Comments on Sometimes It's Peaceful: More at risk of not receiving suitable education...

That might well be the opinion of some people, but...

2008-08-25T12:21:00.000+01:00

That might well be the opinion of some people, but it isn't the legal definition of the term 'suitable' as it pertains to education in the UK.

The legal definition, as far as I'm aware, is still that set out in the Harrison case, the precedent of which has yet to be superceded.

The definition of suitable education is getting 5 ...

2008-08-25T12:11:00.000+01:00

The definition of suitable education is getting 5 GCSEs A* to C grade, including English and maths, at 16. This is required to access most public sector jobs that do not require higher level qualifications.

Some home educated children move directly onto A Levels and others take vocational qualifications instead of GCSEs. The government considers this unsuitable education.

Yes, it's a curious definition for the judge to co...

2008-08-15T11:06:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's a curious definition for the judge to come out with, isn't it? Very hard to pin down and ascertain, especially (I would have thought) for school pupils.

What exactly can a person's 'full potential' be said to be? And how on earth do you even begin to measure it? I think it can only be linked to aptitude, to which autonomous home ed lends itself very well but NC-based school ed

Of course, I agree with your general gist, but I h...

2008-08-15T09:59:00.000+01:00

Of course, I agree with your general gist, but I had to chip in and say that I don't like "full potential" at all!

*Nobody* reaches their full potential! We all make choices all the time about what path to take, and that means we don't follow another potential path.

I was told at school (or at least given the message somehow) that because I had 'potential' to achieve

Yes I think many LAs would use this as an excuse t...

2008-08-15T06:16:00.000+01:00

Yes I think many LAs would use this as an excuse to persecute HErs :-(

If it does get through, there will still be ways to feed them the right info in a way that fits the machine without suffering too much disruption to family life, but lots of people would struggle with that and suffer accordingly :-(

I've got into the habit of answering all their consultations about us

"I think this threatened change to our status will...

2008-08-14T14:57:00.000+01:00

"I think this threatened change to our status will be resisted by home educators most robustly - and rightfully so."

I agree Gill. It is a worrying and scary trend that the government is hellbent on controlling all aspects of family life and HE are the one group they cannot regulate in a way that suits them and they are determined to change this by whatever means possible. From