Home Educating and working

[FireAngel]

Hi I am new here and have recently decided to home educate my 14 year old - yes I am not sure what a DS, or DC is but I'm sure someone will let me know lol. I have the template letter for the deregistration and intend on writing it today and sending it in- however I'm not sending him into the PRU ( due to his anxieties he has a AS diagnosis and has been there since september no SAO). They focus on attendance above everything so I am a little worried about today.
The main reason for this post is I would like to know what others do about work? Is it possible to have a job and HE and how does it work for you??

[Pendipidy]

I don't think you can. How can you educate your child at home if you are not there?

[FireAngel]

I will shortly be a single mom just wondering how this would work with the current issues surrounding work etc

[FireAngel]

Wondering whether I would be forced to work??

[Kyrptonite]

Yes you would have to look for work otherwise anyone could claim to be doing HE to get out of looking for a job.

If you have a partner could you maybe work evenings/weekends somewhere?

[Messandmayhem]

You can work and HE your child. What hours do you work? Learning occurs all the time, and you can do any structured stuff you want to do during your days off / evening etc. Other family members can help, you don't have to do it alone. I think how well it works depends on how you want to do things. Do you want structured education? Or do you want to go the unschooling route? You don't have to be there for your child to learn, education is not one person pouring knowledge into another, education is nurturing and facilitating a learning environment. Your child will learn all by themselves and they will learn with joy and enthusiasm if they are focusing upon something they enjoy and are interested in.
Good luck!

[throckenholt]

Best to ask that question on the HE sites.

this might help.

[FireAngel]

Thank you very much I have had a look at the link provided and it is pretty much what I thought which is ok too. I am looking forward to this new challenge greatly and I am absolutely sure that my son will bloom :)

[FionaJNicholson]

Hi

I'm not allowed to link to my website which is called edyourself but if you google single parents home education I modestly think that you will get lots of useful stuff. (Other people can link for me, I just can't post the url for something I wrote. Apparently. )

[Melpomene]

When you say "wondering whether I would be forced to work", do you mean you are wondering whether if you claim benefits you will have to look for work?

If your son's AS/anxiety issues are severe enough for him to qualify for middle rate disability living allowance care component then you could potentially claim carers allowance, possibly topped up with income support, and then you wouldn't have to look for work if you don't want to. Might be worth getting advice about this from a CAB if you haven't already.

[maggi]

Yes you can work provided you can find a safe place for your ds (dear son).{dc=dear child/children, dd=darling daughter or something very similar I have always supposed}

You can do any formal work you plan to do at any time; weekends, eves, school hols, it just doesn't matter. There is definitely no requirement for children to be taught at set times.

You will just have to be certain that you will have enough energy left after a working day to begin formal lessons. I am assuming that you do wish to do formal lessons because of course there is no requirement for you to do that.

There are childminders who look after older children but they will charge a fee, some of which you may be able to claim back through tax credits. You can pay to get a tutor in.

ps - I work from home as a childminder so can home ed easily, though I can't get to as many home ed groups as I'd like because of this.

[Saracen]

Congratulations FireAngel! I'm really glad that you are looking forward to home educating your son and hope that both of you will enjoy it!!

With respect to work, one option popular among HE parents is to do some type of self employment which is compatible with looking after your son.