It doesn't answer the question because the answer makes the assumption that the government already know what the impact will be, yet they cannot possibly know this without doing an assessment to find out something the answer claims is not required. As for it being early in the consultation stage, the earlier such an assessment is made in a consultation process the better as the information it provides will impact greatly on the direction and outcome of the consultation.
The statement of there being little impact from the proposed changes, this part of the answer shows a shameful lack of understanding of both the current and the proposed systems. The registration of home educating families alone will require many extra manhours for the LA as they would be required to introduce new paperwork (the register itself, letters to known home educators, other methods of getting the message out on when where and how to register to families whose addresses are not on the LA books already etc) someone to man it (which will be a year-round thing as families can move in and out of home ed at any point in the year) people to chase up, remind, etc.
And since the discription of this 'register' is less one of simple record keeping but actually set out as a yearly application for renewal of 'permission to home educate' it will not simply be a case of parents turning up and declaring that the HE (as in a register of birth, for instance) but will entail forms for families to fill out giving details of their style of HE, expected progress of the child etc. etc.that will need to be scrutinised before the parents will be allowed to be added to the register meaning more work that will undoubtedly mean LA's requiring extra staff to complete.
And this is the least labour-intensive part of what is proposed. The extra man-hours, paperwork, training, travelling, complaints and legal work that the suggested monitoring will bring down on the heads of the LA will be immense - extra powers bring with them more responsibility, more work and more chance of error all of which will cost the LA in money, time and personel.
louisa bird
Posted on 1 Jul 2009 11:01 am
It doesn't answer the question because the answer makes the assumption that the government already know what the impact will be, yet they cannot possibly know this without doing an assessment to find out something the answer claims is not required. As for it being early in the consultation stage, the earlier such an assessment is made in a consultation process the better as the information it provides will impact greatly on the direction and outcome of the consultation.
The statement of there being little impact from the proposed changes, this part of the answer shows a shameful lack of understanding of both the current and the proposed systems. The registration of home educating families alone will require many extra manhours for the LA as they would be required to introduce new paperwork (the register itself, letters to known home educators, other methods of getting the message out on when where and how to register to families whose addresses are not on the LA books already etc) someone to man it (which will be a year-round thing as families can move in and out of home ed at any point in the year) people to chase up, remind, etc.
And since the discription of this 'register' is less one of simple record keeping but actually set out as a yearly application for renewal of 'permission to home educate' it will not simply be a case of parents turning up and declaring that the HE (as in a register of birth, for instance) but will entail forms for families to fill out giving details of their style of HE, expected progress of the child etc. etc.that will need to be scrutinised before the parents will be allowed to be added to the register meaning more work that will undoubtedly mean LA's requiring extra staff to complete.
And this is the least labour-intensive part of what is proposed. The extra man-hours, paperwork, training, travelling, complaints and legal work that the suggested monitoring will bring down on the heads of the LA will be immense - extra powers bring with them more responsibility, more work and more chance of error all of which will cost the LA in money, time and personel.