An Inspector Calls

Following correspondence from the DFES and various internal discussions, the Director of Education Newham LEA concluded that any children attending Tyndale "cannot be receiving what the law requires". He then asked his Education Welfare team to arrange a visit and to be prepared to serve School Attendance Orders on the parents concerned. These were the first ill-informed steps taken by our Local Authority. If only they had consulted their own lawyers they would have found that neither their assessment nor their remedy would stand up to close scrutiny in a court.

So it was, in November 2003 we received an unannounced visit from two officers of the Education Welfare Department of our Local Authority. I "entertained" them downstairs, away from the children (who were being supervised and taught by another teacher). I told them politely (honestly) and plainly that although I did not believe they had any authority to ask to see the children and to require registers etc I would nevertheless describe our provision. I was, I think understandably nervous, having seen, from a safe distance, how easy it is for a Local Authority to exceed their powers and make a mess of people's lives only to "move on" without so much as an apology.

In short, I told the Senior EWO that if we were an independent school then the Local Authority had no educational responsibility for us at all as we would be entirely under the authority of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). On the other hand, I said, if we were a tuition group then the LA had no supervisory powers in respect of the education we provided. Their only powers and duties were towards individual parents and children (not towards the group as a whole). They were told that we had informed parents that we would be happy to assist in any "inspections" that might be made of their provision. Our reasoning in this case was that we would not be happy for the LA that had so expertly ruined the education of so many children to attempt to exercise any powers in any attempt to "assist" our group.