Groups

Our work is carried out by a large number of volunteers working within a series of groups and support networks.

All volunteers and groups are ultimately responsible to the Council of Trustees. These are members of EO who deal with the running of the organisation. The list of current Trustees can be found here.

The GPG is a Working Group which monitors government policy relevant to home education and home educators. The GPG maintains a dialogue with government officials and responds to government consultations. Through the work of GPG, Education Otherwise is regarded as a stakeholder by a number of government departments. They also have a campaign website, Freedom for Children to Grow, which has up to the minute news about home education.

In 2007 Education Otherwise responded to the Government Consultation on Home Education Guidelines. Click here for an overview of the EO response.

"Education Otherwise recommends that the Department consider a number of innovative pilot projects aimed at promoting positive working partnerships across a range of urban, suburban, rural and metropolitan borough areas. The authority's role in these pilot schemes will evolve from a one-to-one inspection and monitoring role, which is neither cost-effective nor equitable, and move towards an advisory, information, and resource-based support role.

Introduction of new guidelines will go some way to addressing the current situation. However, lack of funding to local authorities continues to be a major impediment to the proper implementation of the law.

Any move to make a child's education the responsibility of parties other than the parent's strikes at the very heart of the legislative framework for education in England and would expose those other parties to formal legal responsibility enforceable and actionable in the courts."      Education Otherwise June 2007

Read more about the work of the Disability Group here.