Absolutely agree. We have a similar (and growing) problem around this debate in the US. Opponents of homeschooling are so uninformed about the community they’re vilifying that it would be laughable if it weren’t frightening.
At least in the U.S., a conversation with any public school teacher is enlightening as to why more people homeschool now. Disruptive behavior is apparently off the charts in many places, and teachers have fewer tools to deal with it. Then there's the heavy use of screens (in my school district, some schools have kids learning most of the day on tablets starting in kindergarten). We at least have to acknowledge that throwing more money at the public schools has not been helping and try to come together to develop other solutions.
Bravo! I saw the piece you refer to, and my hair almost burst into spontaneous flames (both as a parent and as a doctor). Please do write to the Times! Your essay here and your previous discussion of UK homeschooling oversight are superb.
Hard to wrap my mind around this...wow. Just wow. So glad I live in Florida- a very homeschool friendly state. Isn't homeschooling on the rise in the U.S., too?
There are a few different ways to go about it. You can file with your county as "home education," and you can either submit an end of year portfolio to a certified homeschool evaluator (many to choose from, super simple process, last year we had an acquaintance friend with similar values who spent about 2 hours talking to the kids about what they learned and asking if we had any questions or needed help with anything). OR you can choose to test with a licensed tester (again, many to choose from- you can find someone who meshes with your style/child's needs). We are currently enrolled in our state's PEP plan, which basically means we do the end of year testing (again, we can choose any licensed tester that we like). I don't have to keep any records, report cards, portfolios. And the state gives 8k per child to be used on a plethora of home education related things (sports, co-op, curriculum, elective supplies, internet fees, museum passes, etc.) There is also an online shop where you can purchase all kinds of things, including play equipment, sensory tools, books, audio players, science kits...the list goes on and on. The first year FL had this program, many home educators were afraid of government overreach. But most of my friends do the program and it's been great, no problem. We have FL government legislators here who fight for us to make sure we keep our freedom and have access to funds. I also home schooled in New Mexico, and all I had to do was register online and keep some basic records. This will be our first year under the FL PEP scholarship program. End of year tests have to be submitted by mid June. I'll be setting up a test with an approved evaluator of my choice- they are some independent ones, or standard test sites you can go to. I'll choose an independent one who comes to the house. That's how my mom did it when we were young. I'll update you on how it goes!
*You either purchase things from the website, or get reimbursed for approved purchases (there's a whole handbook/process- you are not getting the money directly)
*You can also use the money for private school tuition. My friend enrolled her kids in a small classical private school- the money pays most of the tuition and she covers the difference.
Audra thank you so much for taking the time to share this, it’s fascinating to see how it works elsewhere. $8k per year! In the UK home educating families get nothing at all. I love the idea of being able to choose your own evaluator, who you can then build a relationship with. In the UK the system can often feel like someone is trying to catch you out rather than support you. And I think the end of year portfolio could work for a wide variety of home ed styles too—when I was unschooling I jotted down notes of what we’d done each day, took photos etc, and that would work just as well as the workbooks I’d be able to submit now that we’re working in a more formal way. So interesting to hear all the details. Thank you again!
I am not in Flordia (am in the UK) but I am familiar with how it works and think the 'Florida model' would be far better than anything so far suggested in the UK.
The parent must register their 'intent' to homeschool providing names, data of birth and address to the state. They must keep a portfolio of records and materials which contains a log of educational activities, list of titles of reading materials used and samples of writing, worksheets, creative work etc used by the student. Technically the state can review the portfolio at any time with 15 days notice.
There are annual evaluations but the parent can choose how. Options include having the progress evaluated by a teacher holding a valid certificate and selected by the parent. I actually really like this approach as it allows the parent to choose someone who they feel is qualified to assess the educational approach they are taking and has an understanding of the special needs the child has (if any). It also allows the parent and assessor to build a relationship over the years and a level of trust rather than having a random stranger do the assessment.
There are also options for annual evaluations using standardised testing, an evaluation by a psychologist or 'any other valid measurement tool mutually agreed upon'.
Whilst I know this is an approach many home educators would object to in the UK the advantages of such a situation are that it provides the parent an element of control (the assessor who is a valid teacher can be adapted to be more suited to the UK - point of note here is that many assessors in Florida are actually ex-teachers who have maintained their teaching licence and now home educate their own children and do assessments to generate a side-income - I can see something similar happening here). The law specifically states that no other information beyond name, address, date of birth can be collected unless the student engages with education provided by the state - so there is a limit on the registration details. Some parents could choose to be evaluated by an assessor they trust and others may choose some kind of testing. Some may prefer the psychologist option - which could expanded on here potentially.
I recognise that all the 'evaluation' options above would include an element of cost so perhaps an additional option would be to ask your local LA to do the evaluation.
