HED0039

Written evidence submitted by Hawthorn Press, Oakbrook Community Farm, Stroud, Gloucestershire

Home Education Submission to the Education Select Committee from Martin Large, Ba, MSc, PGCE, chair of Oakbrook Community Farm which hosts parent and child groups, community groups and home education groups for creative nature based play and  learning. Publisher as Hawthorn Press of Free Range Education (2002) and The Case for Home Schooling: Free Range Education Handbook (2020) I am also a former senior lecturer at Cheltenham and Gloucestershire college of Higher Education in behavioural science and educational management.

Why bother?

The right to home education, or  education otherwise, is a crucially important and distinctive British human right.

However, this does not mean we do not need to learn from researching best UK home learning practice and researching other educational exemplar countries like Finland, with their right to home learning.

Proposals

I was home educated from ages 7 to 10 in the 1950’s because of a bullying village school teacher-and then passed the 11 plus.  It's a vital choice for parents and children.

I am keen for home education during and after Covid to be well supported by the Education Committee from a sound research foundation. As you can’t do public policy without data I propose that you please consider these recommendations:

• Provide Government funding for independent research into best home learning practices, so we know what the options are, how they work and the advantages and disadvantages.
• Measure how many children are in fact being home educated-the 60,000 you quote must surely be a guesstimate. There are maybe 250-300 children home educated in our Stroud, Gloucestershire area alone-but who really knows?
• Provide  funding for independent home educator mentors
• Fund resources for home education
• Improving public learning facilities, learning centres and IT access like public and school libraries for home educating families
• Action research home learning partnerships  between schools and families during Covid and beyond-so its not either or, but both and.
• Back research into comparing and contrasting child development  as well as learning outcomes between school students and home learners. According to Dusseau(2020) ,  Rothermel, and Terri Dowty (2002) home learners are well ahead on personal and social development as well as learning. But we need to know the why, what and how, not just anecdotal assertions
• Use the money saved by home educating parents not sending their children to school to put into a Home Education Development Fund to enable access to  home learning resources, mentoring, partnership building, and creating safe, well designed community based learning resources like our Haven Field at Oakbrook Community Farm for home educating families to use for nature, creative and place based play and learning in a beautiful, quiet, secluded valley on the edge of Stroud
• Consider a home education family allowance as a sound investment in home learning

References

Dusseau, A., The Case for Home Schooling: Free Range Home Education Handbook (2020)

Dowty, T., Free Range Education  Handbook (2002)

October 2020