[Ali P]

Looks like the select committee is going to be another stitch up. Can anyone spot any legitimate home education reps there, apart from (possibly) Jane Lowe? You'd think they might have paid lip service to the idea of independent inquiry, but obviously not. I for one won't be wasting any more ink on consultations or on putting an X on a Westminster ballot paper.

Children, Schools and Families Committee Select Committee Announcement


Committee Office, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA Media Enquiries: Rebecca Jones 020 7219 5693 / 07917 488549

No. 48 of Session 2008-09 7 October 2009


Elective Home Education

Oral Evidence Sessions


The Children, Schools and Families Committee will be taking formal oral evidence as follows:

Monday 12 October 2009 at 4.45pm
Wilson Room, Portcullis House

Witnesses:

Graham Badman CBE;
Ms Diana R Johnson MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, and Penny Jones, Independent Schools and School Organisation, DCSF.

The purpose of this session is to examine the evidence base for and recommendations of the DCSF commissioned review of elective home education in England.

Please note these sessions will be open to the public on a first come, first served basis. It is advisable to allow about 20 minutes to pass through security checks. Committee rooms and timings are subject to change.

Please note that seating is limited and there is no guarantee of access to the Committee Room. There is no system for the prior reservation of seats in Committee Rooms. Interested parties are strongly encouraged to follow instead a live video and audio feed of proceedings, which can be viewed on the Parliamentary website at www.parliament.uk<http://www.parliament.uk>.

Wednesday 14 October 2009 at 9.30am
Wilson Room, Portcullis House

Witnesses:

(At 9.30am)
Jane Lowe, Trustee, Home Education Advisory Service; Fiona Nicholson, Trustee /Chair Government Policy Group, Education Otherwise; Simon Webb, home educating parent; David Wright, home educating parent, and Carole Rutherford, co-founder, Autism in Mind


(At 10.30am)
Colin Green, Chair, Families, Communities and Young People Policy Committee, Association of Directors of Children's Services; Ellie Evans, Head of Children Missing Education team, West Sussex County Council; Sir Paul Ennals, Chief Executive, National Children's Bureau, and Phillip Noyes, Director of Public Policy, NSPCC

The purpose of this session is to examine the views of home educators, local authority representatives and national children's organisations on the recommendations of the DCSF-commissioned review of elective home education in England and assess the desirability and feasibility of those recommendations.

Please note these sessions will be open to the public on a first come, first served basis. It is advisable to allow about 20 minutes to pass through security checks. Committee rooms and timings are subject to change.

Please note that seating is limited and there is no guarantee of access to the Committee Room. There is no system for the prior reservation of seats in Committee Rooms. Interested parties are strongly encouraged to follow instead a live video and audio feed of proceedings, which can be viewed on the Parliamentary website at www.parliament.uk<http://www.parliament.uk>.


FURTHER INFORMATION:

The Children, Schools and Families Committee is one of the House's Select Committees related to government departments: its terms of reference are to examine "the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and its associated public bodies". The Committee chooses its own subjects of inquiry, within the overall terms of reference. It invites written evidence from interested parties and holds public evidence sessions, usually in committee rooms at the House of Commons, although it does have the power to meet away from Westminster. At the end of each inquiry, the Committee will normally agree a Report based on the evidence received. Such Reports are published and made available on the Internet. Copies are sent free to those who give oral evidence. Reports usually contain recommendations to the Government and other bodies. The Government by convention responds to reports within about two months of publication. These responses are also published.
The Members of the Committee are:

Mr Barry Sheerman (Chairman) Labour, Huddersfield
Annette Brooke Liberal Democrat, Mid Dorset and Poole North
Mr Douglas Carswell Conservative, Harwich
Mr David Chaytor Labour, Bury North
Mrs Sharon Hodgson Labour, Gateshead East and Washington West
Paul Holmes Liberal Democrat, Chesterfield
Fiona Mactaggart Labour, Slough
Mr Andrew Pelling Independent, Croydon Central
Mr Andy Slaughter Labour, Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush
Helen Southworth Labour, Warrington South
Mr Graham Stuart Conservative, Beverley & Holderness
Mr Edward Timpson Conservative, Crewe and Nantwich
Derek Twigg Labour, Halton
Lynda Waltho Labour, Stourbridge

Media Enquiries: Rebecca Jones, Tel 020 7219 5693 / 07917 488549, email: jonesbl@parliament.uk<mailto:jonesbl@parliament.uk>
Specific Committee Information: Tel 020 7219 6181 / 1376, email: csfcom@parliament.uk<mailto:csfcom@parliament.uk>
Committee Website: http://www.parliament.uk/csf/ Watch committees and parliamentary debates online: www.parliamentlive.tv<http://www.parliamentlive.tv/>
Publications / Reports / Reference Material: Copies of all select committee reports are available from the Parliamentary Bookshop (12 Bridge St, Westminster, 020 7219 3890) or the Stationery Office (0845 7023474). Committee reports, press releases, evidence transcripts, Bills; research papers, a directory of MPs, plus Hansard (from 8am daily) and much more, can be found on www.parliament.uk<http://www.parliament.uk/>