When I was doing research at the beginning of our homeschooling education a subject that was always being debated in several FB groups was the local authority.
In some groups they were very against local visits and in others they welcomed them.
Going back through my notes I came across this post, I can’t remember whether it was from a FB group or a blog article, but it does share some great points.
Enjoy
Reasons not to have a LA visit.
– For some, there is a principle at stake – that education is a parental responsibility, just like feeding your child. So it is essentially the same as having a state official come in and go through the fridge and cupboards.
– If we don’t stick to the law then our rights risk being eroded. So we need a good proportion of people to not have visits for it to be clear to LAs that it is fine for those who don’t want visits not to have them. So that they don’t then view not having visits as a concern.
– However good the person that comes to see you appears to be they are probably not the person making a judgement on your home ed – that is probably their superior back at the office, who you will never have met.
– That even if your EHE person is wonderful, and visits are great, and they report back nice things – that person is NOT going to be doing the job forever. They may get ill, retire, change jobs, be made redundant. And the next person may be completely different.
– Because the visit might not go well, or it might seem fine but they judge you negatively. It might turn out that they dislike you, your house, your way of life, your education methods. They may not understand your child’s needs or personality.
– By looking to have other people judge our home educating we run the risk of causing problems for ourselves and our children because instead of focusing on the child’s abilities, aptitudes and needs we focus on what we think someone else wants us to be doing.
– Another problem is education theories and philosophies. LA officers and usually required to be teachers – so they are trained in state education ideas and methods. They may have no experience of different methods or philosophies – Montessori, Steiner, autonomous etc. Home education uses different methods and often aims for completely different outcomes (individual to each child!).
Many feel that LA officers are therefore unqualified to make any assessment of home education and some may even be unable to recognise other forms of education or even when learning is taking place. A good analogy would be to insist that CofE vicars inspect Jewish family religious observances or vice versa.
– Many home educators subscribe to the view that learning is a natural process, that is different for everyone and the only person who can assess the education is actually the person being educated – the child. As parents, we can intimately observe and facilitate, but the learning is ultimately the child’s.
For many, the vast majority of learning is done in the child’s head. This is often concerning for those trained in a system where all children are expected to do the same thing, in the same way, and at the same time.
The state system promotes early reading, and written recitation of facts so if you choose other means – where learning is verbal, or just happens in its own time then you are working in a completely different work view.
– Privacy – home education is an intimate, personal experience. It is integral to everyday life. It involves private spaces in the home, personal conversations, who you are friends with etc. Many people don’t want to have these parts of their lives exposed to a stranger.
– For children coming out of school, having had a bad experience – whether it be bullying, individual needs not being met etc – the LA is a representative of the system that has failed them. This can cause immense stress and recreate the conditions that led to a child having problems in the first place.
– If you have an SEN child the LA person may have no understanding of your child’s abilities or needs. And just having a stranger in the house can be traumatic.
– The LA official – however well-intentioned – may decide that they don’t like your education provision – subjecting your child and family to a highly stressful experience. In a worst-case scenario, parents have to fight to keep their children out of school, or put a child in school when it is not in their best interests.
– Many find that the LA provide no help or services, but only more work for parents.
– Because home educators – in real life and online can provide a more diverse range of information and support than a single LA official. Focusing on the LA visit make prevent new home educators from seeking out and using the vast experience of other home educators.
– LA may judge you on the same criteria as the school education system. This system is not evidence-based, or based on any real understanding of child development, different types of learning, or how learning actually works. They may not take into account that children do things in different ways, and at different times. E.g. late readers, or writers.
There are of course reasons to have a visit. These are generally relating to other issues in cases of parental disputes, difficulty with other services e.g. medical professionals, and where other services and authorities are wrongly raising home education as a safeguarding concern.
You can find more articles about dealing with the Local Authority here.
