Refusing to homeschool

[SonicTheSorryRabbit]

Curious about this...

How many parents have simply decided that they're not doing homeschooling? Either because they're wfh and can't balance that with homeschooling or because it's too much for their kids and making them miserable?

If you're not homeschooling, (i) are you getting a hard time from the school?; and (ii) what are your kids doing instead?

YABU - we're homeschooling.

YANBU - we never started/we've given up.

Quote fail! Was trying to agree with opening statement but way it posted makes it seem like I disagree.

Could someone actually quote relevant legislation that could form the basis of prosecuting a parent for not homeschooling when schools aren't accepting kids? I'm curious tbh. Parents have a duty to send kids to school but I'm not aware of them having a duty to homeschool if the schools aren't able to receive the kids.

Every child has the right to an education.

The Government must ensure that educational systems are available in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of all children of school age. The law in England imposes a duty on Local Authorities (LA) to ensure that education is available to each child.
tbinternet.ohchr.org › GBRPDF
The Right to Education in England - UN Treaty Body Database

@lancrelady80 you can pretty much say f it. I think an issue here is that schools think they have a lot of jurisdiction over parents but they don't have any. Whether a local authority has any jurisdiction is different, but I'd say as so few local authority workers are key workers, even getting the data on which parents that applies to is dependent on whether someone is taking carers leave to homeschool or saying f it and working.

@oblada

Could someone actually quote relevant legislation that could form the basis of prosecuting a parent for not homeschooling when schools aren't accepting kids? I'm curious tbh. Parents have a duty to send kids to school but I'm not aware of them having a duty to homeschool if the schools aren't able to receive the kids.

The relevant legislation has already been posted on this thread - I think by sonypony

Surely everyone is. Mine try to get on with it alone but I obviously look at what they've done, answer questions and help with what they need help with when I get in from work. Got in yday at half 5 and was doing homework my youngest until half 7 it was shit but needs must. Yes we got takeaway.

Governments duty are bestowed into parents. They become the duty bearers.
It’s nonsense to ignore it. Just get on with it the best you can.

@Lemmeout government/local government/ anyone can't delegate statutory duty, especially to struggling families!

I’m not sure if we are failing or not then. DC is Year 4. No live or audio/video recorded lessons from school - just class PowerPoints uploaded. Or a comprehension work sheet. Daily zoom to explain PowerPoints, which is something. However, we have opted out on the basis that the learning is not fit for purpose. For example, a lot of the PowerPoints do not provide answers for the Maths questions because in school the teacher would write them on the board. DH is teaching DS two hours or so using Maths and English workbooks and Bitesize. Having read this thread, I feel a bit guilty now.

I find the scaremongering on this thread extremely unhelpful to families like mine, with an adopted DD who is freaking out about being abandoned by school and not engaging with any work.

Thanks! Found it - so 'in whatever way they can' - so if parents are both working and unable to engage with homeschooling they just can't. End up story. There is no bloody chance of any successful prosecution on the basis of those wordings, especially given the current context. No chance in hell. I'd even question the validity of this amendment to section 444 and the associated reading of section 7. As parents we are perfectly entitled to delegate education duties to schools. The Education Act 1996 never planned for the situation that we are currently in and parents cannot be suddenly given duties they didn't have before. Anyway, to threaten legal action is pointless and scaremongering.

@FoxyTheFox

So parents can get a school place for their DC simply by refusing to do any homeschooling?

Escalation process is that school will phone home and speak to the parent(s) and child to discuss what the issues are and why they're doing no/little/substandard work. If its something that can be resolved then they'll work to resolve it, if it can't be resolved then the child will be offered a place in school and school will recommend that the place is used.

My eldest DC is really struggling. DH is helping as much as he can be it's a frustrating and difficult process for both of them. I'm a keyworker working out of the home. I've never asked for a KW space because DC can be looked after by DH at home. But right now, I would love the school to suggest DS attends because it would be the best thing for everyone

@oblada

Thanks! Found it - so 'in whatever way they can' - so if parents are both working and unable to engage with homeschooling they just can't. End up story. There is no bloody chance of any successful prosecution on the basis of those wordings, especially given the current context. No chance in hell. I'd even question the validity of this amendment to section 444 and the associated reading of section 7. As parents we are perfectly entitled to delegate education duties to schools. The Education Act 1996 never planned for the situation that we are currently in and parents cannot be suddenly given duties they didn't have before. Anyway, to threaten legal action is pointless and scaremongering.

It also states that legislation that allows for penalty notices against parents has been suspended

"relieving the burden on local authorities with respect
to investigation and decision making under sections 444A and 444B,
freeing up resources to meet the other needs that arise as a result of the
incidence or transmission of coronavirus."

