… and those not already in on it, you might find a small change has been made to the blog design. Applause to the first to spot the difference and work out the meaning!

We’ve had, not surprisingly given the love of gym in this house, a bit of a Tweddle worship week this week.

On Wednesday we went down to the O2 to watch the qualifying day of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Fran, Amelie and i loved it and Maddy alternated between reading and watching We got to watch Rebecca Wing, Marissa King and stayed late into the afternoon to watch Beth Tweddle on floor and bars. She came a dreadful cropper on bars which was terribly sad for her (and really had to have hurt!) but i was incredibly moved by the strength of crowd support for her and the other UK gymnasts. Having grown up alongside a good competing gymnast and watching my children working so hard at it, watching these top class gymnasts really impressed me. They still have their off days and brilliant moments and still fall off and fall over and knowing that and seeing it for themselves fired Amelie and Fran with enthusiasm and new confidence in their own abilities. Neither is ever likely to get to a national level really but knowing what can be achieved and what is realistic, is a big thing and gave them both lots to aim for.

The view from the front of Tier 4 was surprisingly good. In fact, we’d probably go back to the same spot again. For £10 a ticket, it was excellent value.

Also loved the O2 – felt safe and spacious and pleasant and the staff were great. Getting from Greenwich to Kings Cross in rush hour was slightly less enjoyable

Fran got legless in the foyer…

Thursday was music lesson (more and less successful and pleasant depending on who you were!) and some gentle work/Brownies/gym and then on Friday the girls spent the day devising, typing and rehearsing a play. Was very impressed with it. Watched Fran in her pre exam ballet class and gulped a bit at how big she is now. And very graceful

Saturday was KYT for all of them and then an afternoon watching the gym. Sunday had 3 dancing exams for Fran and Maddy between them (Maddy v pleased to now have finished dancing!) and then a dash back for her to get to Rugby. Then all home and watched the gym again; for the second time in a week we held on long enough to watch Beth Tweddle do her inch perfect (it seemed!) floor routine before dashing out to watch Skye in her Level 6 gym competition. This is the level that Fran is moving into after half term and she was pleased to see that in all honesty she could have competed at that level this week, if she’d had the opportunity to do so. Not many Huntingdon girls there though, so a little worried they’ve all saved themselves for the comp Fran is doing there next weekend Which could give Fran a harder comp, which would be a shame. Was thrilled to see Skye do so well (2 medals) and touched to see how close she and Fran have become already. As Fran said, it is so much easier to make friends when you have shared interests and she has some strong friendships at gym now, which pleases me as she has often been a little lonely in HE land apart from islands of compatibility across the country.

Read on my phone during the competition that Tweddle had won gold and whispered it about. Yay for British Gymnasts!

On Monday some home educators and their children have been invited to go to the Select Committee enquiry and speak with them. They will, hopefully, get a chance for their voices and opinions to be heard.

I thought perhaps there might be an opportunity to hand over a document with the thoughts of some other children on their home educated lives. if you’ve got time before tomorrow at 7pm, you could let your child dictate or type a short piece and email it to me, facebook it to me, comment box it or any other method you can think of; i’ll collate them and forward it ot the person going. Include a first name and age if you can, just to make it clear they are all from different people.

Who knows if it will get listened to or read, but i don’t think it can hurt

Consultation Questions My responses (others do it far better!)

1. Do you agree that these proposals strike the right balance between the rights of parents to home educate and the rights of children to receive a suitable education?

Disagree: These proposals recommend uninvited entry into the homes of innocent people on the presumption that they may be guilty and so should prove themselves innocent.

These proposals recommend stricter controls in many areas where educational provision is being relaxed in schools because over control has been seen not to work for child or teacher.

These proposals no not allow for the right of a child to remain unseparated from its parent (UN Rights of a Child) nor for its voice to be recognised if they ask not to be inspected or interviewed alone. The recommendations seem to suggest that a child’s voice should only be recognised if they comply with the invading adult authority.

These proposals invade family privacy, parental rights and the right in law to educate a child in a way that suits their specific needs.

2.Do you agree that a register should be kept?
Disagree: The plain fact of the matter is that only the parents with nothing to hide (assuming they are not 100% of the community anyway) will register. Anyone with anything to hide will not register, rendering the system useless and costly and harming the innocent family lives of people who deserve the right to privacy and trust.

ContactPoint, Child benefit records, birth records and medical records (all government database) ought ot give anyone who wants it an accurate picture of what children exist anyway.

3. Do you agree with the information to be provided for registration?
Disagree: This is not registration, this is yearly licensing, outside the legal status of home educating parents.

No parent should have to apply for a licence to educate their child as they see fit. parents do not have to apply for a licence to continue to send a child to a failing school, yet their responsibility for the child’s education is exactly the same as an EHE parent.

