For example, approaches that allow and encourage children to develop along their own individual developmental trajectory rather than place pressure to conform to statistically derived or externally imposed expected outcomes and levels.

Approaches that purposefully avoid a “teach-to-a-test/grade” standardised approach, believing this to be detrimental and inhibitory to true and deeper learning.

Testing and measuring give the message that mistakes and errors are a bad thing.

They create a fear and disincentive to experiment with outcomes and thought processes.

Many education philosophies, including those often used by home educators, believe it is vital to encourage children to explore and experiment, to NOT fear making “mistakes and errors”,

but rather embrace them as positive ways to deeper learning and understanding.

Many approaches see it as vital to not place fears and anxieties that deter that essential part of the learning process.

Thus, the proposed concepts of testing, measuring against statistically derived standardised evaluation scores or concepts would cut across the rights of children and families to the styles and approaches to education of their choice.

Many home educational approaches and philosophies find placing pressure on children to perform to be abhorrent and detrimental to true education. many home educational approaches work to deliberately avoid instilling a “fear of failure”.

Evaluating a child’s “level” in person, knowing that if they “fail” to impress then legal action would be taken against the family, that they would be removed from their often lifeline of being educated via their families and placed in institutions that they do not consent to attending or may well have already failed to provide a suitable education- that is against children’s wellbeing and rights in so many ways.

The Welsh Government commissioned “evaluation” of their EHE guidance appears to advocate for testing and measuring home educated children in ways that are counter to their educational philosophies.

In that evaluation,

• There is no evaluation of the negative impact on child development and education, or on human rights, of the pressure to reach such standardised expectations at set ages, rather than the beneficial effects of approaches many home educators use that both
• There is no evaluation of how true learning is rarely linear, or how many believe traditional age-related expectations to be inappropriate.
• There is no evaluation of the subsequent pressure on families to change educational provision to suit such testing, for fear of instigation of legal action against them, risking the outcome of education to suit the council rather than the child.

Find an “evaluation” of that Welsh Government commissioned “evaluation” of their EHE guidance here