Ie. they won't be investigating or prosecuting parents because they are busy with Covid stuff.

[quote 2021isthenew2020]@sonypony is correct in that currently the law puts the requirement onto schools to provide remote learning, but there is no legal obilgation for parents to engage with it, as long as they are providing "a suitable education in whatever way they can". Penalty notices for attendance (including remotely) have been disapplied, so no parent will be fined for this.

@ReginaPhalangee is incorrect, and has been given incorrect info by her SMT/LA.[/quote]
All of this. The legal duty at present is for schools to provide remote education but there is no legal duty on parents to provide access to that, just that they provide education in some way.

@FoxyTheFox

So parents can get a school place for their DC simply by refusing to do any homeschooling?

Escalation process is that school will phone home and speak to the parent(s) and child to discuss what the issues are and why they're doing no/little/substandard work. If its something that can be resolved then they'll work to resolve it, if it can't be resolved then the child will be offered a place in school and school will recommend that the place is used.

If this is the case, watch everyone refuse to home school to get their 'vulnerable' child in to school.....

@Rainallnight

I find the scaremongering on this thread extremely unhelpful to families like mine, with an adopted DD who is freaking out about being abandoned by school and not engaging with any work.

Exactly! This was my point earlier to @ReginaPhalangee who as a teacher I feel should know better than to make such a statement on a thread clearly full of anxious parents whose Mh is on the brink at the moment trying to parent/homeschool and work!

I don't believe any of it and I know for certain ds school won't be following up if little work is done they already said at the start do what you can

Also realising we are 10 pages in and this point will have been made...

It's absolutely INSANE that there would be W consequence over home learning.

Surely that's only if a school lolsace was offered and not taken up too? And other issues?

Sorry I should have read through! If that's not even true what a thing to scare people with - I should hope it gets removed.

This thread has got to me. So stupid that any action should/would be taken against families in these circumstances.

My Ds’s school has been great.

Some days I do
Some days I literally can’t ! There must be other 10 hour shift single parents like me ?

@Dogsaresomucheasier that is how dc is allowed in school. (and sen) it is a good thing. except dc is not in school for 9 days or so now... I am so pleased dc could go in. But we were working with school before and sending in anything I managed to get dc to do remotely educational.

@tootiredtospeak

This is nonsense or you must be referring to secondary. All of the primary schools in our area are not offering any live lessons nothing interactive at all. It is simply a suggestion weekly of what topics you might wish to cover and a request that you upload a couple of pics to class dojo. In no way is this monitored and there could not be any repercussions. The teachers dont have any ide who is doing what. I am working at home and am managing to do a few hours a day split between schools suggestions bitsize and other practical stuff like baking ect. We haven't uploaded anything. I simply dont have time and no one has checked up on my child. I am online with parents from all our locals schools and they are all the same. There will be children they check up on but simply not sending staged photos of your child working isn't going to land any of us in trouble. There is no tangible way of monitoring correctly what is being done.

My daughter is in year R. We have at least one live lesson a day.

I upload every piece of work she physically does - or photos of her doing work, like experiments. I get a response to EVERY piece of work uploaded or emailed, without exception. Her teachers are incredible; they’ve worked incredibly hard. I’m working part time and, most days, still covering the lessons into the evening to get everything finished.

The teachers know exactly who is doing what - your local school sound, quite frankly, a bit shit.

There's lots of assumptions on this thread that all schools are doing live lessons. My yr2 DS is getting a full day's work set every day and no live lessons at all. Parents working from home would really struggle as much of it needs to be supported/directed.

@Rainallnight

I find the scaremongering on this thread extremely unhelpful to families like mine, with an adopted DD who is freaking out about being abandoned by school and not engaging with any work.

My DD missed a year of school due to serious illness (missed year 2, was in year 3 when lockdown began and is now in year 4) and she felt very similarly last time. She cried and cried and I was completely inadequate at teaching her (I said earlier in the thread that I overcomplicate my explanations and it just overwhelms her further). After a few weeks she refused to engage with anything school related at all.

This time they have 3 live hours a day and it’s much easier/better. She can see the other home learning kids on zoom and ask for (appropriate, expert!) help when she needs it.

I really sympathise with what you are going through - I wish I could offer some practical solutions but obviously everything is so varied from school to school - still, wanted to let you know that you are not alone. Home learning is a very mixed bag and really doesn’t work well for some kids.
If I were in your shoes and could get a school place I would totally take it -if you can’t get one I hope school are at least being understanding about it.

Hope you find a way forward (me and DD ceremoniously dumped all the unfinished summer term worksheets in the recycling bin, humming ‘Taps’, which helped enormously!)