Home Education and benefits issue....

laurenjs88

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

One of the children is only 7 - don't you think that's a bit young to be brainwashed about capitalism?

How is it brainwashing? at 7 all you'll be teaching them is if mum buys something for 50p and sells it for £1 shes made 50p, then if the fees/p&p were 25p then mummy has actually made 25p...

I cant understand how teaching children about money and how it works especially nowdays is any kind of brainwashing

Oldernotwiser

laurenjs88 wrote: »

How is it brainwashing? at 7 all you'll be teaching them is if mum buys something for 50p and sells it for £1 shes made 50p, then if the fees/p&p were 25p then mummy has actually made 25p...

I cant understand how teaching children about money and how it works especially nowdays is any kind of brainwashing

I would rather my children learnt that you earn money making something or providing a service for someone rather than by buying cheap and selling dear.

starchild1972

First question, does she know WHY the boys refuse to go to school? Has the Education Authority dealt with any issues at the school, bullying etc?


Speaking as someone who was homeducated and who also home educates 3 out of 4 children AND is self-employed AND is carer for disabled family member as well as having mobility issues of my own I would say...Don't rely on being able to claim benefits when home educating, they may make exemptions (decision makers discrection) but don[t bank on it.
Also Home Education, even autonomously like we do is damned hard work. If you don't go down the workbooks and GCSE route you still have to slog it out.
There is no financial help or pupil premium for home educated children (recently I just spend £150 on books and DVDs as my 9 yr old wants to be an astronomer and she is science mad), will she be able to afford the computer and internet access, will she be up to speed if there is a desire to return to school? It's not a cheap and easy option and really should be last resort if it is not a lifestyle choice like it is with us.
GCSE exams will have to be paid for (about £50 per subject) then there is actually sitting the exams and finding exam centres.
There is also keeping in touch with friends, believe me once you home educate or become home educated your former friends think that either you have gone posh, therefore won't speak to you or have dropped out, and won't speak to you.
Go out during a normal school day then there are truancy sweeps to deal with, questioning by shop workers etc and other people who's business it isn't. Then "professionals" will ask about the socialisation issue then there is the other risk.
A new Labour Government will ensure that you are monitored 24/7 keeping to strict curriculum and inspected without announcement, just like they wanted to before getting kicked out of office.

Child 1 btw is at a "small school" for which we pay £300 a term for, she is 13 and sits Latin GCSE next year! She is the only secondary age one we have. Child 2 goes in this September.

Vicky123

I home educated for 1 yr my oldest son and the person sent rount to monitor didn't appear to be interested at all.
I prepared everything for the visit expecting a lot of scrutiny, all I can say is if this is how OFSTED monitor schools then it's no surprise so many mediocre ones are achieving outstanding.

Oldernotwiser

starchild1972 wrote: »

First question, does she know WHY the boys refuse to go to school? Has the Education Authority dealt with any issues at the school, bullying etc?
.

Unless I've missed something (perfectly possible!) this isn't the case. There's no mention of the children having problems, being bullied, being school refusers etc. The reason for home schooling appears to be based wholly on the mother (and the OP's) negative experience of their own school experiences.

This seems to me to be the main problem.

pipkin71

starchild1972 wrote: »

First question, does she know WHY the boys refuse to go to school? Has the Education Authority dealt with any issues at the school, bullying etc?


Speaking as someone who was homeducated and who also home educates 3 out of 4 children AND is self-employed AND is carer for disabled family member as well as having mobility issues of my own I would say...Don't rely on being able to claim benefits when home educating, they may make exemptions (decision makers discrection) but don[t bank on it.
Also Home Education, even autonomously like we do is damned hard work. If you don't go down the workbooks and GCSE route you still have to slog it out.
There is no financial help or pupil premium for home educated children (recently I just spend £150 on books and DVDs as my 9 yr old wants to be an astronomer and she is science mad), will she be able to afford the computer and internet access, will she be up to speed if there is a desire to return to school? It's not a cheap and easy option and really should be last resort if it is not a lifestyle choice like it is with us.
GCSE exams will have to be paid for (about £50 per subject) then there is actually sitting the exams and finding exam centres.
There is also keeping in touch with friends, believe me once you home educate or become home educated your former friends think that either you have gone posh, therefore won't speak to you or have dropped out, and won't speak to you.
Go out during a normal school day then there are truancy sweeps to deal with, questioning by shop workers etc and other people who's business it isn't. Then "professionals" will ask about the socialisation issue then there is the other risk.
A new Labour Government will ensure that you are monitored 24/7 keeping to strict curriculum and inspected without announcement, just like they wanted to before getting kicked out of office.

Child 1 btw is at a "small school" for which we pay £300 a term for, she is 13 and sits Latin GCSE next year! She is the only secondary age one we have. Child 2 goes in this September.

Agree you cannot rely on benefits if you make the decision to home educate.

Yes, home ed can be extremely hard work, but not necessarily. It does depend on what role you take and how you home ed.

There is financial help available, but I have found that you need to apply as a group for charitable aid, which will benefit a group of children, rather than on an individual basis.

