Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

why doesn't the gov pay the parents to home educate if they want to?

398 replies

tinselwreath · 26/12/2020 23:01

I just have a question as I'm curious what people think here since there is the obstacle of closing primary schools to keep virus numbers down.

Why doesn't the government offer the pupil funding to the parent instead? This could be completely voluntary but considering there is about £3750 attached to each primary school pupil, they could give this directly to parents at around £300+ per month for each child and not include this in universal credit calculation to make it more lucrative. Plenty of parents would probably choose not to send their children in and it would leave more space for rotas/social distancing for the parents who cannot take the pupil funding option instead. This shouldn't cost anymore money because it is simply taking the money that the school would receive and giving it to the parent.

OP posts:
MrsMiaWallis · 27/12/2020 10:12

Because loads of parents would be shit at it and just take the cash.

Next.

DontStopThinkingAboutTomorrow · 27/12/2020 10:12

There are some really feckless parents who would be delighted with an extra £300 a month, but wouldn't bother even buying their kid so much as a pencil with it.

Cocopogo · 27/12/2020 10:14

£300 per month Confused let’s hope you don’t plan to keep your DC home and teach them maths Hmm

DontStopThinkingAboutTomorrow · 27/12/2020 10:14

I do think parents should be allowed to pull their children for this next term and keep their place open for the summer term, though. If they want, no incentive needed.

SueEllenMishke · 27/12/2020 10:17

[quote BelleSausage]Here is some data that you might have missed.

www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/217-resources/58735-attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak-23-march-to-12-november-2020[/quote]
I've not missed that but that's not the point you were making.
You suggested that schools staying open f/t further disadvantaged those already disadvantaged/vulnerable young people.

Moving to a blended approach or closing schools widens disadvantage and this is more pronounced at primary level.
There was a reason reception and year 1 were targeted to return early. People assumed it was due to childcare but it wasn't just that.

EvilPea · 27/12/2020 10:20

I think there’s an argument for supported home learning for the children who are struggling with school post lockdown or the children who are clinically vulnerable.
So some sort of online school (more advanced oak academy) where each borough runs centralised classes for secondary subjects That cannot be taught at home e.g science lessons.
But no not paying parents to do it.

AwaAnBileYerHeid · 27/12/2020 10:21

@Posturesorposes

Hmmmmmmmmmm

First time poster

Provocative content

Winding people up

Christmas holidays on

Just saying.

The thing is, she isn't winding anyone up, people are just laughing at her 😂
BelleSausage · 27/12/2020 10:23

@SueEllenMishke

My point was that FT face to face has led to primarily kids from disadvantaged areas not being in school.

Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to ask employers to be flexible with WFH parents and priorities disadvantaged children with stable school places then just carrying on as we are.

My point is that this working well for you but absolutely not at all for a lot of different people. To pretend otherwise is shockingly short sighted.

SueEllenMishke · 27/12/2020 10:25

[quote BelleSausage]@SueEllenMishke

You mentioned ‘research’ first. Do you have any evidence to suggest that FT schooling in a pandemic is not more beneficial to children from MC households than children from WC households? I’m all ears.

The fact is that schools in Hull were so overcome by the pandemic that they couldn’t even offer key worker places. Is FT schooling working for those families?

You are suggesting that your employer cannot possibly be more flexible so the rest of us need to suck it up and suffer.

To allow your child to be in childcare FT (which is how you seem to be viewing schooling) you are fully prepared to:

  1. Ensure that at least three major sectors remain shut at the cost of thousands of jobs. For the R rate to come down it is now either/ or.
  2. Demand that the elderly and vulnerable remain inside and isolated OR die in huge numbers. Hey, it’s their choice, right?
  3. Insist that schooling work for everyone because you haven’t been affected and are blind to the issues caused to other families and children. But what does it matter if thousands of other children don’t get proper schooling and their parents can’t work if your life is being facilitated?[/quote] No that's not what I'm saying at all. We just clearly have opposing views. You want schools to shut / move online I really don't.

I fundamentally disagree with that approach for various reasons. Some personal but some relate to wider societal issues around inequality and disadvantage.

I'm also sick to the back teeth of people assuming wfh means flexibility- my job isn't the only one that offers limited flexibility. I'd love someone to offer a solution which would allow me to work and homeschool.

LynetteScavo · 27/12/2020 10:25

I think parents should be given the option to educate their DC at home for the rest of this academic year, or until Easter (depending on how h the virus plays out) while remaining enrolled in school. If parents choose this option schools should keep parents informed of what's being taught in scho but work shouldn't be marked, and teachers workload shouldn't be added to.

Schools should keep all of the funding to continue paying staff and to maintain the building.

