Education Select Committee Panel 2

These are my notes, thoughts and random comments as I watch the live panel.  As I am watching this and typing at the same time, this post will not be polished. It will be raw and blunt, and hopefully makes sense!

This time there are two pro-HE panel members: Wendy Charles-Warner and Dr Amber Fensham-Smith.

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/13b0286c-334f-4568-9888-b8c8a7e52855

The witnesses are:
Victor Shafiee
Deputy Director, unregistered and independent schools at Ofsted
Mrs Wendy Charles-Warner
Trustee at Education Otherwise
Dr Amber Fensham-Smith
Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies at The Open University
Ellen Collier
Service Manager, Education Welfare Service, Social Care and Education, at Leicester City Council

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I don't know if this video will be edited at all afterwards, but if it doesn't, you will want to fast forward to 10:14:58 otherwise you will be sitting through ages of "The proceeding will start shortly" and continually thinking, "Really? Will it?" lol

So it has started, and already gone out-of-scope by asking Victor about historical sexual abuses in independent schools.  As important as that issue is, it's nothing to do with home education.

The initial question is about consistency of LAs directed to Wendy and Ellen.  Wendy rightly talks about lack of training and expectation of "school at home", which leads into lack of engagement between home educators and LAs.

Ellen says there's a LA forum where LAs talk to each other to interpret the guidance - this may explain why many LAs are suddenly overreaching in the same way at the same time.

Another question: how can LAs know they have found all HE children if there is not a complete database, specifically if there are children who have never been to school?  And asking why there is 171% increase in SAOs issued?

Wendy queries the data and says it is wrong for the past year.  The increase is because LAs are issuing s437s or SAOs because they are not receiving information in the form they want or in the style they want. - This has been my experience too.  Some LAs go power-crazy.  You can search into what has been happening to home educators by Portsmouth CC!

Ellen mentions asking for photographs of children and their work as suitable evidence of their home education. I have written to my LA multiple times about issuing photographs:

Firstly, local home educators were not informed in advance of the inspection as per section 3.9 of the EHE DGfLAs: “Local authorities should keep known home educators and local home education support organisations informed of forthcoming Ofsted inspections and any input they can have, as well as outcomes of inspections – although reports on these are available on the Ofsted website.” This meant they were unable to be consulted for the inspection and unable to give their views.

Secondly, Ofsted’s remit does not cover the content of individual’s home education provision, so there is no need to ask for samples or photos of the children’s work.

Ofsted’s report from December 2020 states “[REDACTED]”

There is no suggestion you should be asking for samples of work.

Their previous report (July 2019) states “[REDACTED]”

Doing a strategic analysis to determine the reasons behind parents electing to home educate, and monitoring your own internal arrangements of this analysis is to be recommended.

However, I am sure you are aware that Section 5.1 of the EHE Departmental Guidance for Parents says “Your local authority has no formal powers or duty to monitor the provision of education at home.”

Section 6.12 of the EHE Departmental Guidance for Local Authorities says “An authority should not dismiss information provided by parents simply because it is not in a particular form preferred by the authority.”

As such, you should be accepting written reports of the education provision as sufficient, unless you have any specific concerns. Similarly, if you do have specific concerns, you should be expanding on what these are, so the parent can directly address them.

Additionally, some children explicitly do not want their work to be shared with anyone. As per Articles 12 and 16 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (specifically Respect for Children’s Views and Protection of Privacy), this should be respected. It is inadequate of the LA to determine that the education is unsatisfactory solely based on a family opting to send in information in a different form, rather than sending samples of work.

I hope you can understand that, unless you have specific concerns about a specific family, you have no reason to routinely ask for photos or samples of work, and home educators are not obliged to give that information to you. As such, I ask the EHE department to again refrain from sending letters asking for this.

Victor emphasises that Ofsted do not have a role in monitoring HErs.

After a few questions, then we get to see each of the panel members introduce themselves.

Why has numbers of HE grown so much?  Wendy talks about bad MH of British children and the reasons why parents are choosing to HE.  Victor dismisses Wendy's research with no valid reason - does he think FOI requests etc are not valid??  And he is talking about the mythical home educator who wants to isolate their children. Amber gives a good answer about the fact that there is research and also that reasons change within a single family over time.

