Education Otherwise
Encyclopedia
Education Otherwise is a registered charity
based in England
for families whose children are being educated otherwise than at school, and for those who wish to uphold the freedom of families to take responsibility for the education of their children. It provides support and information online, by telephone and through a bi-monthly newsletter to members throughout the UK and overseas.
Established in the mid 1970s, it took its name from the (then current) 1944 Education Act
(Section 36) which stated that parents are responsible for the education of their children, "either by regular attendance at school or otherwise". This clause has been retained in subsequent Education Acts (currently section 7 of the 1996 Education Act) and remains a clear acceptance of the parity and validity afforded an education otherwise than by schooling.
to provide education for a group of non-academic students who would have to take another year in school due to the pending raising of the school leaving age. Kitto established a free school
or democratic school
model for the running of the project and was impressed by the qualities of the students even though they had effectively unschooled
themselves within the school system, where they were perceived as trouble makers.
Kitto's school caught the attention of Stan Windlass, who had been working for a children's rights
centre in London
, through which he had become aware of several families who were educating their own children. Windlass had just taken the lease of Lower Shaw Farm and wanted to establish it as a centre to explore ideas for an alternative society. Windlass asked Kitto to become the warden at Lower Shaw Farm after the Northcliffe School project ended.
Kitto was familiar with ideas about unschooled education through reading John Holt
and Joy Baker's Children in Chancery along with his experiences at the Northcliffe School project. He and Windlass were able to contact several families who were educating otherwise and arranged an informal network, and occasional meetings, between them throughout 1975 and 1976.
During 1976 Granada television
made a programme about the group which resulted in around 200 enquiries and expanded the membership to over 50. The informal nature of the group could not handle such a level of interest and so, at a meeting in September 1976 which included five deschooling
families, a more formal structure for the group was established with stated aims and a regular newsletter. In 1977 Kitto presented a BBC TV
Open Door
programme about the ideas behind the organisation. This resulted in over 2000 enquiries and increased the membership to around 250.
The original logo (based on a UK traffic sign) had what many perceived to be goose-stepping children breaking out of the triangle. The logo was therefore redesigned without any militaristic overtones.
With the steady growth in numbers of members, around 1500 in 1986 (tenth anniversary) rising to 2,278 in 1992, it was recognised that a trend away from the original ethos
of EO was developing. There was much debate about its structure. The April/May 1993 newsletter (Issue 91) featured an EO Restructuring Supplement presenting various options for "the way forward". By the mid-1990s it was being recognised that people were joining EO due to a "crisis" and wanted to get their child out of the school system, rather than coming to it with an interest in exploring alternative education provision. There was disaffection with the way the organisation was run via national gatherings which were seen as alienating the majority of members. The debate broadly split into those that wanted to follow a structured style of education with a "managed" organisation and those who valued an informal approach and rejecting the status of charitable trust and company limited by guarantee.
A short lived faction, Education Otherwise Unlimited, laid out the conflicting areas with the organisation's structure in a table:
The original "ethos" grew out of the attitudes and aspirations of the original members. It was not laid down from the start. Kitto saw EO in broad human rights
terms:
should be corrected as it was being delivered to every household.
They appointed solicitor Peter Liell who sent "Letters Before Action" notices to the Department for Education and to the Welsh Office
. A reply by Eric Forth
(9 July 1994) for the DfE claimed that the Parent's Charter could not be taken as a definitive guide to the law - the Charter "cannot take in every exception or reflect all points of detail". The department stated that there were no plans to issue a corrigendum
. The Welsh Office response was a confirmation that the Charter for Parents in Wales had been revised and would reflect the fact that not all children were educated in schools.
The matter was raised by Don Foster in a Parliamentary Question which was responded to by Robin Squire
stating that John Patten
, the Secretary of State for Education
, saw no need to issue a correction or to make a statement about the mistake.