4. Do you agree that home educating parents should be required to keep the register up to date?
Disagree: This is almost irrelevant. It will be impossible to do or administer and only the law abiding parents with confidence their EHE status will remain will do so. Criminal proceedings against parents exercising their legal right to EHE simply because they don’t wish to be catalogued is a major breach of the government’s contract with the people (the people of this country) who employ them.

5. Do you agree that it should be a criminal offence to fail to register or to provide inadequate or false information?
Disagree: See above.

6a)Do you agree that home educated children should stay on the roll of their former school for 20 days after parents notify that they intend to home educate?
Disagree: I cannot think that this would be anything other than an administrative nightmare at best and at worse an opportunity for a child or its parents to be bullied or cajoled into returning. It is easy enough to allow absence if a child and the parents need some time to think. There is no useful purpose i can imagine would be served by such a legal amendment.

6b) Do you agree that the school should provide the local authority with achievement and future attainment data?
As the PARENT always was and will become even more responsible for the future of the child, i think this would be best provided to the parent. Schools can make up whatever they like about “future attainment” but it is relatively a nonsense – attainment changes, as do needs, desires and aspirations. At best this information would be expensive space and time wasting and at worst a pointless and potentially bullying piece of misinformation.

7.Do you agree that DCSF should take powers to issue statutory guidance in relation to the registration and monitoring of home education?
Disagree: The DCSF and the LAs already have plenty of powers and expensively created guidelines, issued only 2 years ago. More control equals more invasion into family life and more bureaucracy in an already far too powerful department which has, in any case, far bigger fish to fry. Like sorting out the mess our education system and Social Services system are in.

8. Do you agree that children about whom there are substantial safeguarding concerns should not be home educated?
Disagree: May i suggest that unless you plan to take these children into care, there is not a great deal of point to this question. If children are in danger from their parents, they should not be in the care of their parents and SS should be dealing with that. If an HEd child is ‘in danger’ and is sent to school for 6 hours a day, they will still be in the care of their parents for the other 18 hours of the day. What do you plan to do about that?

9.Do you agree that the local authority should visit the premises where home education is taking place provided 2 weeks notice is given?
Please consider changing the law first so that you have the right to force entry to our homes. Then we can genuinely call this a police state. And while we are at it; i’ve heard the DCSF has some politicians employed there. I would like to force entry to your homes to check that you haven’t been claiming any expenses you shouldn’t have. I’ll give you 2 weeks to hide the evidence first but then i want to interview your staff and children about it. Does that sound okay? After all, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.

Quite seriously, many HEers are all to happy to have home visits. Others are not because it makes them, or their children uncomfortable or the exercise their right to privacy in their own home. An English person’s home should still rightly be their own, private, castle.

10. Do you agree that the local authority should have the power to interview the child, alone if this is judged appropriate, or if not in the presence of a trusted person who is not the parent/carer?
Disagree: A criminal has more rights than this. If you are trying to alienate parents who love and care for their children and want what is best for them, thengo no further than this. Think of the man hours, if not of the trauma and distress caused to young, often vulnerable. You will need at least 2 people, both CRB checked, both with Child Protection courses, to ensure neither is accused of abuse while alone with a child. You will need a note taker and possibly recording equipment to make sure it is safely done. And you will need policemen to hold back the parent who feels their child is being abused by the state. And the paper work will be horrendous.

And frankly, if you imagine i will let ANYONE take my 5 year old into a room alone and trust that she will be listened to and not asked leading questions, you must be joking. If anyone asked her “wouldn’t you like to go to school and have lots of fun and friends?” she might say yes, to please you and get back to her mummy as quickly as possible.

That no more makes her answer her real experience any more than asking a child what they did at school today and being told “nothing” is the full story.

11.Do you agree that the local authority should visit the premises and interview the child within four weeks of home education starting, after 6 months has elapsed, at the anniversary of home education starting, and thereafter at least on an annual basis? This would not preclude more frequent monitoring if the local authority thought that was necessary.
Disagree: This appears to be largely what happens anyway. However, it is often unhelpful to the deschooling family and due to the wide variety of experience an EHE officer has, the visit is often on no value to the family. I have never once had a useful piece of advice from my perfectly reasonable and nice LA visitor.

I love Kirsty for that phrase

Let’s see. I’m not going to remember it all but it hasn’t been a mostly earth shattering fortnight so it won’t matter.

We had a bimbly weekend followed by a Monday with Zoe and her girls where we made a celtic game from Fimo (learning a caning technique – NOT beating the children!) They also did a science experiment with fizzy water and raisins and explored why the raisins danced. Fran took Skye with her to dancing and she liked it so we’ve now got a complicated child manoeuvring plan to get them both there while accommodating the others. Zoe took photos of the day so i shall snaffle some.

Can’t remember the Tuesday… errrr…. oh yes, i had a meeting and Max took the girls to Gymmies and then we swapped about and did ordinary stuff.

Wednesday we had Latin and the kids all enjoyed chemistry experiments on using properties to decide what chemical they had. Could probably use that to try out flow charts…. Also did craft and then socialising. The back for gym for all 4. Big 3 all practising for competitions next weekend. Fran now competently doing round off flics without a guarding coach and Maddy and Amelie both have routines.