Wendy brings up the valid point that you shouldn't assume that all home educators are abusing their children.  Johnathon thinks it is put on a parity with school, whereas Wendy says that HE kids are much more likely to be referred to SS, but in reality they are no more at risk than schooled children.  Also, it hasn't mentioned that schools are monitored so highly because they act in parental locus.  Given HE has to be done by parents/legal guardians, to monitor parents on behalf of themselves just doesn't make sense.

To try and speed things along, the next four people are asking their questions all at once.  

Victor thinks there should be a register and that it will be a 'light touch' for parents - clearly he hasn't actually thought about this too deeply. (See my previous post about why registration is bad.)  

Amber brings up looking at alternative models and their success (eg Tasmania and Australia); literature research specifically about children and outcomes is needed, and will need to be longitudinal. Amber has brought up that parents who HE children that need EHCPs, this should be accessible for children who are not in school.

Ellen confirms there are children who are HE who are actually CME, and they identify them, and thinks that there are more children who are labelled HE but are actually CME.  She is blaming parents writing reports so they can't judge what kids are actually doing.

Wendy says that the existing system is sufficient, and highlights that schools also fail to educate some children.  An experienced and competent EHEO will know the difference.  Wendy also differentiates between being known to LAs and being known to peer support and local HEing groups. LAs should point towards local groups.

Victor says there is no data about unregistered schools.  They thought there were 24, but they've already found over 700.  Because some of the children who attend these schools are said they are home educating, he thinks this is an issue of home education, but then goes on to say these unregistered schools are duping HEing parents.

Should there be a statutory register?

Wendy says no, unless there is a needs assessment.  Wendy points out that Ofsted should provide a register of registered providers so that they will no longer be "duped".

Amber points out that a register alone won't necessarily answer the points Victor made earlier.  And the fact that a register will bring in Monitoring of HE.

Victor acknowledges that the register should be wider than HErs and include children getting s19 support.

Again, Wendy points out that the current process for the LA is sufficient for the LA to get involved, and they should get involved in the minority of cases.

Apsana has asked some good questions (time ~11:20ish).

Good points by Wendy about referring to s7 1996 Ed Act and the individualised education for the individual.

Kim has asked Victor some questions - he thinks that a register will solve the world's problems.  The register should be national, not local, but LA should do the monitoring.  He is right that this is not Ofsted's role.

Victor is talking about the outcomes of children who are attending illegal schools, but that's not outcomes of EHE children.

Caroline is asking about 'outcomes' of literacy of HE children throughout their home education - sounds like she is already talking about the register expanding to include monitoring.  Ellen answers that she does look at progression for each child.  Wendy rightly talks about stepping away from school-based samples as it does not make sense in a HE setting as there are other ways to learn. Caroline is asking a second question about 'measuring' education.  Wendy answers it well.  

Halfon interrupts Wendy and doesn't understand the difference between a child progressing and whether a child is achieving their potential. <MASSIVE EYE ROLL>
Then he goes on to say that SATS are nothing to do with assessing the school, and are only about assessing the children. Ofsted assesses the school, and don't use SATS.
Gah! Stop interrupting!!!
Are SATS a test of the school or the child?
What are SATS?

Caroline's repeated question about a 10year old not reading and whether the education is sufficient or not is infuriating.  Reading is not the only way to gather information and learn!  Personally, I love reading (as if you didn't know - and if you didn't know, click on "Books" in the Word cloud at the top right) and DD1 was a fluent reader at 3, and DD2 learned at 5yo.  That doesn't mean I can sit on my perch and judge children or their parents if they don't read at 10years old.  That child could be learning audibly or through documentaries and hands-on and have an encyclopaedic knowledge about various topics that I have no idea.  There is more than one way to learn, and forcing a test on all children at age 11 or whenever, is not conducive to a good education.

Ellen says there is no available training or course that EHEOs go on.  It's all on-the-job training, and their legal dept determines whether they are interpreting the policy correctly.

