Historically Dorset have not had a particularly good reputation amongst local home educators.  They have offered no real support and have demonstrated very little understanding of their EHE community.  The LA have not been especially interested in engaging in any meaningful way with home educators.  Rather they have seemed to demonstrate a desire to police them and try and impose a state education style of learning upon families; often mis-interpreting the law and often against DCSF guidelines.

However, the latter half of 2009 saw a change in the head of the department responsible for EHE in the county and there already seems to be a difference.  There is a definite change in attitude towards the level of engagement with the local EHE community.  They do now genuinely seem to be making an effort to listen to the EHE community, so let’s hope that there is an improvement to the support they provide.

Families that have decided to register with Dorset LA and further to receive home visits have had mixed experiences.  As with other LAs, the outcome of the visit can often depend on what learning style the family adopts and which inspector is assigned.

If for any reason you want to know what personal information Dorset County hold about you or your family, you will need to make a request under the Data Protection Act 1998; see County website.