Thursday i can’t remember either but think it was a work day and then the girls went to Brownies without me so i stayed with Josie. And Friday has slipped my mind entirely. That isn’t good. i think though, knowing we had lots on this week, we mostly worked. Lots of music practise all week though; Fran is having a hard time with a new bowing technique but Amelie is suddenly revelling in violin and coming on quickly. She is practising on her own, without prompting, for anything up to 40 minutes a day.

Fran has been conquering Equations and is doing very well. I’m rather pleased to have several maths tutor friends who let me check ahead of time that i am not making errors in how i explain things. Love networked HE mums! Maddy is gradually regaining her spelling confidence and is writing short stories and enjoying various GP books. And reading Harry Potter 1, which is impressing me! Fran read Lizzie’s Wish and Workhouse Girl in a day i think and has been deep in learning about the Victorians. I was getting Charles Dickens facts all day today and trying to remember the plot to various orphan related books! Amelie has been reading through a pile of medium strength readers and is happily doing column addition with carrying into the hundreds. She keeps asking for more! Might send her to live with Alison.

We’ve been talking about lots of stuff and have implemented a tick list strategy for the older two to keep them busy and focused and in control of their own learning when there is nothing else afloat.

We spent the weekend, after KYT Drama (musical theatre weekend, F came home singing songs i learned as a drama-y teen!) with a huge bunch of friends at Chloe’s birthday party. Despite journey from hell (A1 was shut) we had a fabulous time and really enjoyed the swimming and the company. I do love my friends. Thank you thank you thank you!

Monday we spent with Zoe and co again and had a lovely social time. Was thrilled that Josie allowed me to leave her there while i popped off for an appointment. She has come on masses recently. (Oh yes, Josie and i are doing lots of reading and word building at the moment.) Then we hopped it back for dancing and Josie tried out a big girls ballet class that i can’t sit in on – and loved it. She is so excited about going back!

Today (Tuesday) was a hard work morning with all the normals fitted in, followed by some extra gym for the bigs while Josie did Gymmies. Max was off learning to ride a motorbike so i took the rest out for lunch, which was lovely. Fran very thrilled to have tried out some new and rather tricky moves with the coach who was modifying her routine for her. She is doing so well. I can’t believe she has only been doing gym for 18 months. She’s at least as able as several who have been there 4 years

And tomorrow we are off to the O2 to see the World Artistic Gymnastics. So excited that i can’t sleep!!!

Honestly, you’d think i have nothing better to do. Like educate my children, for example. Fortunately for Badman, Balls and Brown, my maths is now much better than when i left school so i can help them regain a little bit of perspective.

It is even less nice when newspapers who should know better, get on the bandwagon. Now, i was brought up at the knee of a journalist (or some other low joint ) and one who wrote (as a sports journalist latterly, not a main page journalist i will say for absolute clarity) for The Evening Standard, The Telegraph, The Independent and The Guardian. And as he often said – “never let the facts get in the way of a good story”. And that is certainly true of this little bit of tabloid tat.

You know, i’m tired of this now but let’s go through it again. i have my patience for my children and i’m an inclusive sort of person, so i am happy to go through it again for the terrible trio who are clearly in Set C and struggling to get their required levels, and the writers of that piece.

There aren’t 20,000 HE’d kids in the country; there are, by your own admission, 50-80,000. And if Contactpoint and the LAs and Social Services are doing their job, the ones who need to be known to the authorities already are.

Known to Social Services doesn’t mean “being abused”. It can mean left school to be HEd, is severely disabled or has learning difficulties, it can mean was bullied or truanted while at school, it can mean was suicidal by the time they left school. It can mean a nosy neighbour reported them to SS because they aren’t in school. It can mean the Head Teacher erroneously reported them on deregistration. It can mean a malicious report and a happy, chatty visit from an unworried social worker. It can mean that Social Services do EHE visits in that area.

Anyway. Okay. You’ve deduced that 0.4% of 20,000 children are known to Social Services. THAT IS EIGHTY CHILDREN. Millions of £££s over concerns about 80 children you already know about, meaning you are going to investigate 50,000 to 80,000 children and their families to see if any of them need your help.

Please, PLEASE get some perspective. You ALREADY have the power to remove those children if there is cause or create Child Protection Plans for them. It is already law. Freely available to you to use. Surely i don’t need to tell you this?

On the other hand, you’ve discovered that 0.2% of children in general are known to Social Services. There are, what?, 6 million children in this country. 0.2% of that is an awful lot more than 80. The country is bankrupt; can you really afford to concentrate on the 80? Really?

You’ll be glad to know, Badman, Balls and Brown, that i have a literacy lesson coming up for you too.

And before anyone starts; yes of course i care about the tinier still percentage of that 80 who actually need SS help. Luckily the SS have a great record of doing really well in child protection cases and i’m sure will do brilliantly.