Question at the end about accessing exams due to covid.

Wendy rightly picks up the fact that not all EHEOs are well qualified, nor do they have education/relevant qualifications. 

Ellen thinks a register will solve HE kids being unknown based on "knowledge".

And that's the end!

Weekly Update

 A weekly update that is turning into a monthly update. I'm busy - no surprise there!

I started another FutureLearn Course.  Only 3 weeks long, a few hours each week - I've managed 1 week so far, so need to catch up on that.

My work with Educational Freedom is ongoing, as people are always asking for support, as well as the behind the scenes stuff that needs to happen.  I've been contacted by a journalist this morning too, so I need to write a bit for her.

And my working as part of the EHE Alliance is ongoing.  Thankfully I'm part of a bigger team there, but I still need to give my input and am unable to cruise along.

Have I mentioned on this blog I get cysts? Well, I do.  Went to the docs years ago about it and was told "you're just a cystic lady".  Gee, thanks.  This week one burst in my groin, so I've been unable to do any walking (which is reflected in my weight) as I've had an open wound.  It's finally starting to heal today though, yey!, so hopefully won't be too long before I can walk my dog again.  On the positive side, the nurse suggested I may have a condition called Hidradenitis suppurativa or HS, and has arranged a phone appt with a different GP next week, so I can be referred to dermatology.  There actually isn't much they can do, but if I have a diagnosis I can keep antibiotics to hand, so I can treat myself when and as needed, rather than having to go through the rigmarole of making doctor/nurses appointments.  This is another condition that benefits if you are not overweight, so yet another reason why I need to lose weight.

I have finished a couple of books since I last posted too.  Reading really does destress me, so I need to get around to writing those reviews.  Unfortunately, my kindle is still in my car from when I went to the docs last week and I cba to get it out when it was cold and wet.  A sunny day here today, though, so no more excuses.

So back to my weekly update.  Here's my graph for the past 2 months.

Very up and down, but (apart from this past week) there's a definite downward trend.  Once I can start walking again, I need to make sure I go out every day (especially on busy days where I'm tutoring!).

I am feeling strangely motivated this morning though, despite not being able to walk.  Over the weekend I binge-watched Strong on Netflix.  It's about 10 personal trainers and 10 fairly ordinary women who compete to win $500,000 by getting physically and mentally strong.  I particularly liked the fact there was one contestant who was my weight at the start, and she did really well on the show.
So, this morning, I did 1 sit up, 1 push up and 1 Russian twist; tomorrow I will do 2 of each and I will continue as it.  I didn't want to start with 10 or 20 of each in case I found it demoralising - and that was a good call!  The Russian Twist, I could do.  The Push-up I went on my toes (usually I do them on my knees) and managed it.  The sit-up, though.... the one exercise that I could do comfortably... Well, I could do a crunch (I got halfway up), but I don't think it qualifies as a sit-up.  I tried again, getting a bit more momentum into it, and still only got halfway up.  As I said, it's a good thing I didn't try and start doing too many.  Tomorrow I will do two of each, and my strength will improve.

3 Engineering Activities in 3 Branches of Engineering

As it is British Science Week this week, my local Home Education Group run an annual Science Fair.
Last year, this was the last thing we went to before Lockdown, and this year it's all online.  Due to my background, I was asked if I could do something 'engineeringy' and I've decided to share it with you in case you find it useful.

I've split this up into an Introduction to Engineering plus three dives into different branches of engineering.  I would guesstimate that each branch of engineering (Introduction Video, Specific Video plus 3 activities) would take approximately an hour each, but obviously it depends on the age of the child, their concentration/persistence levels and how interested they are; and I'd only expect you to watch the introduction video once. 

I anticipate that most KS2/3/4 can do all the practicals (KS1 can with help) and KS3/4 can do the worksheets (KS2 with help). Each video is only short, so please pause it after each section and come back to it before starting the next activity.