Whilst it says that the state can ask to see the portfolio with 15 days notice (they are required to be kept for two years) I don't think it is overly unreasonable. It is the part I like the least and as far as I am aware it isn't something the state does (perhaps they use it if there is reason for concern rather than pro-actively in which case it reflects how the LAs were supposed to behave 15 years ago when I started home education).
That said, there is likely an overall benefit to parents being expected to maintain a portfolio of some sort as regardless of the form of education there should be some incentive for the parent to give some degree of thought and reflection to the process. In fact, whilst I support those who choose unschooling or similar child-led approaches that are not structured the parents who I have seen do this well have been those who would not struggle to do a portfolio (they may not plan, but they have some documentation from photos or little projects etc) and those who I have not seen plan have also not really done much other than 'go with the flow' and there often isn't much education to be seen there... and I actually mean that to the degree I think the children were being failed.
Playing away the day at 10 years old, going to the park, playing pokemon etc is not education. In fact, one family I knew who had this approach the mother (from my encouragement) tried a project (got a caterpillar to butterfly set) and spent a great deal of time telling me how great it was and how she noticed the children bringing what they were learning into their play etc. After that she went back to just doing life and not giving any thought to their education. I get that some children have PDA and others need time to heal but when the children are mentally well the parent should be either responding to the child's interests or providing things to stimulate interest but any ongoing periods of not providing anything is not an education. I think portfolios would encourage families who are in danger of falling into that trap to feel a little pressure to step up and put the effort in and the assessment options give sufficient leeway to be flexible in how the education is assessed and accepting of different kinds so long as there is an actual education provided.
The Florida approach seems to outline a good balance where state intervention likely only occurs when there is cause for concern, the information kept upon registration is minimal and the rest is left up to the checks and balances outsourced to the home educating family themselves (they arrange the annual assessment and choose its form etc). There is no emphasis on safe-guarding because it is a natural occurence from the annual check and there is no requirement to enter the home, no active monitoring etc.
Something else of note: as I read the current relevant home ed legislation, LAs are only meant to attempt to ascertain whether a child is receiving an adequate education "“if it appears… that a child of compulsory school age in their area is not receiving suitable education" (Section 437, Education Act 1996).
"if it appears" is the crucial caveat. If there is no appearance of inadequate education, LAs have no right to enquire at present. Of course, in practice, for many LAs the mere fact of EHE is appearance enough. If the Schools Bill (or Lord Storey's PMB in the Lords, which is solely concerned with a home ed register, unlike the wide ranging Schools Bill), I that the functional reality created by many LAs will become the legal one.
A PR campaign addressing the huge benefits enjoyed by many Home Educating children published by the press would provide a much welcome positive impact. It may help balance all the negativity Home Eduction is subject to.
There’s the problem. Who’d pay for a campaign? Or advocate. Most home educating families are too busy living life and avoiding being seen since it’s still considered weird, even after COVID. Some who speak out may worry they will be targeted with inspection. (A western state would never never do that, right?) We are a diffuse bunch with few credible public advocates. It’s very frustrating.
I read it and was similarly outraged - despite not being a full-time home educator, it’s something I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching, along with flexi-schooling in our ongoing hunt for an education that works for our child.
Of course, part of the point of opinion columns is to provoke, but this felt like a poorly thought out blog post, a set of first thoughts with no reflection on the questions asked.
If we want to proscribe parents teaching ‘whatever mad stuff they choose’ then we intend to deal with the Haredi Jewish community and some of the madder Christian sects as well as fundamentalist Muslims and Nazi Greens. We need to decide if we want to tolerate homophobia in the name of religious tolerance, or intolerance of personal faith in the name of liberal values.
Emma is also wrong that a noisy classroom is any preparation for the world of work - unless you are a teacher, bus driver or working the matinee shift in a bowling alley, most of us seek jobs that will not put us in a room with a large group of children. Most people work with people of a similar ability level, not the mix found in schools before classes are streamed .
Having been there, getting an autistic child into school every day, only to be called by the school to collect them, or to find they had done no written work in school for 4 months - I’m pretty sure that the cure to classroom anxiety is not exposure and tough love.
(Towards the end, we reached a record of 45 minutes in school before the request to come and get them. Registration mark achieved, no work done)
Then I look at my friend who has been home educating all along, and whose Y10 child sat their first GCSEs last summer - and have the nagging feeling that we have not only wasted years but actively caused damage.
I don’t know, I was public schooled from grade school through college and I never learned in school how to balance a budget or how to act appropriately at a gas station. My parents taught me those things, and they didn’t need a curriculum to help them do it…
Creeps me out that she refers to children as "it" instead of "they".
Yes! There was so much else wrong in the piece that I didn’t even notice that!
!!!!
