ABSTRACT

The attempt by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) to threaten to close Self Managed Learning College as an illegal school was a surprise. Thankfully, the inspection team saw sense, and recommended to the Department for Education (DfE) that it is not a school. The DfE confirmed this by letter. The College's processes and approach are described. The idea of providing a structure that is not controlling is explained along with the approach of using a learning community model instead of a school model. The notion that Self Managed Learning is an exemplar of the New Educational Paradigm is demonstrated. In addition, evidence of the value of Self Managed Learning is introduced here.