Home education/schooling

[marley2580]

You do not ever have to get "permission" from the LEA, as home education is a legal right. As she hasn't actually started school you don't need to formally deregister, you can just let them know that you no longer require the place. However, attending nursery or applying for a school place can sometimes make you "known" to the LEA.

FYI, In Scotland you do need permission from the LA to deregister your child, but they are not allowed to withhold it without good reason. It's important to know as some parents in Scotland have had major issues after following the advice for England.

This doesn't apply to nursery though as education is compulsory from the age of 5.

 

[freckleonear]

Hmm maybe I am thinking about actually taking a child out of school. I heard that you will generally be allowed to but that you have to ask. Can't even remember where I read that actually but it was right when I first started looking into homeschooling. Oh well, hopefully my LEA will be positive about homeschooling x

To take a child out of school you have to deregister, but that is informing the LA that you are removing your child, rather than asking for permission. They cannot grant or refuse permission.

 

[freckleonear]

FYI, In Scotland you do need permission from the LA to deregister your child, but they are not allowed to withhold it without good reason. It's important to know as some parents in Scotland have had major issues after following the advice for England.

This doesn't apply to nursery though as education is compulsory from the age of 5.

Interesting, thanks.

 

[Tacey]

How stressful Summer Rain! I hope it blows over soon, and that your LA realise not everyone is a doormat. It reconfirms my intention not to inform our LA, and stay under the radar. Let us know how it goes!

 

[mamaofthree]

Summer, how has this come about? This must be terribly stressful for you. I know they love to throw their weight about in Cardiff, and were adament my asd son was going into a special school and sent out an ed psych to get him a statement w/o our permission. Thankfully we got a solicitor and won that particular one;thankfully we're in Staffs and unknown at the mo. I sincerely hope this all gets ironed out for you. xxx

 

[summer rain]

Summer, how has this come about? This must be terribly stressful for you. I know they love to throw their weight about in Cardiff, and were adament my asd son was going into a special school and sent out an ed psych to get him a statement w/o our permission. Thankfully we got a solicitor and won that particular one;thankfully we're in Staffs and unknown at the mo. I sincerely hope this all gets ironed out for you. xxx

My local LEA are not unknown for just turning on families they visit for no real reason but in our case I think it's because I cancelled their autumn visit and the woman turned up on my doorstep twice anyway (I didn't let her in) and I had the audacity to say in the meeting when asked that yes I think I probably will still home educate at secondary level-the woman looked horrified. I also think they realised I was starting to break away from their power tripping new recommendations they came up with all the time and their contradictory advice that changes at every visit. Also they wanted me to mark and date all work and I said sorry but I won't because its not required, sorry. Another thing they were ticked off about is that my kids are working 1-2 years ahead in some subjects and I had the nerve to buy some ks3 materials for my eldest, and it just seems to wind them up that home edded kids can progress much further than kids in mainstream schools. I really think the inspector came to the last visit with her negative report pre written but just with some spaces to fill in because it seems very disjointed and like a lot of copy and pasting has been done. I am just seeing if the man who is newly working for their department gets back to me or if he just ignores my letter like their other staff. If he does or not it doesn't really matter because EO are going to deal with them and they won't relent until they change most of their policies as most of their policies bear no resemblance to the actual law in any way whatsoever xx

 

[summer rain]

Oh my god! I've heard of that happening a few times aswell and kids being taken into care because the parents wouldnt let the LEA in! Scares the life out of me tbh.

You know how when you start homeschooling they say that if your child has never been in school you dont need to inform anyone but if they have then you need to get permission from the LEA? If Leyla has been in nursery, free places for 3-5 and has her name down for a school but has never actually attended, does that count as being in school? So do I have to get permission now?

Some LEAs have called SS on parents but kids being taken into care because of it is very, very rare. AFAIK despite threatening to get SS on families or take them to court this LEA don't actually do it. I've put in a FOIA request to see just how many families who are EHE but not to their liking have been taken to court over it. The deadline is coming up for that so if I don't get a response in the next couple of days I will be issuing a complaint as they have 20 days to send someone what they ask for. According to their own figures the number of kids in social care who were or are home educated is a big fat zero so if they did ever call SS on anyone clearly it didn't result in any kids being taken from their home. We have loads of people to give good references for us anyway from all professions and walks of life so we are not worried. The LEA are really preying on the wrong family here xx

 

[Jeffrey]

Is it possible/does anyone home school as a single parent?

 

[freckleonear]

Is it possible/does anyone home school as a single parent?

My neighbour is a single parent and home educates her three children, so it's definitely possible. However, universal tax credits will make it much harder for anyone relying on benefits, so you will need to think about work from home or part-time work.

 

[Jeffrey]

so does she live on income support? are you allowed to do that? I would love to home educate my daughter when i've finished my degree but was under the impression that once she is of school age I would be forced to find work?