Absolutely agree. We have a similar (and growing) problem around this debate in the US. Opponents of homeschooling are so uninformed about the community they’re vilifying that it would be laughable if it weren’t frightening.
At least in the U.S., a conversation with any public school teacher is enlightening as to why more people homeschool now. Disruptive behavior is apparently off the charts in many places, and teachers have fewer tools to deal with it. Then there's the heavy use of screens (in my school district, some schools have kids learning most of the day on tablets starting in kindergarten). We at least have to acknowledge that throwing more money at the public schools has not been helping and try to come together to develop other solutions.
Bravo! I saw the piece you refer to, and my hair almost burst into spontaneous flames (both as a parent and as a doctor). Please do write to the Times! Your essay here and your previous discussion of UK homeschooling oversight are superb.
Hard to wrap my mind around this...wow. Just wow. So glad I live in Florida- a very homeschool friendly state. Isn't homeschooling on the rise in the U.S., too?
There are a few different ways to go about it. You can file with your county as "home education," and you can either submit an end of year portfolio to a certified homeschool evaluator (many to choose from, super simple process, last year we had an acquaintance friend with similar values who spent about 2 hours talking to the kids about what they learned and asking if we had any questions or needed help with anything). OR you can choose to test with a licensed tester (again, many to choose from- you can find someone who meshes with your style/child's needs). We are currently enrolled in our state's PEP plan, which basically means we do the end of year testing (again, we can choose any licensed tester that we like). I don't have to keep any records, report cards, portfolios. And the state gives 8k per child to be used on a plethora of home education related things (sports, co-op, curriculum, elective supplies, internet fees, museum passes, etc.) There is also an online shop where you can purchase all kinds of things, including play equipment, sensory tools, books, audio players, science kits...the list goes on and on. The first year FL had this program, many home educators were afraid of government overreach. But most of my friends do the program and it's been great, no problem. We have FL government legislators here who fight for us to make sure we keep our freedom and have access to funds. I also home schooled in New Mexico, and all I had to do was register online and keep some basic records. This will be our first year under the FL PEP scholarship program. End of year tests have to be submitted by mid June. I'll be setting up a test with an approved evaluator of my choice- they are some independent ones, or standard test sites you can go to. I'll choose an independent one who comes to the house. That's how my mom did it when we were young. I'll update you on how it goes!
*The scholarship is around 8k per year per child.
*You either purchase things from the website, or get reimbursed for approved purchases (there's a whole handbook/process- you are not getting the money directly)
*You can also use the money for private school tuition. My friend enrolled her kids in a small classical private school- the money pays most of the tuition and she covers the difference.
Audra thank you so much for taking the time to share this, it’s fascinating to see how it works elsewhere. $8k per year! In the UK home educating families get nothing at all. I love the idea of being able to choose your own evaluator, who you can then build a relationship with. In the UK the system can often feel like someone is trying to catch you out rather than support you. And I think the end of year portfolio could work for a wide variety of home ed styles too—when I was unschooling I jotted down notes of what we’d done each day, took photos etc, and that would work just as well as the workbooks I’d be able to submit now that we’re working in a more formal way. So interesting to hear all the details. Thank you again!
I’d love to hear how it works in Florida. Is there any oversight of what children or learning or are you completely left to yourselves?
I am not in Flordia (am in the UK) but I am familiar with how it works and think the 'Florida model' would be far better than anything so far suggested in the UK.
The parent must register their 'intent' to homeschool providing names, data of birth and address to the state. They must keep a portfolio of records and materials which contains a log of educational activities, list of titles of reading materials used and samples of writing, worksheets, creative work etc used by the student. Technically the state can review the portfolio at any time with 15 days notice.
There are annual evaluations but the parent can choose how. Options include having the progress evaluated by a teacher holding a valid certificate and selected by the parent. I actually really like this approach as it allows the parent to choose someone who they feel is qualified to assess the educational approach they are taking and has an understanding of the special needs the child has (if any). It also allows the parent and assessor to build a relationship over the years and a level of trust rather than having a random stranger do the assessment.
There are also options for annual evaluations using standardised testing, an evaluation by a psychologist or 'any other valid measurement tool mutually agreed upon'.
Whilst I know this is an approach many home educators would object to in the UK the advantages of such a situation are that it provides the parent an element of control (the assessor who is a valid teacher can be adapted to be more suited to the UK - point of note here is that many assessors in Florida are actually ex-teachers who have maintained their teaching licence and now home educate their own children and do assessments to generate a side-income - I can see something similar happening here). The law specifically states that no other information beyond name, address, date of birth can be collected unless the student engages with education provided by the state - so there is a limit on the registration details. Some parents could choose to be evaluated by an assessor they trust and others may choose some kind of testing. Some may prefer the psychologist option - which could expanded on here potentially.
