We had a call from the Local Education Authority at the council. We've had the specified 'deschooling' period so we're now offered a visit. I was fine about it; I'm sure we're meeting our legal requirements for full time education and the boys are thriving.
But like medical conditions, you only start to worry once you google. Off to the forums of doom.
Panic set in. The advice was clear : you don't legally have to let the Local Education Authority into your house, so don't let them in. If the house is too tidy they'll say it's a sterile environment with insufficient creative opportunities and issue a school attendance order. If the house is too messy they'll say it's unsanitary and issue a school attendance order. Definitely don't give them a cup of tea - they'll issue a school attendance order.
It was nerve wracking. I'd already said yes to the visit on the phone (before googling!) and my middle class manners dictate that I now have to welcome this terrifying character into my home AND offer her not just tea but possibly a biscuit... if I haven't stress-eaten all the chocolate digestives before she arrives.
So the day came. I had duly laid out an engaging, Ofsted outstanding lesson on Egyptian hieroglyphs. I'm joking of course. It was 1pm and the sun was shining. So the boys did what they would normally do at 1pm on a sunny day straight after eating lunch - they played outside. It meant I could talk to my visitor without distraction and the boys had a cracking time burning off a ham sandwich.
The lady seemed friendly. No horns, no clipboard, no whistle... just a nice person doing her job. I was honest about what I'd read on the forums. She was honest about her role - she's employed to make sure the children in her authority are getting the education they legally require. The air cleared, I got out the emergency packet of rich tea biscuits.
We chatted for an hour. She took notes. I rambled. She eventually stopped me as she had to go to another appointment. That was that.
I over-analysed after she left. Had I said everything I needed to say? Did I mention all the stuff we're doing? What had I missed? Was this the end of our Home Ed journey, when we'd only just begun?
I needn't have worried; I got the letter today summarising our meeting and I'm reassured. The notes she took captured everything I had wanted to say - about the provision, assessment, social opportunities, curriculum. She had understood the boys, she understood our family and she understood what we were doing and why. She said Well Done.
So we're ending today on a high. We're doing alright. I have a letter that says so.
