About CPE & the initiative

CPE is a charity amongst whose objects are:

• to research into and collate information on aspects of schooling and other forms of educational provision;
• to publish and distribute information on the practice and principles of flexible and personalised educational provision;
• to provide training and consultancy opportunities for those concerned with aspects of schooling and other forms of educational provision;
• to develop a nationally publicised telephone information service on aspects of schooling and other forms of educational provision;

CPE

Trustees

The Research team

Policies

charity No: 1057442

CPE Office, 113 Arundel Drive, Bramcote, Nottingham NG9 3FQ,

CPE is currently undergoing some changes. It is merging with "Education Now" and will be known as "Personalised Education Now"

The Initiative

In accordance with these objects CPE is currently establishing a project, i.e. research into home based education (RiHBE). The emphasis is to provide action oriented research with a two fold target:

1. Research that will examine the home based education's own perceptions of needs for support and which will enhance this support with a view to alleviating social exclusion or the perception of social exclusion amongst home educated children and young people, including those with special educational needs.
2. Research that will widen the accessibility of home based education as a viable choice for all.

In order to achieve this CPE aims to conduct a research project as set out in the feasibility study and this document and to employ a subcontracted consultant researcher supported by volunteers to pursue this research.

Without this project, the growing home education community (numbering up to 120,000) will have no dedicated research project establishing their needs from within. This research is both participative and responsive. Without this project, a growing number of families who find themselves without viable educational alternatives (e.g. when faced with bullying, school phobia, poor educational standards within particular catchment areas etc.) will remain under resourced.

The project will be managed by the trustees of CPE, all of who have a proven track record in education and management. Day to day management will be delegated to Professor Roland Meighan who will work closely with the research consultant. There will be a comprehensive system of monitoring, including work review, data collection, feed back forms and input from sample groups in the research. The project has a 'shoestring' budget to launch it's initial research initiative. This will cost £11,000 in the first year and facilitate a setting up period to establish the viability and importance of research into home education with a view to further fund raising to ensure the project's completion.

CPE is ideally placed to carry out this project having undertaken detailed consultation with the home-based education community through a year long feasibility study, having put in place the necessary management structures to realise the aims and having considerable previous experience of both research and support work in this field.

Aims and Objectives

The objects of the charity are as at 1 above. The specific project being proposed fits into these objects by seeking to achieve both innovative, participative research and develop new support strategies.

The research aims to enhance the social well-being of a growing number of children who are educated outside the school system and to develop new forms of support and networking for those at greatest disadvantage either from isolation, lack of support or from misunderstanding of the nature of home based education. The research aims to increase understanding of how and why social exclusion arises within this group and to increase social inclusion.

The research aims to fully involve those who will benefit.