I recognise that all the 'evaluation' options above would include an element of cost so perhaps an additional option would be to ask your local LA to do the evaluation.
Whilst it says that the state can ask to see the portfolio with 15 days notice (they are required to be kept for two years) I don't think it is overly unreasonable. It is the part I like the least and as far as I am aware it isn't something the state does (perhaps they use it if there is reason for concern rather than pro-actively in which case it reflects how the LAs were supposed to behave 15 years ago when I started home education).
That said, there is likely an overall benefit to parents being expected to maintain a portfolio of some sort as regardless of the form of education there should be some incentive for the parent to give some degree of thought and reflection to the process. In fact, whilst I support those who choose unschooling or similar child-led approaches that are not structured the parents who I have seen do this well have been those who would not struggle to do a portfolio (they may not plan, but they have some documentation from photos or little projects etc) and those who I have not seen plan have also not really done much other than 'go with the flow' and there often isn't much education to be seen there... and I actually mean that to the degree I think the children were being failed.
Playing away the day at 10 years old, going to the park, playing pokemon etc is not education. In fact, one family I knew who had this approach the mother (from my encouragement) tried a project (got a caterpillar to butterfly set) and spent a great deal of time telling me how great it was and how she noticed the children bringing what they were learning into their play etc. After that she went back to just doing life and not giving any thought to their education. I get that some children have PDA and others need time to heal but when the children are mentally well the parent should be either responding to the child's interests or providing things to stimulate interest but any ongoing periods of not providing anything is not an education. I think portfolios would encourage families who are in danger of falling into that trap to feel a little pressure to step up and put the effort in and the assessment options give sufficient leeway to be flexible in how the education is assessed and accepting of different kinds so long as there is an actual education provided.
The Florida approach seems to outline a good balance where state intervention likely only occurs when there is cause for concern, the information kept upon registration is minimal and the rest is left up to the checks and balances outsourced to the home educating family themselves (they arrange the annual assessment and choose its form etc). There is no emphasis on safe-guarding because it is a natural occurence from the annual check and there is no requirement to enter the home, no active monitoring etc.
Something else of note: as I read the current relevant home ed legislation, LAs are only meant to attempt to ascertain whether a child is receiving an adequate education "“if it appears… that a child of compulsory school age in their area is not receiving suitable education" (Section 437, Education Act 1996).
"if it appears" is the crucial caveat. If there is no appearance of inadequate education, LAs have no right to enquire at present. Of course, in practice, for many LAs the mere fact of EHE is appearance enough. If the Schools Bill (or Lord Storey's PMB in the Lords, which is solely concerned with a home ed register, unlike the wide ranging Schools Bill), I that the functional reality created by many LAs will become the legal one.
Indeed, it sometimes feels like a case of ‘guilty until proven innocent’.
A PR campaign addressing the huge benefits enjoyed by many Home Educating children published by the press would provide a much welcome positive impact. It may help balance all the negativity Home Eduction is subject to.
There’s the problem. Who’d pay for a campaign? Or advocate. Most home educating families are too busy living life and avoiding being seen since it’s still considered weird, even after COVID. Some who speak out may worry they will be targeted with inspection. (A western state would never never do that, right?) We are a diffuse bunch with few credible public advocates. It’s very frustrating.
I would welcome something positive written about Home Education on my LA's website.
I read it and was similarly outraged - despite not being a full-time home educator, it’s something I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching, along with flexi-schooling in our ongoing hunt for an education that works for our child.
Of course, part of the point of opinion columns is to provoke, but this felt like a poorly thought out blog post, a set of first thoughts with no reflection on the questions asked.
If we want to proscribe parents teaching ‘whatever mad stuff they choose’ then we intend to deal with the Haredi Jewish community and some of the madder Christian sects as well as fundamentalist Muslims and Nazi Greens. We need to decide if we want to tolerate homophobia in the name of religious tolerance, or intolerance of personal faith in the name of liberal values.
Emma is also wrong that a noisy classroom is any preparation for the world of work - unless you are a teacher, bus driver or working the matinee shift in a bowling alley, most of us seek jobs that will not put us in a room with a large group of children. Most people work with people of a similar ability level, not the mix found in schools before classes are streamed .
Having been there, getting an autistic child into school every day, only to be called by the school to collect them, or to find they had done no written work in school for 4 months - I’m pretty sure that the cure to classroom anxiety is not exposure and tough love.
(Towards the end, we reached a record of 45 minutes in school before the request to come and get them. Registration mark achieved, no work done)
Then I look at my friend who has been home educating all along, and whose Y10 child sat their first GCSEs last summer - and have the nagging feeling that we have not only wasted years but actively caused damage.
I don’t know, I was public schooled from grade school through college and I never learned in school how to balance a budget or how to act appropriately at a gas station. My parents taught me those things, and they didn’t need a curriculum to help them do it…