Thursday 23 September 2010

Improving relationships - Leicestershire County Council

Hello Helen

I notice there is a meeting

Next Home Educator Meeting:
Wednesday 29th September 2010 at
6.30pm.

Although I will attend if I can and I do want to help you improve provision for and relationships between home educators and the council, it has become apparent that I am not able to contribute well to a group discussion or to give my best at any time unless the discussion takes place through an exchange of email or even better using google docs.

If you are happy to do this we might start with a few issues I have below.

I may be wrong but I cannot see a meaningful link to home education here can you point it out if I have missed it.


This seems a bizarre unhelpful page to find when Home Education is clicked in the A-Z index. You may never have tried to find it this way so may not be aware of this.



I am not sure if you know that your policy document still contains this paragraph

2.8    This document is subject to review.  In 2009, a review of the framework of Elective Home Education was commissioned at the request of The Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families.  The review was published in June 2009 and made recommendations for changes in the regulatory and legislative framework relating to Elective Home Education.

This is a red flag to informed home educators and incompatible with a sincere attempt to establish a good relationship with them.

If all this is not in your power to change any of this but you would still like my input then we may be able consider other approaches to the removal of unnecessary barriers.

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely


Maire Stafford

6 comments:

Maire said...

Be interesting to see if there is a willingness to listen to and accept my request for reasonable adjustments, should be par for the course for an educational specialist.

Want to take bets?

Anonymous said...

i think we lose our money if we bet! i have heard back from our M.P D Hinds M.P and from G Stuart M.P. Hinds is going to chase up Mr Gove i could put up all of this on my blog!

Maire said...

Even though I have just told myself not to take more on just because I now have access to my brain and can see solutions, I will try to contact you this afternoon and help you get started.

If you are not available we will work out a time when you are.

Anonymous said...

im available any time next week got to take son for a private lesson this afternoon contact me next week at best time for you any week day is fine many thanks Maire for you help im looking forward to starting a blog even if only you and me read it!

Maire said...

Good that is much better for me too and I am very grateful that you would go to the trouble to do it even if only I read it, lol.

Maire said...

Reply received today,


Hello Marie
Thanks for your e-mail. I welcome your comments. If home educators don't give me their opinions, I cannot feed back to my seniors and nothing will change so I am please you have e-mailed and hope this is the start of a dialogue between us.
I am out of the office at the moment - I know it dosn't look as if I am, I have a remote access so it looks as if I'm there. As I'm not there I can't do much today but wanted to let you know that I have read your e-mail and will find some answers for you on Monday when I am in the office all day.
Best wishes
Helen Sadler

This reply gives me hope that despite evidence to the contrary such as persistence in sending out insolent and inappropriate documents to new home edders and the claim that information is new to her when I have talked to people who say they told her the exact same thing a year ago, there may actually be some hope.

I am not gambolling anything important to me on it though!

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