Not a parent but curious

[PorphyrophillicPixie]

I'm really interested in education and what's right for a child rather than what's right by the parents and/or local authorities. I'm not a parent but I know that when I do have kids I'd prefer to take an approach more centered around the child, be that HE or formal schooling.

But at the moment I'm just very curious about HE, I've met a few HE kids before but have never looked into the 'system' much and now I'm starting to look I'm wondering if my local HE group would mind me contacting them and maybe tagging along on some events or something just to see what they do.

If this were you or your group, would you mind a relatively odd young woman tagging along or poking her nose in? Would I be better avoiding doing it and just researching it more via the internet?
I don't want to offend anybody or make them feel that I'm studying them and their methods. I'm genuinely just curious, especially after spending so much time volunteering in schools and disliking the formality of the systems in place there!

I'm surprised to see this thread, Pixie, as I contacted you last year about some nannying work, that you were advertising on MN, and after we'd emailed a couple of times and I'd told you that we home educate ds, and were looking for some help with him, you stopped emailing abruptly and I never heard any more from you?

I'd imagine home educators in Colchester, will rightly be wary of posting details of their children's activities for you on this thread. It's a public forum, and anyone could be reading...

EssexHomeEdder: I honestly wouldn't have stopped contacting you for that. I only had two people from MN contacting me about aupair couple work but that was it? If you're one of those I apologise, but neither mentioned HEing to me (I still have the emails). I stopped contacting those after my OH decided that he didn't want to be an AP and mentioned that on the thread I made about AP couple work. Maybe you're thinking of somebody else?

Oo, my apologies, I lie. I did have a third person contact me about part time nannying and looking after a six year old in Essex, I emailed back, but I never heard back so just left it assuming that they didn't want to know anymore, it's possible they didn't get my email in the first place though. If you're this person then I really do apologise, because that was the only offer for actual nannying I got last year and would have happily taken it for a chance to nanny!

Also, I must apologise in case I have offended anybody by being curious, I can see why people would be wary posting details but I'm more curious about types of activities and types of things they do, not specific information.

I genuinely don't want to cause trouble and just want to know a bit more because I don't agree with the education system as it stands and don't want my own children going into it when the time comes.
If it would be possible to make a career out of nannying HE children one day then I would find that ideal as I know I'd love to nanny but also know that I love working with older children too and it would give me the best of both worlds.

Essex, I'm very much sure you are this woman in the email, of which you were very up front about your 6 year old being home ed in the first email and I responded to that email but never heard anything else from you. I really do have nothing else after I emailed back on the 7th of October last year so I'm sorry for the misunderstanding; I was very interested in that position but thought that you didn't email me back because I was only available temporarily and I'm used to people just stopping contact so didn't see any need to follow that up, which I suppose I've learnt in hindsight that maybe I should start doing that.

I thought that I should explain properly as opposed to the above post as I'm now certain that was you.

Hi Pixie, thanks for explaining that - it was me who contacted you about nannying, but I didn't hear back after a couple of emails - obviously a mistake - emails go missing sometimes I suppose. Sorry, I did assume you were not interested at that point.

I don't think you've offended anyone, but naturally as you say people are going to be wary - I'm sure people are happy to discuss general home ed activities rather than specifics - we are usually a helpful bunch

just thought i'd muscle in on this. we're vaguely considering HE (well it's more that we're torn between really wanting to HE and really wanting the LOs to have a good school experience if that makes sense).

can somebody explain what the badman report thingy is, am I missing something? any links to info on it?

pixie i think its really cool you're taking an interest in your unborn/unconceived kids education! DH and i discussed all this long before we decided to TTC (once i'd finished A levels) - in fact i used to get funny looks in WHS when buying practical parenting mag!!!

3m

@MathsMadMummy: If you Google "Badman review" you'll get loads of hits. Graham Badman was commissioned to write a review of EHE by June 2009. It has given rise to huge grief and arguments for EHEers and is the rationale for Claue 26/27 and Schedule 1 of the CSF bill currently going through parliament. EHEers are generally VERY angry about it. The biggest petition ever (over 250 constituencies) was handed into the House of Commons last October.

@PorphyrophillicPixie: some EHEers may be using nannies, but not many. Most of us have only one income (bcause the other parent is EHEing). We often work from home (as I do) and use informal care. Again, a few will pay for some sort of tutoring, but not many. You say "... how much the kids do during the school day which would be partially run by an outside company (dancing and things)." Why would it need to be commercial? In our area, we have a drama group run by a mum - attenders pay a fee that covers the hire of the hall. Similarly, we have general meetings for which the group hires a hall and people provide activities such as first aid, craft, etc.

An EHE robotics group meets in my house and we participate in an international competition. Until my DC started doing OU courses, the main things I paid for were music lessons, various "after-school" clubs and trips.

EssexHE: I feel very silly now for a possibly missed opportunity. I've certainly learnt my lesson from that though now!

Though saying that it's one of the reasons why I realise that HEing works. The amount I've learnt through life is considerably more than what I learnt in school!