As English and Welsh education law are identical there were no grounds for the variation in the responses of the two bodies. The solicitor notified the DfE that he had been instructed to prepare an application for leave to apply for Judicial review
of the decision as stated in Forth's letter. This threat caused an immediate response from the department that they "would want to find a different - in your eyes more satisfactory - wording for any further editions". The solicitor responded seeking confirmation, by 31 August 1994, that a future edition would include reference to the fact that children do not have to go to school. Forth once again responded accepting the need for a revised text: "I am, however, happy to confirm, in the light of your client's concerns, our intention that any future edition of the Parent's Charter in England will include a reference, be it explicit or implicit, to a parent's lawful right to ensure that his child is suitably educated otherwise than at school."
It was felt that this was as far as EO could go with the matter and the application for judicial review was withdrawn. The whole process had cost EO almost £4000 but had generated a lot of publicity and raised awareness of the issue as many members had raised their concerns with their own MP
.
Charitable trust
Registration number 292029
Incorporated
28 May 1985
HEAS launched 1995.
A 1998 camp beside the sea would grow into HESFES
.
Registered charity 2 May 1996.
By 2007 Education Otherwise had grown to over 4000 member families.
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
based in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for families whose children are being educated otherwise than at school, and for those who wish to uphold the freedom of families to take responsibility for the education of their children. It provides support and information online, by telephone and through a bi-monthly newsletter to members throughout the UK and overseas.
Established in the mid 1970s, it took its name from the (then current) 1944 Education Act
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. This Act, commonly named after the Conservative politician R.A...
(Section 36) which stated that parents are responsible for the education of their children, "either by regular attendance at school or otherwise". This clause has been retained in subsequent Education Acts (currently section 7 of the 1996 Education Act) and remains a clear acceptance of the parity and validity afforded an education otherwise than by schooling.
Origins
In 1972 Royston Lambert, head of Dartington Hall School asked Dick Kitto, who had been working there since 1955, to set up a project in conjunction with Northcliffe SchoolNorthcliffe School (Conisbrough)
The De Warenne Academy is a comprehensive school on Gardens Lane in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, England.-History:The school changed its name in September 2009, when it became an academy...
to provide education for a group of non-academic students who would have to take another year in school due to the pending raising of the school leaving age. Kitto established a free school
Free school
An anarchistic free school is a decentralized network in which skills, information, and knowledge are shared without hierarchy or the institutional environment of formal schooling. Free school students may be adults, children, or both...
or democratic school
Democratic school
This is a comprehensive list of current and former democratic schools. Most of these were modeled on the Summerhill School, the oldest existing democratic school founded in 1921...
model for the running of the project and was impressed by the qualities of the students even though they had effectively unschooled
Unschooling
Unschooling is a range of educational philosophies and practices centered on allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience, and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum....
themselves within the school system, where they were perceived as trouble makers.
Kitto's school caught the attention of Stan Windlass, who had been working for a children's rights
Children's rights
Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...
centre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, through which he had become aware of several families who were educating their own children. Windlass had just taken the lease of Lower Shaw Farm and wanted to establish it as a centre to explore ideas for an alternative society. Windlass asked Kitto to become the warden at Lower Shaw Farm after the Northcliffe School project ended.
Kitto was familiar with ideas about unschooled education through reading John Holt
John Caldwell Holt
John Caldwell Holt was an American author and educator, a proponent of homeschooling, and a pioneer in youth rights theory.-Biography:...
and Joy Baker's Children in Chancery along with his experiences at the Northcliffe School project. He and Windlass were able to contact several families who were educating otherwise and arranged an informal network, and occasional meetings, between them throughout 1975 and 1976.
During 1976 Granada television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
made a programme about the group which resulted in around 200 enquiries and expanded the membership to over 50. The informal nature of the group could not handle such a level of interest and so, at a meeting in September 1976 which included five deschooling
Deschooling
Deschooling is a term used by both education philosophers and proponents of alternative education and/or homeschooling, though it refers to different things in each context...
families, a more formal structure for the group was established with stated aims and a regular newsletter. In 1977 Kitto presented a BBC TV
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
Open Door
Open Door (BBC TV)
Open Door was a programme produced by the BBC's Community Programme Unit. It was first broadcast on April 2nd 1973.The programme gave people control of the airwaves and was a platform for the public to talk about its own issues and give their own views without editorial input.The programme was...
programme about the ideas behind the organisation. This resulted in over 2000 enquiries and increased the membership to around 250.
