education is compulsory

This page gives details on Consultations, conferences, committees, press releases and related activities undertaken by EO's Government Policy Group and Disability Group.

January

All Party Parliamentary Group meeting

In January 2010 members of Education Otherwise Government Policy Group and EO Disability Group attended the first formal meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Home Education at Westminster.

EO Position Statement

Education Otherwise published a Position Statement on the Children Schools and Families Bill in advance of the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons.

Education Otherwise believes that Clause 26 Schedule 1 of the Children, Schools and Families Bill is profoundly flawed and must not pass into legislation. In addition to the devastating effect on home educating families, the proposed measures would be incompatible with existing laws and would have unforeseen consequences far beyond the present target group.

Postcards to MPs

EO sent individual postcards to all Members of Parliament in advance of the Children Schools and Families Bill Second Reading in the House of Commons.

FOIs on Education Maintenance Allowance in Scotland

EO sent Freedom of Information requests to all councils in Scotland seeking information on the number of home educated young people receiving Education Maintenance Allowance. The returns informed the new EO web page on EMA which was uploaded in April 2010.

Feedback from EO research on social care statistics

EO published a new web page summarising feedback from local authorities who told our researcher it was not possible to give data on home education and social care.

Equalities Impact Assessment

EO published a critique of the Equalities Impact Assessment to the Children Schools and Families Bill

EO gave evidence to the Public Bill Committee

EO gave evidence to the Public Bill Committee on the Children Schools and Families Bill. Read the full transcript of the Bill committee session and the primary memorandum and supplementary memorandum from Education Otherwise.

I really believe that you will not find home-education support organisations that will deliver training on how to implement the Bill, so in respect of all those plans for softening the edges and making it palatable and home-education friendly, I cannot see where you will find such people. Fiona Nicholson, Trustee Education Otherwise in evidence to the Bill Committee January 19th 2010

Read the full transcript of the Bill committee session and the primary memorandum and supplementary memorandum from Education Otherwise.

National Autism Strategy Conference

EO Disability Group attended a Conference on the National Autism Strategy , focusing on the transition to adult services. EO raised awareness of home education and autism and explained about the difficulty of access to services. You can read a sample of the presentations here.

Critique of Government data on NEETs

EO published a critique of the Government data on NEETs.

Young people who are not in employment, education or training are categorised as NEETs.

Graham Badman repeatedly claims that home educated young people are four times as likely to be NEETs.

Graham Badman has conceded that the information is based on small scale convenience sampling but appears to believe nevertheless that the figures are robust.

NEETs statistics are collected from three sources, the Statistical First Release published annually in June, the quarterly Labour Force survey, and Connexions data published in September.

The NEET Statistics Quarterly Brief brings together all of these data sources into one single publication . The latest publication is available from the Research and Statistics Gateway.

Graham Badman was not directly involved in collecting data about NEETs during the latter half of September 2009. Baroness Morgan told Lord Lucas on December 16th that "the information gathering that followed the review did not incur any external costs as it was conducted by departmental officials".

It is not clear whether Graham Badman personally studied the raw data or whether he simply signed off the finished letters to the Select Committee.

Graham Stuart MP asked Graham Badman about NEETs at the Select Committee in October 2009. Graham Badman said they were 16-18 year olds. Civil servant Penny Jones stated categorically that the statistics were from "the count that takes place in September." Further exchange was prevented by the division bell.

Two weeks later Graham Badman wrote to the Chair of the Select Committee admitting that he had answered incorrectly and that in fact the figures were taken from the autumn survey of children who left ("or in the case of home educated children would have left") school the previous summer.

We are aware of a number of local authorities who attempted to inform the Department in September that it was not possible to give accurate information about home educated young people beyond the age of 16.

Examples from local authorities:

"This is very difficult to say as they could still be home educated retaking exams etc but we are no longer involved once they have passed statutory school age."

"Last academic year 2 children became NEET as Connexions were unable to engage with the families."

"EHE NEET numbers are not known"

Barnet specifically said that they would not be able to give Connexions data until it had been verified by Careervision, data management service.

In January 2010 Graham Badman gave evidence to Ministers and the Public Bill Committee as an expert witness. Mr Badman told Chloe Watson from HEYC: "you are not NEET because you have not registered for Connexions. The Connexions figures were the ones that gave the NEET figures, so those are the ones that were known."

Home educated young people do not routinely make themselves known to Connexions for a number of reasons. Those who are known to Connexions are likely to be seeking help for additional needs or special requirements and could be categorised as NEET during the period where Connexions was not able to offer meaningful assistance.

