A very informative and useful report which confirms factors that Education Otherwise’ research identifies: We are only too aware that ‘school itself appears a major contributor to children’s poor mental health and that there is an urgent need to address this.’ This supports the need for Government and policy makers to actively support alternative forms […]
Membership trustee Blog: Helena Wilson
What does Education Otherwise believe home educators to want? I became a trustee because I believe that we can help public bodies to understand how parents feel about this question and to work toward ensuring that parents can choose to home educate going forward. As a home educating mother of eight I know my children […]
Message from the co-Chair, Wendy Charles-Warner
Home Education Assessments Regardless of how home educating parents view their local authority, it does have a right to ask for information about their education provision. That right was established in the case of Phillips v Brown (Queen’s Bench Division (Divisional Court) NO 424/78) and now enshrined within the Education Act 1996 s436a: ‘A local […]
October Blog: A Message from the Co-Chair, Ambroz Neil
We live in a society that is rich in culture, where opportunities are plentiful and freedom and choice are not words that can only be whispered and discussed under the cloak of darkness. This is not to say that things cannot be better, nor that historic and present day deeds across our society have been […]
Valletta and the Year of Changes by Simone Mansell Broome
‘Valletta and the Year of Changes’ is a beautifully illustrated book suitable for 7 to 11 year old children. We particularly liked the illustrations of Alberta and the rather cross cat, but were disappointed at the pawcity of filled spaces on the endpiece family tree. Perhaps the Author intends to fill those spaces with her […]
Magna Carta and common law
We are currently seeing a rapid rise in home educating families being lulled into listening to those who peddle what they refer to as ‘common law’ and ‘freeman’ rights. These groups are acting against the interests of every home educating family, as by peddling these untenable ideas they feed into public body fears about home […]
Get to know your ‘School’ Health Service
School nurses are not just for schools and Education Otherwise has been working with two superb school nurses to ensure that home educating families can learn about the service and how it operates. Jenni and Lily work in Warwickshire, but all school, nursing services should offer the same services and the same level of data […]
Book Review – Naughty Auty by Jo Rohann
Naughty Auty is a delightful short story of an autistic little boy who could not cope with nursery school and who then finds happiness and contentment in home education. Naughty Auty is beautifully, but simplistically presented. The illustrations based on figures consistent with a young child’s first attempts at drawing people are charmingly attractive. This […]
Home education and children’s social services (Part 2)
At its starkest, many people don’t understand home education, don’t understand why parents would not send the child to school, and some just do not know it is a legal and valid option. Increasingly, the narrative is that the home educated child is at increased educational or welfare risk. Increasingly, the societal message from […]
Home Education: socialisation and groups
2020 and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic have forced the world to focus on a core element of being human- the need for human contact. We are social creatures. At no other point in our recent history have scientists had such a global and dramatic ability to study the many complex issues surrounding the […]