To wonder what else can be done to break the cycle of generations living off benefits?

[Allonthesametrain]

Sounds harsh because It is. As a former teacher, then eduation social worker, now the past few years more heavily involved with school attendance.

My desire has always been to help children from unprivileged backgrounds to know their worth and achieve the best they can and this has been my career from age 23 to 57.

The number of times I've cried, torn my hair out, is immeasurable. I and colleagues have gone above and beyond to support the families, genuinely care about them, but unfortunately the outcome has been, as I've said in title, it's a continiation of the cycle of being brought up within a small community and low expectations.

So many gorgeous kids (supported throughout their young lives until they leave school) who tell you their dreams of what they want to to achieve in life, we do everything we can to enable it and some have indeed broken out of the circle but unfortunately the reality has been...

Parents who live lifestyles of no bedtime routine, tell their kids not to come back before ...pm, sleep in and don't get them out of bed ready and fed for school and as for weekends, pub and take back a new bloke

Parents who have issues themselves and project them onto DC. The kids soon realise they can stay off school for feigning illness and would actually be a comfort to Mum

The parents who just cba and say shall we just still in bed?

Of course there are so many other mitigating factors but these are the 3 main experiences we've dealt with. Unfortunately it really does come down to poor parenting and no matter what interventions we do to encourage attendance, only a minority are genuine.

So the cycle...DC think education isn't important, parents are hopeless role models and can often be aggressive to teachers, a deflection of blame.

Then oh DD gets pregnant at age 15, DS has been reprimanded by the police for scooting around in a balaclava. Then pure hostility when we try to continue to talk to them and what could be done to help.

Basically it's just such a shame, these sweet young kids who say they want to be ... become so influenced by their homelife, a need to fit in with their family and peers from the same estate, that they ignore the support we give them, don't turn up to appointments etc.

For the genuine cases, DC with SEN, the effort to try and ensure they are in best place is utmost and it's heartbreaking there aren't enough of them. Yes, we do know genuine cases and not just so many parents striving for a diagnosis because they feed DC a terrible diet and let them stay up late so are tired and irritable at school.

Expecting some backlash, whatever anyone says I can reason with.

What does it matter? Nothing wrong with sole trader work.

No there isn't. But if you earn over a certain amount it has to be declared to HMRC

And? Yes you have to register for vat over the threshold but you need to declare earnings anyway so it’s no biggie. It really isn’t rocket science.

If someone goes and advertises work. They would be very wise to stay on UC until they are making enough money to come off benefits fully.

@BuildbyNumbere

Of course it is. My own brother has made a great living out of being a plasterer. My point was, that when I said my son will most probably do A-Levels I had to contend with silence… it was uncomfortable.

It is laughable to think they can set up a business as a sole trader and have a load of customers in the space of a week. A childminder would need DBS for starters.
Personally, I would be using the services of companies already well established and with a good reputation, especially if they were coming into my home.

You need to declare earnings over 1k in a tax year

If you go self employed and are on UC, you have a year to make it so you earn enough to live on. Otherwise they tell you that you are not gainfully self-employed, and will have to find employment via other means.

No, just don’t go on it in the first place. Any idiot would realise if you go on that it’s going to be very difficult to come off it again.

Oh, my. 😂

(And that's coming from someone who is self-employed and actually knows what's involved.)

As I said, you register as sole trader, submit earnings for income tax and register VAT if needed. Not hard.

You’re right but it’s to try and help poorer people access culture e.g museums, art galleries, theatre etc. I’m not sure what the actual uptake is but those arenas are still incredibly middle class

Yes it’s good that that museums and theatre offer cut price to families not only on UC but other benefits too

Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that looks after key landmarks including the Tower of London and Kensington Palace.
It offers tickets for just £1 if you receive Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, or Jobseeker’s Allowance.
You can take up to six people from your household, and only one needs to show supporting documents.

It would be interesting to know what the take up was as quite a few places offer reduced access costs and it’s good value.

Sometimes there is no choice. You can't live off fresh air.

What?! I’ve been self employed 10 years. I can’t see why you’re arguing about it. I see enterprising people in my business - I also see the people who can’t be bothered and achieve nothing. The difference between them is attitude and nothing else.

and the customer base to sell the products or services too,

What are people supposed to do if they lose a job? By the way what you aren't grasping is that sometimes people need the safety net of UC when they are a starting a business. Or when they are working zero hours and aren't getting enough hours. Why would it be difficult to come off UC if someone's business was doing well?

I was a sole trader for ten years. I do know the rules

ok, you need money. You post on a local Facebook group and say you’re a cleaner and have a few slots this week, I guarantee you would get work instantly.

100% agree

Its unbelievable isn't it she also thought people should move house with no income.

Have you heard of being self employed?

Yes … called self assessment

You need money for cleaning supplies. Maybe even a car.
I would not be having an unknown person in my home. I would want someone already established and has reviews and a good reputation.

Because it’s dependency and any dependency is hard to break. You don’t have the fire in you because you know you have money coming in. So the incentive is there to go easy, take a morning off etc. You need to be all in to build a successful business. I myself would rather clean toilets than accept hand outs for this very reason. And I’ve done some terrible jobs in my time!

My husband is self employed and makes an excellent living … advertise, advertise, advertise and work your arse off 🤷🏻‍♀️