Rotherham
A page for information, news and comment in Rotherham
related links:
Meeting the LA Education Department
Guidance on improving LEAs
EHE Consultation
Respondent Information Questions
Personal Details
Name: Pam Hill
Organisation: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Address : Norfolk House Walker Place, Rotherham S65 1AS
Response on Behalf of an organisation: Yes
Keep response confidential: No
Request a response acknowledgement: No
Which of the following best describes you: ... Local authority
Please Specify:
I am the person responsibly within the LA for advising parents of their responsibilities regarding educating their children at home and providing them with the Policy and Procedures and also a copy of the LA's Advice and Guidance to Parents documents. I do not assess any of the education being undertaken by the children this is overseen by a person who is employed by the LA on a consultancy basis.
Consultation Questions
1 Do you agree that it is helpful for the DES to issue guidelines to local authorities?
Yes
Comments:
The document will be welcomed if gives clear advice and guidance on roles and responsibilities of all participants who are involved in home based education.
2 Do you agree that the description of the law (paragraphs 2.1 -2.3) relating to elective home education is accurate and clear?
No
Comments:
I feel that the words "suitable' and "efficient" could be interpreted in many ways. The statement "achieves that which it sets out to achieve" depends on what the parents want to achieve and should be more clearly defined.
The statement " primarily equips a child for life within the community of which he is a member ...... is an important statement. I feel that a child cannot fit into life in the community unless they can read, write and be numerate. Nowhere does it state what will equip a child for life in the community.
3 Do you agree that the description of local authorities’ responsibilities (paragraphs 2.5-2.1 1) is accurate and helpful?
Not sure
Comments:
Responsibilities are clear but there are no -teeth" to the case law. How can LA's assess that the education being provided if parents can obstruct the assessment of the education being provided in so many ways.
The obvious worry is that if parents choose not to let LA's see the children then we can only assume that the work provided for us has been completed by the child. There are also issues around the Safeguarding of children who are not in school.
4 Do you agree that the section on contact with the local authority (paragraphs 3.4-3.7) is accurate and helpful?
Not sure
Comments
Where parents are committed to educating their children at home they welcome the advice and guidance of the LA and educate their children to an acceptable level.
Where parents only provide reports and do not wish us to see the child or can evidence what work is being undertaken obviously this leaves the LA with many concerns.
We have to treat everyone with equity and how can we do that if the law is so ambiguous.
5 Do you agree that the section on providing full-time education (paragraphs 3.11 – 3.14) - and in particular, the characteristics of provision (paragraph 3.13) – is accurate and helpful?
Not sure
Comments
The section is clear in what it states. However if it clearly stated what education children should be concentrating on if would leave parents in no doubt as to what the emphasis of the education being provided should be based on. This flexible approach suggests that parents can be inventive in how they provide the education, some parent will be able to do this others will not. I feel parents would be grateful of clearer guidelines e.g. Subjects such as Maths, English, IT and Science should be the main subjects covered. Children cannot function in todays society without a good knowledge of these subjects.
Any other subjects that the parents wish their child to study would be a bonus.
6 Do you agree that the section on developing relationships (section 4) is useful?
Yes
Comments
It is essential that good relationships are formed to be able to work with parents and their children, and a degree of trust must exist between them. However relationships will break down if guidelines are not dear and are open to interpretation. If there is no formal learning taking place it does not give children a good idea of what the future holds in the world of work once their compulsory education ceases. Also if parents realise that they cannot carry on home educating and want to return their children into mainstream school it becomes very difficult for their children to be able to fit back comfortably into a school environment.
7 a) Are the suggested resources in section 5 and appendix 2 useful?
Yes
Comments
[none]
7 b) Should any other contacts be included?
Yes
Answer/Comments
As many contacts as possible should be available and websites for parents to access for information on exams especially on line examination boards.
8 Please use this space for any other comments you wish to make about the guidelines
Answer/Comments
The guidelines need to be made clear to all parties, but until there is some statutory requirement placed on parents then the guidelines are open to interpretation.
How do we define "suitable and efficient"?
How can we be certain that work is being completed by the child if we only need a report from parents?
How can the LA reasonably be expected to fulfil its obligations to safeguard children without the backing from legislation relating to children who are home educated.
~~~~~
Comments:
~~~~~
News:
~~~~~
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.