There was nice irony in the juxtaposition of two news stories yesterday. In one of them, Ofsted said that almost half children are at schools which do not warrant the term 'good' or better.
In the article immediately below, it was revealed that the same Ofsted thinks that those who wish to home-educate should be questioned, registered and inspected.
So there you have it. Half of British state schools, registered and regulated by Ofsted are not good. At the same time, Ofsted thinks that registering home-schoolers is a great idea. Let us hope one day politicians and the publish will realise that registration and regulation is not what makes things work well.
Is Google successful because it is regulated? Obviously not. Is St Paul's School for Girls an outstanding academic school because it has been registered? No. Has registration make 'bog-standard' comprehensives which one former Labour Secretary of State for Education 'would not touch with a bargepole' excellent? Obviously not. There is something else that is key for good performance and, in the words of the Bob Dylan song "you don't know what is".
It is chilling to read the paragraph in which Ofsted says why many children are now being home-schooled:
Although some parents opt for home schooling for religious or philosophical reasons, the majority of those interviewed by the inspectors said they decided to act out of concern for their children's education and wellbeing.
In other words, some parents and their children are finding the state, registered education so poor or the encouragement to crime so bad or the bullying so frightening that they are taking the daunting step of resorting to home-educating. What is Ofsted's answer to this? To make saving their children from such problems even more daunting for parents. To face parents with registration, inspection and questioning.
This will deter parents from undertaking home education and will therefore result in more children than otherwise being badly educated, bullied and led into crime at state schools, nine per cent of which Ofsted itself describes as 'inadequate'.
Ofsted seems desperately keen to keep children at schools. This shows a lack of realism - a failure to recognise the truth of poor schooling which Ofsted itself has described. It shows a disregard for the true interests of children let alone the right of a parent to take primary responsibility for his or her child - not the state. It also shows the self-regard of the classic bureaucrat who thinks that control by people like himself or herself must surely be the best thing. It is the delusion of vanity.
Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in Education • Home education
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The fundamental question here is "Whose children are they?"
Are children primarily the responsibility of the state, or are they primarily the responsibility of their parents?
If the latter, then parents should be allowed to provide for the education of their children as they see fit, without government interference. If the fiormer, then the government should be allowed to mandate that children attend government-run schools, even against the wishes of the parents.
That this is even a debatable question in some people's minds shows how normal the over-reaching of our government has become.
By the way, the Bob Dylan quote is "Because something is happening here, but you don't know what it is", from "Ballad of a thin man".
Posted by: James Goodman at July 1, 2010 02:40 PM
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Funny thing about Ofsted....he should go back and read Tom Brown's School Days if he thinks public education is so great!
Posted by: LC at June 20, 2010 05:16 AM