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Memorandum submitted by Rachel Simpson (Home Educator)

 

Summary

· The Review did not contain any evidence in the form of hard data to support the wide ranging recommendations made.

 

· Mr Badman has now contacted Local Authorities to ask for more data to support his recommendations in light of the Select Committee Inquiry and forthcoming hearings. This cannot be fair or procedurally correct now that the Review is complete.

 

 

1 In a document of this type one would expect to find tables, charts and other presentations of the data collected by Mr Badman as it was on the strength of this which he made his 26 recommendations. There is no extensive data within the main body of the Review and none in the annexes.

 

2 To have reached the conclusions that he did and to make the recommendations that he did without definitive supporting data is unacceptable.

 

3 Now that the review has been published and Mr Balls for the Government has accepted Mr Badman's recommendations in full, it is unseemly and no doubt procedurally incorrect for Mr Badman to now request further data to support his recommendations. I have copied page one of his request to all Local Authorities below at paragraph 5.[1]

 

4 Data collected by Home Educators through numerous Freedom of Information requests suggest that there is no data to support such far reaching recommendations

 

September 2009


[1] Not published. See http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/ete/independentreviewofhomeeducation/irhomeeducation/