Looking at the panel (4)

Before we start looking at the fourth member of the panel:



I need to go back to yesterday's post and say something more about Delroy Pommel. I've now found his name, on Googling, spelled three different ways: Pommel, Pommell and - thanks to a heads-up by email from Shirl - Pomell. It now transpires that he is a member of the London Safeguarding Children Board, and if that sounds familiar it might be because their response to the draft EHE guidance in 2007 [opens Word.doc] and subsequent position WRT elective home education:

§ Consultation on elective home education

Mary Kuhn had drafted a response based on the discussion at the last network meeting. Following approval by network members the response had been submitted. The document had also formed the basis of a London Regional Partnership response and other Regional Partnerships had used it as a basis for theirs so there had been a good cascade effect from the work.

It was agreed that elective home education should be be kept under review by the network. A further issue arising was that there was no way of tracking home educated children when whole families move on without informing anyone. This had happened in Hounslow, Waltham Forest, Enfield and Wandsworth.

Action: MK to raise with DCSF [Source: Meeting Notes 26.09.07]

For further reading about "the labyrinth that is the network between The London Regional Partnership, The London Schools Safeguarding Leads Network, The London Safeguarding Children Board, The London Child Protection Committee, London Allegations Management Advisors, London Councils, The Association of London Directors of Children’s Services, Care Services Improvement Partnership and others, [being] a frightening illustration of how hearsay can be dangerously ignited to become a bushfire," please see AHEd's letter to Ed Balls on the subject.

Incidentally (and thanks again to Shirl for this) Graham Badman himself appears to be on the London Local Safeguarding Children Boards in the same network. (Scroll down to Haringey.)

But these different variations of the same names are fascinating to me. So far we've looked at Stephen Heppell - referred to as 'Steve' in our list, Edward Melhuish - seen on our list as plain old Ted, and Delroy Pommel/Pommell/Pomell.

The fourth name on the list is "Steve Hart (HMI, Ofsted)". I will be running searches for a number of variations on his name!

He wasn't in the original line-up, but only three out of those five still remain, now joined by eight more.

I'm not finding an awful lot about him, but there is the following bio on this data-heavy pdf about Camden’s Joint Area Review:

Steve Hart - Safeguarding
Steve Hart has been employed for most of his 32 year career in social work in Children's Services but has also worked in the disability and substance misuse fields. He has extensive experience of field and residential work and has practiced and managed in both sectors. Since working for the inspectorates (SSI, CSCI and most recently OFSTED) Steve has been involved in inspecting all service sectors but his predominant work has been with children and he has extensive experience of inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services. He has led the Secure Care Inspection Service and was CSCI's national lead for child protection until its merger with Ofsted. He has worked extensively with other inspectorates, most recently as part of the national team charged by the Prime Minister with carrying out an inspection of actions taken to reduce street crime. Since taking up post as an HMI in Ofsted, Steve’s work priorities have focused upon leading JARs, and he is currently part of the Joint Chief Inspectors review of safeguarding arrangements.

And he is mentioned as the lead inspector of Richmond's Joint Area Review [opens pdf], as well as being listed as part of the inspection team on the Wolverhampton one [opens pdf].

It seems he was a part of the Commission for Social Care Inspection, but what is 'social care', and what does it have to do with elective home education? Wikipedia redirects the query to its page on social work, but again, I fail to see what that has to do with elective home education. Inspired by some of the compelling threads on UKHE, I'm inclined to suspect that it's connected to the old "A child unseen by the system is a child at risk" chestnut. But, as a very wise person pointed out there, the words 'by the system' sort of slip in unnoticed and help, along with other factors, to turn what looks like a simple truth into the blatant lie that it is.

The factor that's hardly ever picked up on is the risk involved of being regularly 'seen by the system' and the inherent damage that this causes to the natural, healthy development of a child's senses of trust, security and curiosity. It seems (and this term came from another discussion group - you know who you are!) that the political drive to nationalise our children is devoid of conscience and unwilling to bear close inspection. Much more about that to come in future posts here and elsewhere, no doubt.

Now we're off to our home ed meeting, and then a picnic in the park with friends. I've got some very fast sandwiches to make first!

PS If anyone finds more about Steve Hart, please add to comments here or email me.