What exactly are OFSTED up to?
OFSTED are asking a small subset of home educated children the following questions, allegedly to help them look at “the services provided by Local Authorities to support children educated at home”.
Section 3 - now you are educated at home:
Are you taught by your parents or carers? Yes/No
By a teacher that comes to the house: Yes/No
Do you go to someone else’s home to be educated? Yes/No
Do you attend a school for part of the week? Yes/No
If yes, is this a private school? Yes/No
Do you have a teacher to have you with learning difficulties? Yes/No
Do you have set working times? Yes/No
On average, how many hours do you study 1………6
What would a typical day look like?
What are the favourite things you do?
Are there any things you don’t like doing?
Do you go on trips to places of interest? Yes/No
Where have you been?
Do you read every day? Yes/No
How long do you read for? 1/2 hour…………………4
Is there a set time each day when your studies end? Yes/NoDo you go to any of the following?
Leisure Centre
Youth Club
Martial Arts
Ballet
Library
Swimming pool
Football/Rugby/Cricket training
Dance
Tap dance
OtherWhat sort of things do you study
Maths
Reading
Science
Cooking
Art
English
Writing
Electronics
Crafts
PotteryHow do you know if your work is improving?
Section 4
When you are 16 years old will you
Take GCSE exams
Go to work
Attend the local college
Continue to study at home
Now, can anybody tell me how ANY of these questions will tell OFSTED about what the LA is doing?
Some of the questions are really a bit odd and make it look like the whole thing was thrown together without thought, like mixing places and activities together, but then peppered in among this apparent randomness there are a few that ring alarm bells. “On average, how many hours do you study?” (per day?) “Do you read every day?” “How long do you read for?” “What sort of things do you study?” A list which doesn’t include history, geography or modern languages but does include pottery, back to a veneer of well meaning ineptitude again?
It’s getting hard not to seem, or maybe even be extremely paranoid after all we’ve been put through, but these questions look very much like another bit of Badman after the fact ‘research’ which will turn up in a newspaper headline at just the ‘right’ moment, when the DCSF are trying to push through their plans.
I smell a rat. A fat rat in a bad suit.
Kelly Said on November 13th, 2009 at 1:17 am quote
Very interesting. I don’t think I would encourage any home educated child to complete that survey. I would simply ignore it, or return it with the response that these questions are an invasion of the child’s privacy.
Tech Said on November 13th, 2009 at 2:11 pm quote
I smell something very stinky indeed.
Danae Said on November 13th, 2009 at 5:22 pm quote
I shall have pleasure returning the questionnaires - unanswered. They have nothing to do with assessing the LA’s performance (or lack of it).
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