I am not a natural presenter, and you can see that talking to a screen is not natural for me.  I also had to learn some very basic video-editing skills, so please forgive the lack of professionalism.  Even simple things like keeping my hands in one place, meant there's various continuity errors, lol.  And finally, in order to publish everything on this blog, I had to learn how to attach pdfs to blogger and create a YouTube account!  Despite my engineering background (honestly, I do have a Masters from Oxford in it) I'm a bit of a technophobe and very old skool - I've only been using Google Docs for the past month or so!

As there are practicals for you to do at home, you may want to check that you have the necessary materials/supplies listed below before you start; they are all available at a supermarket, if you don't have them at home already.

Video Transcript, if needed, HERE

**Please Note: Some mobile devices are not showing the videos correctly or at all.  You will either need to switch to the Web Version (there's a tiny button at the bottom of the post) or watch the videos directly from YouTube: https://youtu.be/Rp4kgGoukKY

Introduction to Engineering

Print out Word Search HERE

Civil Engineering

(a) spaghetti and marshmallows or jelly tots

(b) 50+ straws, sticky tape, sheets of paper, glue stick, pen

(c) print out worksheet and separate answers HERE

Mechanical Engineering

(a) 2 kitchen roll tubes (or more toilet roll tubes, to make it taller); 1 straw, string/ribbon, yoghurt pot or paper box

(b) print out picture of cogs HERE, stick to thick cardboard (as thick as possible - it will be even easier to do if you have 3 or four sheets of card stuck together) and cut out shapes; 4 kitchen roll tubes, 2 straws, string/ribbon, yoghurt pot

(c) print out worksheet and separate answers HERE

Electrical Engineering

(a) print out sheets of paper circuits HERE and cut them out, or make your own plus print out of Video Answers HERE

(b) D batteries (perhaps taken from a torch), aluminium foil, electrical tape, light bulb (perhaps taken from a torch)

(c) print out worksheet and separate answers HERE

I Spy, I Saw Her Die by Ian C. P. Irvine

I have read a few of Ian C. P. Irvine's books before, and this one didn't disappoint.  In fact, though I only had the first book, I had to immediately buy the second and read it all, so I could get to the conclusion of this gripping story.

I Spy, I Saw Her Die is a book about cyber crime and how a man's life is turned upside down when he remotely sees something he shouldn't have done.  Her death could bring down the British government and he finds himself on the run from the secret service with nowhere to hide.

The blurb says:

When Ray Luck - a top cyber security expert - accidentally stumbles upon a devastating secret while surfing the web, the lives of girlfriend and himself are immediately put under threat!

Forced into hiding, and given only three days to live, Ray is a man with not one, but several missions: to save the life of his girlfriend who has been kidnapped by the security services; to prevent a terrorist cyber-attack destroying London; and to bring one of the most powerful men in the world to justice for the savage killing of an apparently innocent woman - a murder powerful people in the British Government are determined to cover up at all costs!

Only Ray can stop them all.

But as the clock starts to tick, he discovers that nothing is as it seems. Who is the real enemy? And who can he trust? Unless he finds out soon, will Ray’s luck finally run out?

I could not put this book down.  I read books 1&2 over a weekend and it was time wisely spent.  This thriller, not only makes you think about whether what you see is real or not, it also makes you think about the government and whether they are indeed the ones who hold the power in this country.  Finally, I like the open-ended question as to whether Ray Luck was intentionally shown what he saw???

If you like books that are thrillers, and are about crime, cyber crime, politics, secret service, secret membership... this is the book for you.

Happiness is a Smoking Gun by Alaine Allister

This is H in my list of A-Z of Fiction Titles.

Happiness is a Smoking Gun is a cosy murder mystery about a woman called Clarissa who decides to start her own newspaper and her first story will be solving the murder of the town mayor.

The Blurb says:

Out of work reporter Clarissa Spencer is being stalked by a stray cat. She can’t cook to save her life, her garden is an overgrown mess and her chocolate chip cookie addiction is out of control. Then to top it all off, she gets struck by lightning!

Clarissa thinks she has it bad - until she learns the town mayor has been shot to death and his widow has been falsely accused of killing him. Okay, so it could be worse...

Clarissa makes it her mission to expose the true killer before her arch nemesis - an infuriatingly handsome reporter from the city newspaper - can. Unfortunately, solving a murder is easier said than done...especially with the lunacy in Clarissa's life!

