Firstly don't panic!
Where abouts in the country are you?
Are you in touch with any one from your local group? They may be able to help by indicating what the LA is like round your neck of the woods.
You don't actually have to have a visit if you don't want one.
In section 7 of the Education Act 1996 it says;
"The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to
receive efficient full-time education suitable ;
a) to his age, ability, and aptitude, and
b) to any special educational needs he may have,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise."
As parents are responsible for ensuring that their children are properly educated, it is their decision whether to use schools or provide education at home.
It is important to note that the duty to secure education is stated entirely in section 7 and nowhere else.
Provided the child is not a registered pupil at a school, the parent is bound by no other constraints. In particular, there is no obligation
to seek permission to educate 'otherwise';
to take the initiative in informing the LEA;
to have regular contact with the LEA;
to have premises equipped to any particular standard;
to have any specific qualifications;
to cover the same syllabus as any school;
to adopt the National Curriculum;
to make detailed plans in advance;
to observe school hours, days or terms;
to have a fixed timetable;
to give formal lessons;
to reproduce school type peer group socialisation;
to match school, age-specific standards.
The wording of the Education Act 1996 requires the LEA to act only if something comes to its attention which gives it reason to suppose a breach of a parent's section 7 duty. It does not need to investigate any instances of home education which come to its attention unaccompanied by any grounds for suspicion that an adequate education is not taking place.
However your LA has decided to ask for information on your educational provision. The choice of how to provide that information is yours. You do not have to have a home visit at all. In nearly seven years of home educating, we have never suffered a home visit and the LA have never seen any of the children's work.
LEAs should bear in mind when considering the replies to such informal enquiries (and other more formal ones, should the matter go that far) that parents taken to court for failing to comply with a School Attendance Order only have to show the court that they are providing a suitable education on a balance of probabilities. That is the test that LEAs must also apply. Also a court will receive any evidence a parent produces, it will not have to be in any specified form and it will be sufficient so long as it shows that a suitable education is being given. Similarly an LEA has no power to require that information be given to it in a specified form or way.
The DfES acknowledges this in their information leaflet entitled,
"ENGLAND AND WALES EDUCATING CHILDREN AT HOME":
"3. LEAs, however, have no automatic right of access to the parent's home. Parents may refuse a meeting in the home, if they can offer an alternative way of demonstrating that they are providing a suitable education, for example, through showing examples of work and agreeing to a meeting at another venue."
Another "example" might be information provided in written form, sufficiently comprehensive to establish competence and intention.
That is what we have chosen to do-send in a written report along with our 'educational philosophy'.
There is more information about this on the website that I have quoted above.
www.home-education.org.uk/menu1.htm look in the legal section.
And also at www.education-otherwise.org/
There is also a page about "Home Visits and why we might refuse them" and an article about "Educational Philosophies" to be found on the first site amongst the articles there www.home-education.org.uk/articles.htm
You may of course choose to have a home visit and get it over and done with-many parents do-but bear in mind the points above about what you do not have to do and decide how you wish to have the visit go.
You can choose whether or not to have your daughter present and whether or not to show the EWO any work.
If you don't yet have a lot written down, you can point out that you have followed the school holidays and only just started back-and that two weeks is not long enough for them to comment on-and you can also quote Lord Slade in the Perry case when he said that the LA should first allow
"the parents a sufficient time to set in motion their arrangements for home education,"
(R v Gwent County Council Court of Appeal (Civil Division) 10 July 1985 JUDGEMENT BY-1: SLADE LJ)
So you could ring them up and tell them it is not convieninet to have a home visist tomorrow if you want to. You could ask for it to be delayed as you are still settling in-or you could tell them as I did "Thank you for the offer of a home visit but I would prefer to provide the information about the education I am providing in an alternative form and will be sending you a written report by.....date... instead."
Does that help at all or have I just confused you further?