MadMathsMummy: I'm not really taking an interest into what I want their education to be, just what I don't want it to be! Me and my other half have been discussing it a lot recently because we were planning on settling down soon, but now we're going to go elsewhere for a few years until the economy settles so it just gives me a bit longer to push for HEing At the moment he's happy with the idea of flexi-schooling, and I'm pretty sure there has to be some form of HE 'classes' run by somebody somewhere so I'm sure that I can work that one out! Not formal classes mind you, more just study groups, that's what I'd prefer.

SDeuchars: Is the petition the last heard about the Badman Report? I've only browsed it so understand it but I'm not sure if it's progressed or anything.

And I just assumed it would be run by an outside agency, I didn't even think of other parents! That's a brilliant way to utilise the parents and their skills. I think when I do have kids I'd be having more fun than they would be with this

And a robotics group sounds awesome and also reminds me of what OH said the other day, he asked what they did about things like wood tech and science experiments. I'm brilliant with the science experiments (not so brilliant with the science behind it though! ) so knew that sort of thing would be easy to put into Heing as with wood tech if you had the facilities like I did as a kid, but it would be so easy to organise a wood tech group should another parent be happy to run it.

The more I find out about HEing the more I realise that there's a lot more too it than is thought and I love that. It also makes me realise a lot more about formal education as well.

the badman report was completely accepted by Ed Balls, his ministers and the DCSF.

they immediately drafted legislation.

the report on which that draft legislation was based was then totally slammed by a commons select committee.

then a consultation into proposed legislative changes closed and was reported on (it's normal to consult before you've drafted the legislation). There were 5000 responses (compared to 17 for the schools part of the proposed bill...) which overwhelmingly objected to the plans.

in th middle of that the petitions were presented.

the bill has now finished in the commons after a laughable and truncated committee stage, in which noone said anything in favour of the relevant bits as it stands, and then the labour MPs - even the one who spoke compelling against the draft legislation - then went and voted sheep-like with the whip.

It has its third reading in teh commons next week. Then it goes to the Lords. Our hope is that the Lords throw out the HE part of the bill. The conservatives are opposed to the whole sorry bill, and the hope is that they will gunge the process up with suggested amendments and lengthy debate that it is not finished with by the time the election is called. The conservatives have said clearly that they wouldn't allow the relevant clauses through in the wash up.

Then we get a general election and have to start all over again with the next lot, whoever they are.

There are an astonishing number of HEers, the sorts of people you'd usually expect to have very left-liberal views, praying fervently for a conservative government in 3 months time.

Sorry I'm a bit dense when it comes to reports etc, what does the report actually suggest? What changes are they suggesting that HEers are opposed to?

3m

if the bill goes through

• there will be a scheme of annual licensing. Every HE family will have to apply for permission to HE every year, and it can be refused for any reason. Basically, if the numpties in county hall don't like your accent, you're shafted.

• there will be compulsory monitoring visits. Families can refuse the visits if they like, but refusal can be a reason to refuse a license the following year

• once you've had a license refused, you don't get to move to a friendlier LA and reapply.

• in those monitoring visits, the LA staff can ask to speak to any child alone. If the child does not comply, that can be a reason to refuse a license the following year

• there is no acknowledgement either in the legislation or in the impact assessment on the damaging effect this regime will have on children with SEN, particularly those on the spectrum. "Billy, you now have to sit and talk with this nice lady from the LA who has the power to send you back to school" Billy: instant meltdown and 6 months of nightmares about the stranger who wouldn't let him leave the room

• plans for the next year to be given to the LA, and then you are measured on wherther you met them at teh end. Completely incompatible with child-led learning, and utterly inflexible. Whether the LA will be generous about the fact that you followed the child's development rather than the plan you submitted is in teh gift of the LA.

• if you do not apply for a license, the courts will be instructed to issue a school attendance order, REGARDLESS OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION BEING PROVIDED, OR THE EDUCATIONAL WELFARE OF TEH CHILD

that's just a tiny sample. The legislation is marxist - it's Ed Balls's brainchild. It removes responsibility for educating a child from its parent and gives it to the State. If it goes through, just watch tens of thousands of HEers learn what "civil disobedience" feels like... because the problem is, we will compromise on all sorts of things, keep our heads down, ignore the police state developing around us. But compromise our children's wellbeing, educational and emotional? We are all beginning to draw our lines in the sand, yk?

The Badman report is a bit passe now - the CSF bill has overshadowed it. The main complaints about Clause 26/27 and Schedule 1 (the EHE bits) are that it introduces:

• a register of EHE children, maintained by the LA annually.
• monitoring of the educational provision by the LA.

The "register" would actually be a license - it would have to be applied for every year and it would be an offence not to apply. If a parent does not comply with the bureaucracy, an SAO will be issued - the provision of suitable education is not a defence (unlike now).

Monitoring would involve seeing the child and the LA officer would become the person to decide how the information about a suitable education should be provided - at the moment that is up to the parent.