Activities and consultations 2007
DCSF: Definition of an independent school - October 2007
This consultation followed the Department's recent attempts to define what constitutes "full time " education in independent schools. The EO response made the case that the present definition was more than adequate and that there were no grounds for change which would not bring unintended and potentially regrettable consequences.
DCSF: Staying Safe - October 2007
This consultation sought views on the balance between the need to keep children safe and the need to take risks as part of the process growing up. The EO consultation response pointed up how unsafe schools can be for many children and set out how home educated children are able to develop resilience and independence at their own pace.
DWP: In Work, Better Off Green Paper (moving lone parents off Income Support and on to Jobseeeker's Allowance) - October 2007
This consultation asked for comments on the DWP Green Paper based on banker David Freud's report proposing a universal benefit system and privatised employment services. Education Otherwise lobbied steadily against this and the EO Campaign site ran a huge awareness-raising exercise.
Gloucester Council: Wellbeing Review (joint response GPG and DG) - September 2007
Education Otherwise responded to this consultation because the prominent head of Children's Services in Gloucester had recently made very hostile comments about home education. EO's consultation response pointed out that school is often not the best place for children and that home education was a lifeline for some families and should not be regarded with suspicion.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA): questionnaire on curriculum reform - September 2007
This questionnaire asked for feedback on specific changes to the GCSE curriculum in different subjects but the main focus for Education Otherwise was to highlight the difficulty home educators would have with "controlled assessments" which are to replace coursework and which have to be completed under formal supervision. As a follow-up to this consultation EO met with QCA and the Joint Council for Qualifications ( JCQ) to discuss the implications of controlled assessments for home educated private candidates. At the time of writing in August 2008 discussions are ongoing.
BERR/Cabinet Office: Consultation Practice Review - September 2007
The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform asked for feedback on proposed modifications to the Consultation Code of Practice from businesses and others who participate in Government consultations. Education Otherwise cited as an example of mismanagement the exclusion of the home education community during the decision-making process as to whether to impose more intrusive regulations and red tape in this area. As part of the consultation process EO attended a Cabinet Office seminar to put forward our views and we have a continued the dialogue with BERR into 2008.
DCSF: Raising Standards, Improving Outcomes (early years childcare) - September 2007
This consultation set out guidance on the statutory duty for local authorities in England to ensure sufficient childcare places and for JobCentre staff and other partner agencies to act to increase the take-up of places. The EO consultation response made the point that for some families home will be preferred option with more favourable outcomes and that these families should not be put under pressure to use childcare.
DfES: Home Education Guidelines for Local Authorities - July 2007
In 2004 the DfES consulted on draft Home Education Guidelines for Local Authorities. These guidelines were shelved and in December 2006 the DfES told EO that they were introducing "light touch changes to monitoring". However in May 2007 the DfES reverted to its original plan and re-issued the 2005 draft guidelines to full public consultation. The revised guidelines, incorporating references to the Children Act 2004 and the Education and Inspection Act 2006, were finally published in November 2007 and can be found here.
DfES: Draft Guidance s.12 Children Act 2004 (ContactPoint) - July 2007
The 2004 Children Act introduced plans for a controversial national database containing information on all children. The July consultation invited feedback on draft guidance to clarify how the database would work in practice. The EO response queried whether there was an opt-out clause. We also referred back to our database consultation response on s.12 in December 2006.
DfES: Duty to Promote Community Cohesion - July 2007
The main focus of EO response was to question whether home educated families would have access to extended schools as part of the wider community. We also reminded the Department that home educated children are frequently denied access to local examination centres and other facilities.
DfES: Raising Expectations (compulsory education age to 18) - June 2007
The original proposals in this consultation took no account of home education as a valid legal option, instead mandating full-time attendance at school or college post 16. Education Otherwise made a full written consultation response and also corresponded directly with civil servants. In September and November 2007 members of EO Government Policy Group attended several policy events and asked Secretary of State Ed Balls for his comments on the draft policy. We were pleased to see that the final document confirmed the legality of education otherwise than at school.
