Glossary

ARCH

Action for the rights of the Child, a campaigning organisation for children's rights which has sympathies with the home education movement but is not itself a home education organisation. here

Autonomous Education

A process of learning which when employed by home educators goes much further than schools using the same term. In short by autonomous education home educators mean that the child leads the education and the parents become the child's facilitator. The child chooses the subject, method and context of any learning that it undertaken. It is believed by those who espouse it that this is a far more efficient, child centred method of education than any that coerces the child to learn by imposition.

Compulsory education

This term refers to the ages during which the parents of a child have a legal duty to ensure that their child receives a suitable education more

Deschooling

The process by which a family will acclimatise itself to the culture of home education in particular to find a method of education that suits them. An appeal court case in 1985 known as the "Perry" case established that families should be given time to acclimatise to home education prior to "inspection" by an LEA. This gives credibility to the idea that deschooling has legal meaning in the UK. It was also used in a book title Deschooling our Lives edited by Matt Hern (forward by Ivan Illich) in1996. more

DCFS (DfES)

Department of Children, Families and Skills (was the Department of Education and Skills). The current name of the department that is responsible for government policy on education. This department has undergone a bewildering array of names since the 1980's and will no doubt continue to change as it amalgamates with other departments as government thinking on education continues to change.

EHELG

"Elective Home education Legal Guidelines" The title of guidelines on home education produced by a group of home educators in the 1990's more

see "Education Otherwise"

Education Otherwise

A phrase used first in the 1944 education act and later in the 1996 education act (section 7) to describe education other than in school. In addition to those children who are electively home educated it includes those who are educated out of school for any reason such as illness or disability etc. This phrase is used by the home education support charity Education Otherwise for their name. The phrase is sometimes also used by Local Education authorities as the title of the department or section that deals with those families who chose to home educate. Since the Charity "Education Otherwise" has trade marked their name the use of this phrase by LEA's contradicts trade mark Law.

Educational social workers

see Education Welfare Officer

Education Welfare Officer

An officer of the <Local Education Authority who is often the person who will contact home educating families to ensure that they are fulfilling their duties in law. They may sometimes have other names like "educational social workers". Only rarely are they qualified teachers

EHE

see "elective home education"

Elective home education

To chose to educate a child at home as opposed to school particularly during the ages of compulsory education

EWO

see "Education Welfare Officer"

Flexi schooling

Where a child is registered at a school but obtains regular leave of absence to complete some of their studies at home more

see "home education"

HEAS

Home Education Advisory Service a charitable trust that broke away from Education Otherwise in the 1980's to form an alternative support group.

HES FES

Home educators Seaside Festival - the UK home educators largest camp held every year in the south of England. mor e

Home Based education

an alternative term to home education sometimes used to imply that while children's education is based in the home it is generally not entirely conducted there.

Home Education

To educate a child at home as opposed to school particularly during the age of compulsory education.

HRA

The Human rights act.

Home schooling

An American term used to describe home education. This term is very unpopular in the UK as it implies that parents engage in school at home whereas many parents educational styles differ greatly from those employed by schools. For this reason either "elective home education, home based education or simply home education are more popular in the UK.

Home Visits: referring to visits by EWO's as part of the process of inspection. Home visits and their legal status are a regular topic for discussion within the home education community. more

Intrinsic Motivation

where a person is acting upon beliefs currently held by that person. The corollary of this is extrinsic motivation where a person acts upon beliefs that are not held by that person. A term coined by Jan fortune wood in her book "Bound to be Free" to describe coercion and associated inefficiencies inherent in extrinsic motivational teaching as imposed by schools. The concept owes much to the philosophy of Carl Popper.

Local Authority

LEA

Local Education Authority the name of the local authority responsible for providing institutes of learning in their area. They are also the body that checks up on home educators should it be thought that they are failing to provide an education for children they are responsible.

The curriculum imposed by the government upon all state schools in the UK. Home educators do not need to follow this curriculum.

A term coined by Professor Roland Meighan a UK educationalist to mean the process of education by conversation. That is that a large part of education undertaken by home educators, particularly autonomous home educators, is conducted by conversation. In practice this can be compared to how any engaged parent will behave towards their children but possibly more intensely.

Standard Attainment tests. These are conducted by schools to determine the effectiveness of the school. Home educators do not need to use SAT's.

Special Educational Needs: refers to children with any special need that effects a child's educational abilities. Some authorities also use this designation for gifted children.

This can have two related meanings. It can have the technical sociological meaning relating to whether a child's education is such that it enables the child to interact with other people and generally fit into society. The second, more usual meaning in the context of home education relates to issues of peer relationships. more

This usually refers to a statement of special educational need. If a child has a special educational need the LEA must identify that need and show how they propose to address it, including identifying resources by producing a statement of the child's needs

"Taking Children Seriously" an approach to parenting utilising non-coersive parenting and autonomous educational methods. more

A form of education used by some home educating families which uses autonomous educational methods. This methodology rejects the concept of school as being against the interests of the child. It was first used in the US where the term is most popular and was coined by John Holt in his book of the same name. Many home educators in the UK know of the term unschooling but tend not to use it.

