exeter to study law. Nobody knows how common this is, but I have an idea that it might be rare. None of the universities that I have specifically asked about this have had such cases. There has been no such admission at Oxford since Alex Dowty and Cambridge don't remember anything of the sort ever happening. I suspect, unless somebody has some evidence to the contrary, that it is not at all common. Most universities prefer to play safe with standard qualifications, despite what they might say on their websites.

The problem with these unwritten rules, like not taking A level law or business studies for example, is that ordinary parents are not likely to be familiar with them. Independent schools know all about them and make sure that their pupils choose their GCSEs and A levels in accordance with the rules.

All this should really give home educated children an advantage if they wish to try and get a place at a Russell Group university. After all, unlike those at a maintained school, they are completely free to choose which GCSEs they take. Having taken a good selection, such as will look impressive on their UCAS form when they are seventeen, they are then in a strong bargaining position to dictate which A levels they wish to take at a sixth form or FE college. I do not know why more home educated children do not seem to take this route. Granted, not every child wishes to pursue an academic course, but with an estimated eighty thousand home educated children in the country, I would have expected quite a few to be using these methods to get to university. I am aware that some people collate information of this sort. Does anybody have any idea how many home educated children are known to have acquired places at Russell Group universities? It would be good if information about the best way to get into some of our more academic universities could be more widely available for home educated children.

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College and sixth form

A friend of my daughter's began sixth form last September. She is not an unintelligent child and perfectly able to pursue academic studies and hopes to attend university. The A levels which she is taking, chosen with the help of her teachers, are; Photography, Health and Social Care, Media Studies and Art. She has no particular interest in any of these subjects but was assured by her teachers that all A levels were equal and that since these were easier to get good grades in, she may as well take them. It need hardly be mentioned that this choice has now meant that she has barred herself from even being considered for a place by many universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of home education for our family was the ability to choose freely what was studied. Although I understand very well the rationale behind this, it is still depressing to see a child of fourteen choosing his options at schools and being told that he cannot study both history and geography, or perhaps that if he chooses to study science then he must also study religion. The system as it is currently operated in maintained schools is more often intended to help the school boost their position in the league tables or avoid awkward timetable clashes than it is designed to benefit the pupils. Separate sciences at GCES are avoided because they require more specialised teaching and also because not all that many kids will pass them as compared to double award science. Our priest was touchingly impressed a few years ago at the fact that Religious Studies was becoming so popular as a GCSE. He thought that it was a sign of religious revival in the country. What a mug! Actually of course, it was a sign that schools had found an easy GCSE which could ramp up their scores.

Part of the problem is that there is no general guide to what good universities will want when the child applies to them. For most parents, this means trusting the teachers to advise them wisely. Telling parents that A level Photography or General Studies are just as highly regarded as Mathematics or Physics is a very common dodge on the part of colleges and schools. Universities in the Russell or 94 group have a tendency simply to disregard such A levels when making their decisions. They often use GCSE results as a tiebreaker as well, which nobody tells the kids when they are fourteen. The child's future prospects can therefore be blighted four years before he even applies to university.

The marvellous thing about home education is that one is not constrained by this sort of thing. If one wishes to do Physics, Chemistry and Biology, rather than double award science, then away you go. You can do one or two key GCSEs like Maths and English or you can do a dozen; the choice is completely your own. Come to that, you don't have to do any at all if you feel that your child would do better in life as a crossing sweeper. In maintained schools, most children are compelled to do some subjects at GCSE which they really dislike, are useless at and will not benefit them at all in their future life.

Those whose children go to sixth or Further Education colleges will probably be aware that these places often encourage children to take Photography, Film Studies and so on. This is not of course because the colleges believe that there will be massive opportunities for photographers and film directors in a couple of years time when the kids leave college. It is because these subjects are fairly easy to pass and add to the colleges success rate. In other words, the A levels which are being pushed are those which will benefit the colleges rather than be of any use to the students.

The problem is that for those who do want their children to go to college, one has to abide by the rules which they impose. Some insist that students do at least one useless A level like General Studies. This is an insurance policy on their part, a way of guaranteeing that there is at least one A level per student which will be passed. Doing A levels at home is very difficult, due to things like coursework and even those home educating parents who have negotiated the GCSE paths, sometimes baulk at doing A levels at home. This can mean some hard bargaining with the college in order to get what is best for the child. This is fine for home educators; most of them are used to arguing with educational professionals anyway and most get their own way in these matters. The problem is for the children whose parents are used to relying upon what teachers tell them. These kids are likley to be railroaded into useless subjects which they neither enjoy nor will be any use to them later.

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Home education group in Derby

I simply could not resist this story. It is of an independent school which has closed down and some parents are teaching their children themselves as a result. They are meeting in a room in a church for the time being. The picture is what I found astounding. Although they are being home educated, the girls are still apparently wearing school uniform!


http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Parents-school-shut-set-classes-city-church/article-3083319-detail/article.html

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Ethnic minority home educators

One cannot help but notice that photographs in British newspapers of home education groups or protests involving home educating parents always feature about 99% white families. I wonder why this should be? The situation seems to be rather different in the USA.


http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/09/2571023/african-americans-choosing-to.html

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