Home educators’ views and experiences of Somerset LA

Somerset Local Authority EHE services

“We have 2 boys aged 14 and 12.
We removed them from school in Dorset 3 years ago. We live in Somerset and have attended the Home Education Centre in Chard from the outset.

Through bureaucratic error (I guess), Dorset failed to inform Somerset EHE team that we had de-registered. I did not chase it up, as I was utterly disillusioned (after 3 years of frequent dialogue) with a 'well-meaning' school promising services, but not delivering them. We didn't feel anyone had the authority to interfere any more (well-intentioned or not).
I also wanted time and space to find a routine that worked for us. This probably took a good 18 months to 2 years and it still alters regularly as the boys mature and now take much more responsibility for their learning.

We chose to register (in 2009) with Somerset when we found out that the EHE dept was offering services to support children's learning, especially with access to exams. It seemed beneficial to sign up on lots of counts.
Our first impressions of the EHE dept was very positive. I did not feel strong-armed into a home visit, but chose to have one, as I was intrigued to see what feed-back we would receive. I ought to add that we know other families who are registered with Somerset and had spoken very highly of the service and the team.
Our first visit was nearly 2 hours long, but it was really helpful and the advisor was so enthusiastic about what the boys had been working on. It was lovely to be visited by an advisor who clearly has such a child-centred ethos and was so open to all the diverse approaches adopted throughout the home education community.
The visit was very productive and we were able to glean a lot of useful information.

My only gripe would be the design of the report form that we received a few weeks later. It only allows for 'evidence' of a 'suitable' education to be noted, none of the advise given was able to be documented. No fault of the advisor, but good job I took notes!
This form could not possibly demonstrate the breadth of discussion we had during the visit or reflect us as a family. Given the complexities of daily family life and the fact that learning is such an integral part of our day, what form could fulfill this role? In fairness we would need a very big book! Some redesign and additional focus could do with being undertaken though. It is very disconcerting seeing your life in one year, being summoned up briefly, to fit a limited remit, in half a dozen boxes. I will mention this during our next visit.

Choosing to educate at home is the best decision we ever took as parents and it can only help if local authorities offer requested support with the right approach. Somerset have been really good to date.”      [05/2010]

“We live in Somerset and are home schooling our daughter age 12. We received an information pack from the Elective Home Education Team (EHE) and registration form about two weeks after informing the school that we would like to de-register our daughter. The information pack included an introduction, frequently asked questions, ideas to support learning, resources, qualifications & post 16 choices, employment of young people, returning to school, LA contacts and an evaluation form. All of this was very helpful and somewhere to check back to for advice/information. The letters from EHE were very friendly and offered further assistance if needed.

We were given the option to provide a written report or a visit from a EHE Officer. We choose to have a visit from an officer and he came 5 months later. When Malcolm Davison arrived he was very friendly, respectful and offered advice and support. He listened to my plans for the future and understood that we were still discovering the different styles of learning and how we wanted to do things. He was really interested in the work that my daughter had to show him. It was a bit like taking your best work to the headmaster to show him. He gave her lots of praise and made her feel comfortable. He suggested making a learning journey folder with photos and work in for the next visit. The visit lasted for about an hour.

The second visit a year later Malcolm especially liked her learning journey folder and found that there was too much work to look at to fit into a one hour visit. On both occasions the officer reported on a satisfactory situation and sent a report about three weeks later. The report was very positive and gave lots of praise and encouragement to our daughter.

We belong to three different home education groups in Somerset but I think that it was only the Home Education Centre (HEC) at Chard that the officer was aware of. I feel that Somerset is generally supportive of home education.”       [03/2010]       

“We have three children aged 6,8 & 10 years old.
We are confident in our educational provision and learning style. We do not think there is any benefit for us in registering at this time. 
Support that would be useful for us would be help with additional resources (books, CD ROMs, equipment, etc.) and free tuition/classes such as for swimming and music.
The LA do not allocate funds for this kind of direct support for families.  There is no point having the hassle and inconvenience of registering, having to take time out to supply evidence of our educational provision to the LA, especially if there isn’t the kind of support that we want available.”    [03/2010]