Info About Buying Books this Winter & the Education Committee Call for Evidence regarding Elective Home Education

A couple of bit of useful information for home educators this week.

Firstly Blackwells Bookshop posted a guide to buying books this winter that shared various bit of important information that it’s useful to know.

You can read the guide here, but the short version is that because the printers are all running at full capacity due to the effects of the pandemic, popular books may sell out and not be restocked again before the winter holidays. Also because a lot of picture books come from mainland Europe, there may be delays in getting supplies and restocks. Plus there are almost certainly going to be shipping delays due to creating safe warehouse environments, and general additional pressure put on postal carriers.

This is not just a Blackwells problem, this is a 2020 bookshop problem.

The general recommendation is to buy the books you want early, (if you are in the position to do so.) You can click and collect to reserve books from high street branches of major bookshop chains if they are available to you, as well as supporting your local independent bookshop by calling or emailing them to ask them to put books aside for collection.

And with all on line shopping this year – don’t leave it to the last minute because no one can guarantee you that things will arrive on time. (And the companies that do guarantee it *cough*amazon*cough* will put real people into harms way to do so.)

HE Bytes has a fantastic series of posts about the UK Parliament education committee’s call for evidence regarding home education. The committee is not used to develop policy, but can be used to put pressure on the government to change policy. Anti HE-lobbyiest will be putting forward their opinions and ideas, and it’s important that home educators have their say as well so that we are not drowned out by those who want to limit are rights and opportunities. I highly recommend reading at least the first post from HE Bytes on this topic, as they give a really good run down on the situation and what is at stake.

The committee is accepting evidence till Friday 6th November 2020.