 

[sophxx]

I know single mums who home educate but they don't live on income surtportive they do other things some are child minders some write articles for magazines and works as a reminder thearapist ones a speech thearpist. Iafter you children are school are you will have to go back to work is it not going to be once there three soon. I personally think having the option to home educate is a luxury as government provides school I don't think you should live on income support so you can home educate.

 

[freckleonear]

so does she live on income support? are you allowed to do that? I would love to home educate my daughter when i've finished my degree but was under the impression that once she is of school age I would be forced to find work?

No, income support stops when the youngest child turns 5. With universal credits you will need to be working a certain number of hours at minimum wage or above, or your benefit (equivalent of working tax credit, housing benefit, etc.) will be cut. It is also going to make self-employment more difficult for single parents, as after the first year you will be required to be making a certain amount of money in order to qualify for UC. So if that is an option you are considering, now would be a good time to start planning and building up your business.

 

[jessicaR4bbit]

Glad I found this group, I didn't know it existed. I have a some questions about homeschooling if any experienced mums could answer I would really appreciate it. What do you do if your partner works but earns 17 grand a year? Which is not that much. I am going to be studying for a degree over the next few years so my earning potential is shoddy, too. I am worried about money and business opportunities. I don't want to be homeschooling my baby in a poky little flat in a shit neighbourhood. Are any other mums here homeschooling on low incomes? How do you make it work?

 

[BintUmmi]

Just posting to subscribe to this thread.

We're a long way from starting home education with our daughter but we're trying to do as much preparation as much as we can now as homeschooling here in Egypt is unfortunately a bit more complicated than in the UK.

 

[lynnikins]

Glad I found this group, I didn't know it existed. I have a some questions about homeschooling if any experienced mums could answer I would really appreciate it. What do you do if your partner works but earns 17 grand a year? Which is not that much. I am going to be studying for a degree over the next few years so my earning potential is shoddy, too. I am worried about money and business opportunities. I don't want to be homeschooling my baby in a poky little flat in a shit neighbourhood. Are any other mums here homeschooling on low incomes? How do you make it work?

Early years education doesnt have to be expensive, we have a very restricted budget if your partners wage covers bills etc... then you can make/reuse alot of what you need in educational materials if you have a printer there are loads of early years resources avalible free online. I think i spend about £10 a month on education tools/workbooks etc... for the boys and we opt for free days out so we only have to pay travel. local mother and baby groups are normally fairly affordable on a pay per session basis for the time before you need to start academic education and the parks and playgrounds are always free.

 

[jessicaR4bbit]

Thank you for your reply lynnikins. The way I have figured it out our budget allows for 100 pounds or thereabouts free to spend on educational needs and that is including travel costs for us (I don't own a car so public transport). I am going to try and get a part time job in the evenings when Dex is older to allow for a wider budget so we can go on lots of day trips etc. I used to work at a bar so it seems I'll go down that route again till I can afford to work from home on decent enough wage.

 

[freckleonear]

Glad I found this group, I didn't know it existed. I have a some questions about homeschooling if any experienced mums could answer I would really appreciate it. What do you do if your partner works but earns 17 grand a year? Which is not that much. I am going to be studying for a degree over the next few years so my earning potential is shoddy, too. I am worried about money and business opportunities. I don't want to be homeschooling my baby in a poky little flat in a shit neighbourhood. Are any other mums here homeschooling on low incomes? How do you make it work?

We're on a low income, my husband is earning 12k as a trainee teacher and I work part time as a childminder whilst doing a part-time degree, which doesn't really add much to our household income but does give me some extra money to spend on the children. The internet is great for free printables, resources and ideas. Our main costs are paper, printer ink, craft supplies, books and educational toys. We walk nearly everywhere, using public transport occasionally. During the winter we mainly stick to free outings, but spend a bit more on day trips during the summer.

 

[jessicaR4bbit]

freckle: Thanks! I'll check out your blog too to get some ideas for the future.

 

[summer rain]

We're not on a low income per se but OH is self employed and has a lot of expenses and also debts so our disposable income really isn't much at all. What we spend on home ed does work out at around £100 per child per year and that's for everything including the subscriptions to their online maths courses, paper, other stationery, workbooks/textbooks, craft and art materials etc. In many areas the council have warehouses full of scrap paper, craft materials, paints and other resources that are either free or very very cheap, sadly the only one near to us caters for large groups only and their membership criteria is very strict but in other areas they allow for individual memberships that don't cost much at all or even just to pay for what you take on the day.

https://www.scrapstoresuk.org/

We also get most of our books from The Book People, or get out library books xx

 

[Lauki]

Can I subscribe please ? I am looking into home educating at the moment. I really hope we can achieve it! It is great to read all your positive experiences and get answers to loads of questions as it is all a bit daunting still!