HomeSchooler.org.uk

"The meeting HEYC had with the DCSF in August was filmed, but unfortunately we have been prevented from distributing the resulting video by the Department. You may confirm this with them if you wish."

I thought Graham Badman could go no lower in home educators' estimation, but this takes the biscuit.

At our first interview Mr Badman was interested in what I had to say. His opening question was to ask me if home educating mothers suffered from Munchhausen's by Proxy. I thought this to be a curious starting point - that of questioning whether home education is a symptom of mental illness. I am not medically qualified, but I was able to inform Mr Badman that there is no research evidence available that I am aware of, which makes this link.

This actually makes sense of the way the whole review was carried out and written up. If he was starting from that kind of basis of supposition, there was no chance of him ever doing anything good for home educators.

"Dear Sir/Madam, (education.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk)
I am writing with regard to your article with the appallingly inaccurate headline: "Children educated at home at severe disadvantage, study shows".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/oct/13/home-education-badman-inquiry"

"Home educators are outraged at Graham Badman's recommendations to impose new regulations on them. Nancy Rowntree finds out why they feel victimised."...

"A local authority officer has just admitted in an email to a home educator that 

'the high percentage of children (actual number taken out as it identifies the LA) arose from all the data we have ever had and therefore that includes people that are now adults. This could have included involvements for other members of the family, referrals where the outcome was no further action etc." more:http://maire-staffordshire.blogspot.com/2009/10/dishonest-or-stupidity-local-authority.html

"It must now be evident to even the most naive of home educators that Graham Badman's review into elective home education (not to mention related political processes) is at best an absolute whitewash, and at worst a very serious attempt to destroy one of the last remaining freedoms of families."...more...

A great roundup of the events so far...more...

"Well, if that isn't embarrassing, I don't know what is! First he writes a report which makes recommendations on the evidence of a very small self-selecting sample which in all probability contained a high proportion of statistical outliers, the reasons for which were not investigated.

Then home educators set about checking out his stats and find them to be woefully researched and misrepresented both in the review itself and in the media. For example, freedom of information responses from all the LAs reveal that home educated children are actually less than a third less likely to suffer abuse than children in the rest of the population."...more...

"Oh dear, Mr Badman, don’t the figures add up?

The Select Committee day of investigation into the conduct and findings of Graham Badman’s Home Education review is fast approaching. Someone has now found this little gem:

Please see the attached letter from Graham Badman.

Graham would like to make local authorities aware of the forthcoming Select Committee hearing in early October which is likely to examine the evidence from the various sources which led to the 28 recommendations in his Home Education Review.

In the course of the review statistical evidence was collected from a sample of local authorities on vulnerable children who were home educated. This provided persuasive evidence for change.

However, it was a small sample and we would like to supplement this data in order to provide more statistically rigorous information to the Select Committee about safeguarding and educational issues that affect home educated children.

So there is a nod to the fact that the information used in the review and on the basis of which legislation is being prepared is not statistically rigorous enough to satisfy a select committee – methinks then that it shouldn’t be enough to satisfy a government to consider legislation....