Conflict and development
Ethos
Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...
of EO was developing. There was much debate about its structure. The April/May 1993 newsletter (Issue 91) featured an EO Restructuring Supplement presenting various options for "the way forward". By the mid-1990s it was being recognised that people were joining EO due to a "crisis" and wanted to get their child out of the school system, rather than coming to it with an interest in exploring alternative education provision. There was disaffection with the way the organisation was run via national gatherings which were seen as alienating the majority of members. The debate broadly split into those that wanted to follow a structured style of education with a "managed" organisation and those who valued an informal approach and rejecting the status of charitable trust and company limited by guarantee.
A short lived faction, Education Otherwise Unlimited, laid out the conflicting areas with the organisation's structure in a table:
| Original EO Ethos | Present Structure |
|---|---|
| Decisions reached by consensus, everyone had an equal voice. No exclusive meetings. | Directors hold meetings, at which "non-directors should not really interrupt proceedings" |
| People got together from all over the country for discussion & to share ideas, chance to examine lifestyle, outlook etc. | Limited company status - said to be needed for protection against legal action. |
| Moral support was intrinsic. Children welcome and integral to meetings. | Single day meetings. Adult only meetings. |
The original "ethos" grew out of the attitudes and aspirations of the original members. It was not laid down from the start. Kitto saw EO in broad human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
terms:
As far as I'm concerned, E.O. does not have a particular kind of education to which it is committed. It is committed to the right of families to do what they want to do. It is a humans (sicSicSic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
) rights organisation. I don't feel we must do this, or we must do that. It is up to the members. To me it is not a specific thing where children have to run wild in the country, or have to pay visits to Winchester CathedralWinchester CathedralWinchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
, or anything else. There is this huge variation. Some people join EO in order to give their children a good classical education which they cannot get at school. I have a fundamental belief in the freedom of choiceFreedom of choiceFor freedom of choice, see:*choice for information on theories that involve free will and human behavior.*Freedom of choice plans to integrate US schools .*Freedom of Choice, a 1980 synthpop landmark album by Devo...
. We must all be allowed to make our own mistakes. We don't want to be dictated to by a curriculum from central government.
Parent's Charter
In 1991 the government introduced a Parent's Charter (subtitled: You and Your Child's Education) which promised parents reports about their children and their schools. In 1994 a revised version of the Parent's Charter (subtitled: Our Children's Education) was issued. Page 9 included the sentence - "You have a duty to make sure that your child goes to school until he or she is 16." EO members were concerned that this misinformationMisinformation
Misinformation is false or inaccurate information that is spread unintentionally. It is distinguished from disinformation by motive in that misinformation is simply erroneous, while disinformation, in contrast, is intended to mislead....
should be corrected as it was being delivered to every household.
They appointed solicitor Peter Liell who sent "Letters Before Action" notices to the Department for Education and to the Welsh Office
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
. A reply by Eric Forth
Eric Forth
Eric Forth was a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of the European Parliament for Birmingham North, then Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire and finally Bromley and Chislehurst at his death. He served as a junior minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John...
(9 July 1994) for the DfE claimed that the Parent's Charter could not be taken as a definitive guide to the law - the Charter "cannot take in every exception or reflect all points of detail". The department stated that there were no plans to issue a corrigendum
Erratum
An erratum or corrigendum is a correction of a book. An erratum is most commonly issued shortly after its original text is published. Patches to security issues in a computer program are also sometimes called errata. As a general rule, publishers issue an erratum for a production error An erratum...
. The Welsh Office response was a confirmation that the Charter for Parents in Wales had been revised and would reflect the fact that not all children were educated in schools.