When Graham Badman visited a home education group in Kent last March he challenged the group over the fact that a high proportion of home educated children were NEET.

Ann Newstead followed this up with Graham Badman's assistant and was told that "the NEET data came from an LA who'd done some quick analysis on their Connexions data." Ann pointed out that anecdotes from a single LA did not constitute robust evidence.

Home educators have repeatedly raised concerns over new data which the Government wishes to collect on home educators. We have expressed the fear that statistics will be misused and misinterpreted. Our experience with Graham Badman and the NEETs figures demonstrates that our concerns were wholly justified.

FOIs on number of home educated children with Child Protection Plans

EO made Freedom of Information requests to all local authorities concerning the number of home educated children subject to a Child Protection Plan. The vast majority of authorities had no children on Child Protection Plans. In authorities where a figure was initially given, it has been necessary to carry out further enquiries to differentiate between referrals to social care and Child Protection Plans.

EO Press Release on funding contradictions

EO published a Press Release asking whether Government guidance contradicted the Minister on funding for college and Alternative Provision. This was further taken up by MPs during the Public Bill Committee.
February 2010

EO summary of Public Bill Committee

EO published a summary of the final session of the Public Bill Committee.

Debate on Clause 26, the home education clause took a substantial part of the afternoon session with the Labour Chair unable or unwilling to advance the committee towards scrutiny of the remaining clauses of the Bill.

Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were in agreement over the unfairness and unworkability of the Government's proposed changes to the law on home education.

DCSF/National Safeguarding Unit Conference

EO attended the Birmingham consultation event jointly run by National Safeguarding Delivery Unit and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Home education was raised as an issue on one of the slides but was passed over by the person delivering the presentation and not discussed by the conference.

Press Release on the failures of Birmingham child protection services

Following the convictions of the mother and stepfather for the manslaughter of Khyra Ishaq, Education Otherwise issued a Press Release deploring the record of Birmingham's child protection services.

March

All Party Parliamentary Group on Home Education Event for House of Lords

Christine Waterman from EO Disability Group made a presentation on home education and special needs to peers at the All Party Parliamentary Group Briefing Event. EO Government Policy Group submitted a Briefing Paper which may be read here.

"Suitable education" Conference Birmingham University

Members of Education Otherwise Government Policy Group and Disability Group attended a conference on "suitable education" at the University of Birmingham. More information here.

Consultation on Children's Trust Guidance

Education Otherwise Government Policy Group and Disability Group made a joint response to the Consultation on New Statutory Children's Trust Guidance and New Children and Young People's Plan Regulations, noting that page 80 of the draft guidance currently states:

services should be commissioned to ensure home-educated children get the support they need either through working collaboratively with schools or providing services at home.

We asked whether this "support" would be included in targets for the Children's Trusts and added that we were unable to find information in the draft guidance about support for home educated children with special needs.

Postcards to members of the House of Lords

EO sent individual postcards to all members of the House of Lords in advance of the Second Reading of the Children Schools and Families Bill. In the normal course of events, debate and discussion on proposed legislation does not begin in earnest until Committee stage, but on this occasion many peers correctly anticipated that the Government would run out of time before Committee and therefore took the opportunity of Second Reading to make clear their objections to the home education clauses of the Bill.

DCSF guidance letter on home education and special needs

Education Otherwise Disability Group participated in a successful joint effort to secure clarification from DCSF on home education and special needs statements. The amended guidance letter can be found here.

Consultation on welfare reform and benefit sanctions

The Social Security Advisory Committee ran a short consultation on welfare reforms. Education Otherwise expressed grave concerns about benefit conditionality for parents on benefit who are taking sole responsibility for their children's education. We noted the difficulty in finding appropriate affordable childcare and raised the issue of home educated children accompanying lone parents to JobCentre interviews.

April

Press Release on proposals dropped from Children Schools and Families Bill

EO issued a Press Release on home ed proposals being dropped from Children Schools and Families Bill.

The Government had mistakenly attempted to rush through changes to the home education law in England without pre-legislative scrutiny.

Ministers and civil servants rashly dismissed the findings of the Select Committee Inquiry, which reported that the plans were "too aggressive", based on "less than robust" evidence and should be scaled back.

Consultation on Families and Relationships Green Paper

EO made a short response to the DCSF consultation on the Families and Relationships Green Paper, stating that the role of Children's Trusts needed to be reassessed in relation to home educating families, with a move away from policing individual families and towards providing information and support.