Every Friday DS (16) does voluntary work at a working farm. He absolutely loves it there, and they offered to take him on after school finishes.
Initially I was told that a taxi would take him there and back (big relief to me as I can't currently afford to own a car), and that an NVQ would be tied to the work placement.
Last week I was informed that there would be no NVQ, just an unpaid work placement, and no transport provided. To get him to the farm would involve a 25 minute walk to the bus, a 30 minute bus journey, then walking through the countryside for the best part of an hour. In some places there are no footpaths and there are a few narrow 'one car' bridges with poor visibility. And the weather now is mild - what about the sun in August, foggy mornings, ice and snow? There is no way he could make the trip, he has only recently begun to walk back from school alone (25 minute walk, very familiar route), so I would have to get him there and back home. They offered me voluntary work on the farm as a solution instead of having me wander round the village for hours until the return journey.
The issue of whether it would be 'educational' is fudgey. The placement would cost £30 a day which the council will cover, but he will only be trained. Bus travel for DS and I will cost me £30 a week, and I assume Child Benefit would stop as it's an apprenticeship-style placement, not an approved course. So finances are a concern too.
DS really wants to work there, but he's also made it clear he can't imagine walking that distance alone at any point. I have a longterm problem with my knee and I worry how it would stand up to two hours of walking everyday, plus the day of farm work inbetween! (Also, I currently claim Income Support - am I even allowed to volunteer four days a week? I have to find that out.)
DS did not take GCSEs. I HE'd for three years, then he finally had enough confidence to go to hospital school for the last year, a small class with the same problems as ds. He has only come around to academic work in the last six months and has had a lot of praise from his teachers, particularly for his artwork. There may be a possibility for him to go to a college course called 'Preparing for life and work' but I may have left it too late to apply. I put all my eggs in the farm basket unfortunately.
He can't stay on at hospital school for a year and start to work towards GCSEs because even though he legally has to stay in education for another year (don't know where the farm fits in with that tbh) the school has no funding for 16 year olds.
This is keeping me awake at night. I feel upset I allowed myself to be led on for months with vague promises instead of having a Plan B/C/D in mind too. I'm toying with the idea of one more year of HE, then college if it's too late to apply. But DS has his heart set on the farm... I don't know what to do!