Have met a young man presently doing Law at Oxford, without a GCSE or A level to his name Seeker. He used the OU to demonstrate that he was able to study to the appropriate level.
Re:
Un-announced door-step visits.
Insisting on Home Visits.
Insisting on seeing the child.
Insisting on seeing work.
Insisting on seeing a time-table of work.
Onward said "I know plenty of children- shy, with SN, just quite private people, or with fear of strange adults brought on by awful school experiences - for whom compulsory interviews with LA officials would be completely traumatic."
All of the above applied to our children-and I listened to them saying that they didn't want to meet with the LA, that they were fed up with being judged at school and didn't want to be judged in their home lives, now they had finally gained peace and happiness again.
The LA could not see any of our children's 'work' -until they started on their A Level/OU courses there was no 'work' to be seen.
We didn't use any workbooks and had no formal lessons at all. None.
They followed their own interests and mostly didn't write anything down-except of course things like, the story line/characters in the Fantasy Role play my son was involved in. Or the diary my elder daughter wrote. Stuff like that. But those were and are private. I wouldn't insist on the showing it to me let alone to an inspector. It is their intellectual property not mine, it is not for me to give it away.
And my youngest daughter could not write nor read, nor spell until she was 13 ish.
I did not make her try, I did not make her sound out any words. Nothing.
We have no timetables. We have no routine.
They get up when they choose, they live the life they choose, making choices about each day as it comes.
The only formality to our week were the HE meetings and music/singing/dancing lessons and choir.
The only thing planned for the whole year were these and the home ed camps and gatherings we attend.
How would that look to a anti HE inspector? Or even one who approves of families who do 'school at home' but not autonomusly educating families?
How would that look to someone who thinks it is reasonable to demand to see a timetable of work?
How would that look to someone insisting on seeing work?
Instead of formal stuff, we let her education run ahead, watching TV and DVDs, endless talking and purposeful conversations took place. I read to my daughter and she listened to story tapes, to enthuse her with a love of novels.
We were out and about as they chose, going to home ed meetings and workshops and to galleries/museums/theatres etc. Whatever and how ever they chose, when they chose it.
Seems to have worked well for the children though. Even the one who could not read/write/spell at 13 is reading very well now- reading the likes of Shakespeare/Oscar Wilde and other classics as well as more modern stuff.
She spells pretty damn well too, only occasionally needing help.
She is fascinated now by the spellings of words and their root and language base. I am firmly convinced she would have ended up loathing reading like every other adult dyslexic I know who was forced to do so as a young child.
She also did damn well in her first OU course and can be said to be studying to University level one now apparently.
I know you were home educated but I don't know how much you know about autonomous home based education?
The new Alan Thomas book would be a good place for anyone wanting to know more about this very efficient way of educating a child.
I am fighting very hard to stop two children from seperate families from being returned to school, in a nearby LA, who are both delivering a suitable education, but boy are the LA causing trouble.
This particular LAs re demanding all sorts of ultra vires demands of these families and are not following the Government guidelines at all.