Home Educated Families’ experience of Covid19 cancelled exams.
This information sheet forms part of the process of informed consent. It should give you the basic idea of what the research is about and what your participation will involve. Please read this information sheet carefully and ask one of the researchers named above if you are not clear about any details of the project.
What is the purpose of the project:
To understand the impact of exam cancellations on Home Educated Families, because of Covid19. This project hopes to explore Home Educating parents’ perceptions of how they and their children were affected by policy decisions around exam access during the Covid19 period. The finding of this study may help inform and raise awareness of Home Educators experiences. This piece of research could support contingency planning, ensuring there is inclusion of private candidates, in future policy considerations.
Why have I been selected to take part? [or Who can be a participant?]
You have been invited to participate in this project if you are a Home Educating parent whose child(ren) had exams cancelled during the Covid19 pandemic.
Home educated parents who have dependents who were entered for (inter)National exams (e.g. IGCSE, GCSE, A-levels etc ) as private candidates in summer sitting 2020 / 2021. Parents whose children are educated in the schooling system will not be included in this data.
Do I have to take part?
It is completely up to you to decide if you would like to participate. Before you decide to take part, we will describe the project and go through this information sheet with you. If you agree to take part, we will then ask you to sign a consent form. However, if at any time you decide you no longer wish to take part in the project you are free to withdraw, without giving a reason.
What will I be asked to do?
You will be asked to participate in a semi-structured interview, with one of our researchers. The interview can either occur over the phone or in a Microsoft Teams meeting. This interview will take no more than an hour. The purpose of this interview is to help us understand your experience as Home Education parent whose child had exams cancelled on them over the Covid19 period.
What are the exclusion criteria?
(are there reasons why I should not take part)?
No. If you are a Home Educating parent whose child had exams cancelled over the Covid19 period, you are welcome to participate in this study.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
There are no obvious direct benefits from taking part in this project. However, the information that you and other participants provide in this project will help us understand the impact exam cancellations had on Home Educating families.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
There are no obvious disadvantages to you taking part in the project. If the questionnaire asks a question that you do not want to answer for any reason, you can choose not to answer.
Will my participation involve any discomfort or embarrassment?
We do not expect you to feel any discomfort or embarrassment if you take part in the project. If, however, you do feel uncomfortable or appear upset at any time, the researcher will stop the interview straight away and may direct you to approach an appropriate support service.
Who will have access to the information that I provide?
Only the research team will have access to information that you provide. All records will be treated as confidential.
What will happen to the data collected and results of the project?
All data collected during the project including personal, identifiable data will be treated as confidential and kept on a password-protected file on the University of Bath’s secure server (X drive) The storage of this data will be done in accordance with GDPR. Recorded data will not be kept for any longer than 5 years. Your name or any identifying information will not be disclosed in any presentation or publication of the research.
After the project has finished, we will also provide you with a summary of the project results if you would like that. This summary will not include any identifiable information and will show the overall findings of the project.
Once this project is completed, other researchers at the University of Bath may conduct related research projects which would benefit from the use of the data that you have provided. Further use of your data will only occur with your consent and the University fo Bath’s approval where data will continue to be stored in accordance with GDPR. So again, your name and other identifying information will not be disclosed in any presentation or publication of the research.
Who has reviewed the project?
This project has been given a favourable opinion by the University of Bath, Social Science Research Ethics Committee (SSREC) No. S21-007.
How can I withdraw from the project?
If you wish to stop participating before completing the project, you can inform one of the above identified researchers. You can withdraw from the project at any point without providing reasons for doing so and without consequence for yourself.
If, for any reason, you wish to withdraw your data please contact an identified researcher within two weeks of your participation. After this date, it may not be possible to withdraw your data as it will be anonymised and no longer identifiable.
University of Bath privacy notice
The University of Bath privacy notice can be found here: https://www.bath.ac.uk/corporate-information/university-of-bath-privacy-notice-for-research-participants/.
What happens if there is a problem?
If you have a concern about any aspect of the project you should ask to speak to the researchers who will do their best to answer any questions. If you are unable to resolve your concern, or wish to make a complaint regarding the project please contact the Chair of the SSREC at ssrec@bath.ac.uk
If I require further information who should I contact and how?
Thank you for expressing an interest in participating in this project. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like some more information.
Name of Researchers: Fadoua Govaerts
Contact details of Researcher: fg428@bath.ac.uk
Name of Researchers: Sally Hewlett
Contact details of Researcher: sjh231@bath.ac.uk
Name of Researchers: Joy Cranham
Contact details of Researcher: jc2990@bath.ac.uk
Name of Supervisor: Dr. Simon Hayhoe
Contact details of Supervisor: sh2337@bath.ac.uk
Is this research ethical?
For more information or any enquiries please contact us through the form below.
The Voice of Home Educators 