This wasn't a bad book and story, however (as you can see by the front cover [and which I didn't see when choosing the book on my kindle]) there is a witchiness about the book.  Now, you know if you have read my other reviews, I don't mind a bit of paranormal or supernatural, but in this book it just seemed unnecessary, and her new powers didn't actually help her solve the crime either.  I'm guessing, because this is the first book in a series, it will be a bigger part of the plot in future books, however, for me, I don't feel inclined to read the rest.

A good book to while away a few hours, and (unusually for me), I didn't predict who the killer was going to be.

 

Weekly Update

Today: 93.8kg
Last Week: 94.4kg
Weekly Difference: 0.6kg loss
Starting: 94.2kg
Total Difference: 0.4kg loss

Going in the right direction this week!

This week has been busy again - when is it not - but I did manage to find some time for myself.  I finished one book, and read two more (that were a 2-book series) over the weekend that had me gripped.  I hadn't planned to stay up reading, but all of a sudden the book had finished and it was 2am this morning...

General HE stuff is still on going.  I chaired the meeting last week that I was worried about and it went well, so I won't be so nervous next time.  'Normal' helping people continues as it does every day.  And I said I would do some videos about Engineering for British Science week.  The organiser has started asking for info and resource lists etc, so has given me a kick up the backside to actually get around to doing them.  I've done my intro video, and planned what I'll say for the other 3 vids, and now I just need to get all the resources together and actually film them.  I also said I'd do a brief worskheet of the theory, so I need to put a few questions together about them too.  But I've started, and that's the main thing.

DD1 had her Spring school report today, and that was really good.

And DD2 made this cake at the weekend, so both girls are doing well.

Recommendation: Out of the Box Catering

Valentine's Day came and went at the weekend, and I like nothing more than an Afternoon Tea.  If you ever want to get me a 'special meal', the poshest afternoon tea, preferably with cheap bubbly (I don't like champagne, would much rather a big bottle of lambrini) would be me happy for ages.

Rather than wait for my other half to pick up on the million of hints, I decided it was easiest if I booked it myself. I have seen Out of the Box Catering recommended on Facebook, and though the food looks fab, it has always seemed on the pricy side.  I have considered it for catering events as that seems more reasonable to me (I'm planning my 40th birthday next year, but all the venues that have got back to us so far, have said we have to use their in-house caterers).

Anyway, I don't usually make a big fuss about Valentine's Day - my husband and I love each other, and don't ned a special day to say it - but in Lockdown, when this past year has been a bit rubbish, I wanted to do something a bit special.  Out of the Box Catering were doing a Valentine's Day hamper, and I decided to go for it - and I was very glad I did.  I also bought the kids' hamper for my girls.

First of all, when it arrived, it came in these lovely hessian bags.  I was not expecting that at all - when I have ordered from other places, it has always been boxes, or maybe boxes in a paper bag.  This delivery was presented really well, and we have a reusable bag to keep.

Then, when I opened the bag, not only did it contain boxes of food, but it also had a cake stand for the afternoon tea, and individual place settings of plate, cutlery, napkin, salt and pepper - everything you could need!  It made me dream of warmer weather when we could order a hamper, and then go for a walk with the kids and the dog, and take a picnic.  (Picnics are another thing I love - I chose to have a picnic with friends to celebrate my 21st birthday. I don't know why I love them so much? I suppose I'm a romantic at heart - either that, or I read too much Enid Blyton as a kid!)

Even within the individual boxes, the food was presented beautifully, with a fresh side salad too.  Inside the kids' boxes were simpler flavours of sandwiches and instead of vegetable crisps, they had a bag of cheese puffs.  We also had separate boxes with canapes, sweet treats and a cream tea.  I laid it all out on the table, proper fancy like, and it looked a feast! 

So would I recommend? Unequivocally, yes.

It is on the expensive side, compared to other Afternoon Tea Deliveries, however, it is definitely worth it.  The taste of everything was beautiful, and all the little extras (I forgot to mention earlier, that there were also individual heart chocolates with the cutlery!) make it worthwhile.