Items can be ordered from libraries, rather than bought, and if you apply to a library for a home education card, you can keep the loan item for three months, renewing four times, so a total loan period of 12 months. There is also Amazon / Ebay and swap sessions organised by some home ed communities.

Some councils will fund both Maths and English GCSE. Sadly, ours don't, but, it does depend on area. Some are a lot more pro HE than others.

Mathletics are offering a reduced cost to home edders, plus I've found that when organising group activities, many places will offer school rates.

As with anything, HE can be as expensive or as cheap as you can make it.

Children don't have to take GCSEs and can wait until they go to college at 16. It isn't compulsory, but, if the council do not fund Maths and English, then yes, the cost of sitting exams will come down to the parents / family, if their children opt in to taking the exams.

With regards friends, it isn't necessarily the case that friends become former and will no longer speak to you once you are home educated. My children no longer keep in touch with many of the children they were at school with [this happens anyway, when children move up from primary, or when leaving high school. You don't keep in touch with everyone you share a class with], and there are a couple of friends who they often spent time with but no longer see since coming out of school. However, they do keep in touch and regularly see friends who still attend school, so they haven't lost contact with everyone. They have also made many many more friends during our time home edding

If you go out on a normal school day when there are trauncy sweeps, you can carry a home education card that explains why you are out of school and that you are legally entitled to do so. HEAS have a card scheme which gives the family name and a number where the education welfare officer can contact them, quote the number and HEAS will confirm that the family are known home educators.

You can also give your details to the EWO and, if you are known to the authority, it is easy for them to check. By law, once you tell them that the child is home educated, they should allow you on your way. We haven't come across a trauncy sweep yet, but do carry a HEAS and a home ed card if we are stopped.

When out and about, some people do ask why the children are not in school. I haven't found it an issue and they are often interested in HE. Many don't ask, but I personally don't see it as an issue if they do. Plus, I am very vocal about HE and am happy to discuss it. Of course, others aren't and it could be an issue if you don't want the continual questions.

I was relieved when Labour dropped their HE plans. It was a very worrying time for Home Ed. You are right. If they get back into power, they may well focus once again on changing home ed laws. Many people put a lot of work into campaigning against the proposed law changes and, hopefully, the issue may not resurface, but there is a good chance it will

Socialisation will also be raised time and again. My girls have a rather hectic social calendar and the social side has not been an issue for us, but it was my major concern when I bought the girls out of school and is something the OP's daughter needs to consider if they are more isolated.

I enjoyed reading your comments starchild. It goes to show that even those who home ed will have different views on how life as a home edder is.

On a final note, I do agree about home ed being a lifestyle change - that often happens and you become deeply involved in the community and everything going on. Plus, for us, HE isn't situated in a 9am - 3.15pm time frame, Monday to Friday.

It doesn't have to be that way, and there are families who stick to both school curriculum and school timetable. As with anything, different ways of doing things will work for different families and no two home ed families will always follow the same route.

Good luck to your DD with her Latin GCSE. My two are hoping to sit their Japanese GCSE next year

Arg

GlasweJen wrote: »

I think it's an issue for all parents. I'm sure we would all love to send our kids to private school or be paid to stay at home and educate them ourselves. The reality is that there is only so much money in the pot, the government pay for the basic package (state school) if you want a premium package (private ed) or a custom build package (home ed) then you need to self finance.

It's not a vendetta against single parenting, it's about wanting what you can't afford and turning your nose up at what's available.

I'm sure anyone would turn their nose up at a turd. If the government can throw money at universities then obviously there is enough in the pot.

bestpud

pipkin71 wrote: »

Items can be ordered from libraries, rather than bought, and if you apply to a library for a home education card, you can keep the loan item for three months, renewing four times, so a total loan period of 12 months. There is also Amazon / Ebay and swap sessions organised by some home ed communities.


Good luck to your DD with her Latin GCSE. My two are hoping to sit their Japanese GCSE next year

That's interesting about the library card, Pipkin. Is that a national thing as I can't see anything on my local library website. They offer that service for schools so do most libraries allow home educators to do the same?

As for Japanese GCSEs - I didn't even know they existed! Are they going to a tutor for that?

pipkin71

bestpud wrote: »

That's interesting about the library card, Pipkin. Is that a national thing as I can't see anything on my local library website. They offer that service for schools so do most libraries allow home educators to do the same?

As for Japanese GCSEs - I didn't even know they existed! Are they going to a tutor for that?

I've heard of quite a few issuing the library card, bestpud - it's the same one as they issue schools - but I can't say 100% that every area in the UK will issue it. It's a case of asking, I guess.

Yes, DDs have been going to a Japanese tutor for over a year now We have spoken about them going for their GCSE and they are cerainly working towards that level

Hope things are going well for you

janninew

It would be interesting to see how well children who have been HE do in their GCSE's compared to school educated children (just for my own interest really!) I work in a secondary school and when I see the GCSE maths papers for example, I wouldn't have a clue how to teach children the equations etc! I can't think of anything worse than being stuck at home for years with my children day in, day out. My point of view is adults should be at work and children should be in school with their peers (just my own opinion of course!!)