The matter was raised by Don Foster in a Parliamentary Question which was responded to by Robin Squire
Robin Squire
Robin Clifford Squire was a British politician. He was the Conservative MP for Hornchurch from 1979 until 1997 when he lost the seat to John Cryer....
stating that John Patten
John Patten, Baron Patten
John Haggitt Charles Patten, Baron Patten, PC is a former Conservative Party Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons...
, the Secretary of State for Education
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
, saw no need to issue a correction or to make a statement about the mistake.
As English and Welsh education law are identical there were no grounds for the variation in the responses of the two bodies. The solicitor notified the DfE that he had been instructed to prepare an application for leave to apply for Judicial review
Judicial review in English Law
Judicial review is a procedure in English administrative law by which the courts in England and Wales supervise the exercise of public power on the application of an individual...
of the decision as stated in Forth's letter. This threat caused an immediate response from the department that they "would want to find a different - in your eyes more satisfactory - wording for any further editions". The solicitor responded seeking confirmation, by 31 August 1994, that a future edition would include reference to the fact that children do not have to go to school. Forth once again responded accepting the need for a revised text: "I am, however, happy to confirm, in the light of your client's concerns, our intention that any future edition of the Parent's Charter in England will include a reference, be it explicit or implicit, to a parent's lawful right to ensure that his child is suitably educated otherwise than at school."
It was felt that this was as far as EO could go with the matter and the application for judicial review was withdrawn. The whole process had cost EO almost £4000 but had generated a lot of publicity and raised awareness of the issue as many members had raised their concerns with their own MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Current status
Education Otherwise Association Limited (By Guarantee)Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
Charitable trust
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
Registration number 292029
Incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
28 May 1985
HEAS launched 1995.
A 1998 camp beside the sea would grow into HESFES
Hesfes
HESFES is an annual festival aimed at home-educators and their families. Organised annually since 1998 by 'a cooperative of volunteers' headed by Andy Blewett, the festival offers music, entertainment, crafts, life skills, technology, discussion, conferences and many other activities...
.
Registered charity 2 May 1996.
By 2007 Education Otherwise had grown to over 4000 member families.
See also
- Home educationHome educationHome education is a collective term used in the UK to describe education provided otherwise than through the schooling system. Parents have a duty to ensure their children are educated but the education legislation in England and Wales does not differentiate between school attendance or education...
- DeschoolingDeschoolingDeschooling is a term used by both education philosophers and proponents of alternative education and/or homeschooling, though it refers to different things in each context...
- UnschoolingUnschoolingUnschooling is a range of educational philosophies and practices centered on allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience, and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum....
- John HoltJohn Caldwell HoltJohn Caldwell Holt was an American author and educator, a proponent of homeschooling, and a pioneer in youth rights theory.-Biography:...
- Leila BergLeila BergLeila Berg is a British children's author, known also as a journalist and writer on education and children's rights. She began writing in a more realistic and gritty style, for younger children, in the 1960s, in the Nippers series of readers in an influential move designed to bring children's...
- Ivan IllichIvan IllichIvan Illich was an Austrian philosopher, Roman Catholic priest, and "maverick social critic" of the institutions of contemporary western culture and their effects on the provenance and practice of education, medicine, work, energy use, transportation, and economic development.- Personal life...
particularly his Deschooling Society - Schoolhouse - Charity covering ScotlandSchoolhouse Home Education AssociationSchoolhouse Home Education Association, more commonly referred to as Schoolhouse, is a charity based in Scotland which provides support and information to parents about Home education in Scotland....
- AutodidacticismAutodidacticismAutodidacticism is self-education or self-directed learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is "learning on your own" or "by yourself", and an autodidact is a person who teaches him or herself something. The term has its roots in the Ancient Greek words αὐτός and διδακτικός...
- Holistic educationHolistic educationHolistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to humanitarian values such as compassion and peace. Holistic education aims to call forth from people...
- HomeschoolingHomeschoolingHomeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
- Dr Paula Rothermel