DfES: Schools, Early Years and 14-16 funding - June 2007
This consultation covered a broad range of funding issues from 0-16 and raised the likelihood of more funding autonomy for local authorities, EO highlighted the problem of the lack of funding for home education and lack of access to examination centres and other facilities.
DfES: Review of regulations on attendance targets - May 2007
The DfES proposed that schools should be required to promote individual attendance targets on pupils with poor attendance record. EO raised a number of concerns with this approach.
DfES: Revised Exclusions Guidance - May 2007
This consultation brought in written guidance on the revised exclusions policy from schools and Pupil Referral Units brought about by the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
DfES: Skills Strategy Equality Impact Assessment - April 2007
The focus of the EO response was on the lack of attention paid to disability and SEN in the impact assessments. The Skills Strategy concerned proposals to move to demand-led education and training in the wake of the Leitch Report on the skills needed for the workforce.
DfES: Entitlement to Positive Leisure Activities (s.6 Education and Inspections Act 2006) - March 2007
Education Otherwise took the opportunity of this consultation to highlight some of the ways in which home educated children could miss out on the opportunities and that moreover there was very little requirement for extra activities to be provided, simply a requirement for local authorities to collate information about what was currently on offer. We also evinced scepticism that any entitlement would be heavily biased towards young people at risk of anti-social behaviour and not to the youth population as a whole.
DfES: Definition "full time education" in independent schools - February 2007
The Department wanted to produce guidance as to what constituted "full time education" in independent schools, thereby bringing the providers of education within the scope of regulation. Many home educators responded to this consultation expressing fears that tuition groups and other settings would be affected.
| File | Description | File size |
|---|---|---|
 attendancetargetsmay07.pdf | Attendance Targets consultation response, May 2007 | 58 Kb |
| DWPconsultationresponseInWorkBetterOff.pdf | Department of Work and Pensions consultation on moving lone parents off Jobseeker's Allowance October 2007 | 97 Kb |
| ISConsultation.pdf | Consultation on the definition of an independent school October 2007 | 48 Kb |
| DisabilityGroupRaisingStandardsChildcare.pdf | Raising Standards, Improving Outcomes EO Disability Group consultation response September 2007 | 49 Kb |
| RaisingStandardsChildcare.pdf | Raising Standards, Improving Outcomes EO Government Policy Group consultation response September 2007 | 33 Kb |
| cabinetofficeconsultation.pdf | Cabinet Office consultation on better consultation practice September 2007 | 88 Kb |
| qca.pdf | QCA questionnaire on curriculum reform September 2007 | 16 Kb |
| gloucswellbeing.pdf | Gloucester Wellbeing Consultation (joint consultation response with EO Disability Group) September 2007 | 41 Kb |
| EO RESPONSE TO CONTACTPOINT CONSULTATION.pdf | EO response to ContactPoint consultation | 83 Kb |
| communitycohesionconsultation.pdf | Community Cohesion (extended schools facilities for wider community). Closed July. | 69 Kb |
| raisingexpectationsjune07.pdf | Raising Expectations (compulsory school leaving age). Closed June. | 175 Kb |
| consultationonschoolearlyyearsand14-16funding.pdf | Schools, Early Years and 14-16 Funding. Closed June. | 75 Kb |
| Attendancetargetconsultationresponse.pdf | Attendance Targets. Closed May. | 58 Kb |
| consultationonrevisedexclusionsguidance.pdf | Revised Exclusions Guidance. Closed May. | 55 Kb |
| skillsequalityimpactconsultation.pdf | Skills Strategy Equality Impact Assessment. Closed April | 50 Kb |
| positiveactivitiesconsultationresponse.pdf | Positive Leisure Activities. Closed March. | 63 Kb |
| fulltimeedconsultresponse.pdf | Definition of Full Time Education. Closed February | 98 Kb |