Flexi schooling

[Edenviolet]

How does this work? Is it just 'part time' school?

Considering it for dd2 but not sure how it would work as I'm worried she would miss out on too much.

[morethanpotatoprints]

Hello Hedgehog

Yes it is like pt school. Unless I am mistaken it is difficult to have this agreed now. Some people did see it as their dc were missing out on certain aspects that included group work.
Have you considered H.ed as an alternative to school?

[slowcomputer]

there was a long thread on here by someone who got agreement to take her daughter out every Wednesday afternoon, but it was reception so don't know how easy it would be in older years.

[Edenviolet]

Dd2 is due to start reception in September. Due to medical problems I'm anticipating some difficulties and have been considering our options.
We have apples for a statement so dd can have a 1:1 but if we don't get that I need to think about what is best for her.

I think she will love school as she is very sociable but I can't see her managing full time and I was thinking about flexi schooling, perhaps half days initially. I'm not sure.

[Edenviolet]

I don't think I could home ed dd. I am so busy with other dcs that I'm not sure I would be able to teach her properly myself.

[fluffycarpets]

It's very hard to do this anymore.

If the children are older than compulsory school age... their absence can now affect attendance statistics (as i understand it, the kids are no longer automatically registered as 'educated off site') and also results in part-time funding for the child. So technically legal... but the school has absolutely no incentive to do it.

My daughter was flexi-schooled for one term... but that is because it was mid-year and so the funding for the year had already been fixed. It was also at a time when absencescould be recorded as 'educated off site' and therefore did not affect overall attendance statistics.

If children are under five, part-time attendance can be authorised without affecting funding or attendance (absences for children under five do not count towards attendance statistics). But this is not technically flexi-schooling.

I'm sure someone on the home-ed forum will have more accurate information.

[BellBottomBlues]

It is very hard to arrange because the Department for Education changed the way flexi schooling is recorded so that it adversely affects a school's attendance figures, on which the school is assessed by OFSTED.

Children's Minister Edward Timpson MP has spoken positively of Flexi Schooling - here - for example:

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/407816/Students-flock-to-part-time-primary-offering-flexi-schooling-for-home-educated-children

so I'd encourage you to contact him on [email protected]

In an email I've received from his representative I was told:

"the current attendance guidance is still under review and I cannot say whether any changes will result, and on what timescale, but you can be assured that this is a matter which is still under consideration."

Since then my emails have been ignored, so the more people who email the better.