Glossary
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About adverts Articles Books Conferences Contacts Family rights Famous People FAQ Feedback Flexischooling Glossary HE Businesses HES FES Camp Interactive Journal LA training Legal Local page Mailing lists Members Area Press Philosophies Quotes Resources Support	ARCH Action for the rights of the Child, a campaigning organisation for children's rights which has sympathies with the home education movement but is not itself a home education organisation. here Autonomous Education A process of learning which when employed by home educators goes much further than schools using the same term. In short by autonomous education home educators mean that the child leads the education and the parents become the child's facilitator. The child chooses the subject, method and context of any learning that it undertaken. It is believed by those who espouse it that this is a far more efficient, child centred method of education than any that coerces the child to learn by imposition. Compulsory education This term refers to the ages during which the parents of a child have a legal duty to ensure that their child receives a suitable education more Deschooling The process by which a family will acclimatise itself to the culture of home education in particular to find a method of education that suits them. An appeal court case in 1985 known as the "Perry" case established that families should be given time to acclimatise to home education prior to "inspection" by an LEA. This gives credibility to the idea that deschooling has legal meaning in the UK. It was also used in a book title Deschooling our Lives edited by Matt Hern (forward by Ivan Illich) in1996. more DCFS (DfES) Department of Children, Families and Skills (was the Department of Education and Skills). The current name of the department that is responsible for government policy on education. This department has undergone a bewildering array of names since the 1980's and will no doubt continue to change as it amalgamates with other departments as government thinking on education continues to change. EHELG "Elective Home education Legal Guidelines" The title of guidelines on home education produced by a group of home educators in the 1990's more EO see "Education Otherwise" Education Otherwise A phrase used first in the 1944 education act and later in the 1996 education act (section 7) to describe education other than in school. In addition to those children who are electively home educated it includes those who are educated out of school for any reason such as illness or disability etc. This phrase is used by the home education support charity Education Otherwise for their name. The phrase is sometimes also used by Local Education authorities as the title of the department or section that deals with those families who chose to home educate. Since the Charity "Education Otherwise" has trade marked their name the use of this phrase by LEA's contradicts trade mark Law. Educational social workers see Education Welfare Officer Education Welfare Officer An officer of the <Local Education Authority who is often the person who will contact home educating families to ensure that they are fulfilling their duties in law. They may sometimes have other names like "educational social workers". Only rarely are they qualified teachers EHE see "elective home education" Elective home education To chose to educate a child at home as opposed to school particularly during the ages of compulsory education EWO see "Education Welfare Officer" Flexi schooling Where a child is registered at a school but obtains regular leave of absence to complete some of their studies at home more HE see "home education" HEAS Home Education Advisory Service a charitable trust that broke away from Education Otherwise in the 1980's to form an alternative support group. HES FES Home educators Seaside Festival - the UK home educators largest camp held every year in the south of England. mor e Home Based education an alternative term to home education sometimes used to imply that while children's education is based in the home it is generally not entirely conducted there. Home Education To educate a child at home as opposed to school particularly during the age of compulsory education. HRA The Human rights act. Home schooling An American term used to describe home education. This term is very unpopular in the UK as it implies that parents engage in school at home whereas many parents educational styles differ greatly from those employed by schools. For this reason either "elective home education, home based education or simply home education are more popular in the UK. HV Home Visits: referring to visits by EWO's as part of the process of inspection. Home visits and their legal status are a regular topic for discussion within the home education community. more Intrinsic Motivation where a person is acting upon beliefs currently held by that person. The corollary of this is extrinsic motivation where a person acts upon beliefs that are not held by that person. A term coined by Jan fortune wood in her book "Bound to be Free" to describe coercion and associated inefficiencies inherent in extrinsic motivational teaching as imposed by schools. The concept owes much to the philosophy of Carl Popper. LA Local Authority LEA Local Education Authority the name of the local authority responsible for providing institutes of learning in their area. They are also the body that checks up on home educators should it be thought that they are failing to provide an education for children they are responsible. National Curriculum The curriculum imposed by the government upon all state schools in the UK. Home educators do not need to follow this curriculum. NC see national curriculum Purposive Conversation A term coined by Professor Roland Meighan a UK educationalist to mean the process of education by conversation. That is that a large part of education undertaken by home educators, particularly autonomous home educators, is conducted by conversation. In practice this can be compared to how any engaged parent will behave towards their children but possibly more intensely. SAT's Standard Attainment tests. These are conducted by schools to determine the effectiveness of the school. Home educators do not need to use SAT's. SEN Special Educational Needs: refers to children with any special need that effects a child's educational abilities. Some authorities also use this designation for gifted children. Socialisation This can have two related meanings. It can have the technical sociological meaning relating to whether a child's education is such that it enables the child to interact with other people and generally fit into society. The second, more usual meaning in the context of home education relates to issues of peer relationships. more SS Sometimes used by home educators as an abbreviation for "Social services". Statements This usually refers to a statement of special educational need. If a child has a special educational need the LEA must identify that need and show how they propose to address it, including identifying resources by producing a statement of the child's needs TCS "Taking Children Seriously" an approach to parenting utilising non-coersive parenting and autonomous educational methods. more Unschooling A form of education used by some home educating families which uses autonomous educational methods. This methodology rejects the concept of school as being against the interests of the child. It was first used in the US where the term is most popular and was coined by John Holt in his book of the same name. Many home educators in the UK know of the term unschooling but tend not to use it.