17 year old quitting college

bettydaviseyes

My 17 year old daughter has announced that she is not going back to college in September due to her anxiety and mental health.  That is fine and I will support her with this.  I currently claim tax credits and wpa so will lose a fair chunk of income if she does not go back.  Although I had planned for this happening next year I had not planned or accounted for losing this income this year.  She has said that she would like to do online learning though.  My question is does anyone know if I could continue to claim for her final year if she did an online course?  I have increased my hours at work to the maximum they can give me (done in preparation for next year) and I do have savings so thankfully if needs be will see us through.

poppy12345

This would be classed as home education and this must have started before they reach 16, if it srats after 16 it only applies if they are special needs. See link. https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-16-19

McKneff

Is there anything stopping her from getting a job to help out with household finances and possibly doing on line learning 

pmlindyloo

If you are in England then there is a requirement that a 'child' continues in some kind of education/training until they are 18.

Having said that I do not believe that this is enforced?

However, I am wondering if your daughter's college have been helpful in this situation as regards your daughter's future.

I do not know about your daughter's anxiety and mental health and whether this is anything to do with her attending college or whether the college is aware of her mental health issues.

It may be worth speaking to the college and seeing if they can recommend some support/some on line study etc.

Much depends on the the mental health issues involved.  

Is her doctor involved?

It is also possible that certain benefits may be available for your daughter but this is difficult to ascertain without knowing the full extent of her illness.

gwynlas

Your daughter may need your help to address the issues regarding her anxiety and mental health but attendance at college and completing her course is probably going to be better for her in the long run. You can speak to your GP, social services and CAMHS to find out what help she can access locally.

bettydaviseyes

Thank you.  My daughter is currently undergoing CBT recommended by the GP, she has had some private counselling in the past which did not help her.  We have spoken with the College and have explained everything with them and they are being supportive and say she is doing really well and can see real potential for her.  They also say they can look at putting things in place to help her in September and I believe they will.  She says she wont be going back in September though so I have to be supportive. 

sheramber

Are you in England?

School leaving age is different in  other parts of the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/know-when-you-can-leave-school

perfect10

Some adult education centres have 16-18 programmes and this year there has been a lot done online. Is there a local careers service as they will help identify options. City councils sometimes have different funding for smaller provision which can be more therapeutic. It all depends where you live? Also will depend on the level of study.

bettydaviseyes

We are in the UK.  The college she attends in our area is also adult education so a no go.  There is a careers service which we could contact but she has zero confidence and is struggling around people.  Online would be great for her but now everything is opening up colleges are wanting to get back to students being in class for their “wellbeing”. The Only online learning I can see is very expensive.  My hope is that CBT will have eventually have  a positive effect and come September she will be more positive about finishing college.  

poppy12345

bettydaviseyes said:

We are in the UK.

Yes but that doesn't help because Wales and Scotland have different rules to England. As advised, if you live in England then a young person must remain in some kind of education/training until they reach 18. Although for child benefit/tax credits to continue then it depends what exactly she's doing regarding eduction. See my first link and it tells you what types of approved education/training.

Robbie64

bettydaviseyes said:

We are in the UK.  The college she attends in our area is also adult education so a no go.  There is a careers service which we could contact but she has zero confidence and is struggling around people.  Online would be great for her but now everything is opening up colleges are wanting to get back to students being in class for their “wellbeing”. The Only online learning I can see is very expensive.  My hope is that CBT will have eventually have  a positive effect and come September she will be more positive about finishing college.  

The only problem with online learning / education regarding continuing payment of Child Benefit and all related payments such as Child Tax Credit and WPA / BA is that the minimum requirement for being classed as being in full time education (which is needed for those benefits and tax credits) is that there must be a minimum of 12 hours supervised study per week. This is usually done in a school / college setting although it can be done anywhere that is able to meet this requirement. The rules for home education are mentioned above. It would probably be best for you / your daughter to speak to the local careers service to see if there is a solution they can come up with. I'm sure they will have encountered this situation before. if they haven't, perhaps the local college will have.