Parents would have to declare their intention, they couldn't opt in and out, and certain parents would be exempt from being allowed home school, such as those where social services are involved.

nutmegofconsolation2 · 27/12/2020 10:27

OP is having a fucking stressful life and feels it is abandoned by the state to raise her DC. She's feeling overlooked, taken for granted, and fed up. And I don't blame her. So while her idea doesn't make rational sense, it does in that it would meet her perfectly reasonable need for recognition and inclusion.

Scumble · 27/12/2020 10:32

You'd only get £2712 in my county anyway. That's what our primary pupils are funded.

What a batshit thead.

maverickallthetime · 27/12/2020 10:32

Most schools have their act together and are teaching online. My children have had live lessons and work produced which they can easily access.

Also it's not as simple as halving the money. Schools need a certain number in a class to break even! In the school I teach in we had one year of really low reception classes. Too many to put in two classes but not really enough for three but the school had to pay for three teachers so the money in wasn't the money out.

Just shows you've no idea how schools work and how little money spare there is- they can't just hand it over 🙄

SueEllenMishke · 27/12/2020 10:34

Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to ask employers to be flexible with WFH parents and priorities disadvantaged children with stable school places then just carrying on as we are.

My employer has been incredibly flexible but the fact is I still have to teach timetabled lectures. They can't move these to accommodate homeschooling.

My point is that this working well for you but absolutely not at all for a lot of different people. To pretend otherwise is shockingly short sighted.

It's shockingly shortsighted to assume everyone wfh has the flexibility to homeschool and care for their children while working and to not understand the devastating impact this will have on women's participation in the labour market.

Blended learning is difficult to plan and assumes a high level of support and commitment from parents at home. There are so many parents who can't / won't offer that support.

BelleSausage · 27/12/2020 10:36

@SueEllenMishke

You’ve entirely misunderstood my points. I don’t want schools to close. I want them to go to rotas to reduce transmission with place priorities for key workers and disadvantaged kids.

I want parents to be given access to high quality online learning for those who want and need it.

And I want the bloody government to step up and arrange things in a way that isn’t a total unworkable shambles for all but the priviledged few.

That’s what I want. But I never said I wanted schools closed and completely online. There are families out there that want online. They should have the option.

Surely as a lecturer you are counted as a key worker and this is a moot point. Your kids would get a space in school.

FamilyOfAliens · 27/12/2020 10:38

@nutmegofconsolation2

OP is having a fucking stressful life and feels it is abandoned by the state to raise her DC. She's feeling overlooked, taken for granted, and fed up. And I don't blame her. So while her idea doesn't make rational sense, it does in that it would meet her perfectly reasonable need for recognition and inclusion.
Where did you get that from?

Her child / children have a diagnosis of autism, they have a final EHCP - it’s just the named school that is still undecided.

The OP seemed to have no idea about how to move this process on, despite there having clearly been a huge amount of support for her child / children in their early years setting.

I’ve known a child come from another school where they had support paid for directly from the previous school’s budget, rather than apply for an EHCP, so there was no written evidence of the impact of that support to feed into an application for an EHCP when the child’s family relocated and they came to our school, and we had to start from scratch.

Thankfully, with a very proactive Inclusion Team, we managed to get a final EHCP in place within 18 months. By then the child was in Year 5.

The OP has clearly worked with the nursery up to this point and together they’ve managed to get her child / children in the system way before many others do. And for some reason she has now suddenly given up.

But she’s had lots of useful advice on here about who to contact for support and how to go about getting her child / children back into school.

BelleSausage · 27/12/2020 10:39

And I do get it. It is hard work. I taught a full timetable online over lockdown while looking after a 4 year old on my own- DH is an engineer and had about 3 weeks of furlough before they called him back in. So I do know it’s tough.

I would be in a similar position to you should it come to rotas. I would have a reception child to find care for while I was in school teaching.

It isn’t easy. But the answer is not to pretend that full time school opening hasn’t caused massive collateral damage.

Trackandtrace · 27/12/2020 10:42

The government and LAs have been threatening families with fines through the pandemic if theydont aend their children. Removing the threat of fines would mean those who can and would prefer to have children at home during this time could do so.

SueEllenMishke · 27/12/2020 10:42

Surely as a lecturer you are counted as a key worker and this is a moot point. Your kids would get a space in school.

I wasn't last time. Plus both parents had to be key workers to attend our school and DH has less chance of being considered a key worker than me.

We can both wfh but are busier than we've ever been and under a lot of pressure. My students are paying thousands of pounds to attend my course and they don't care that I've got childcare issues. I'm the only person at my university who teacher my subject so a rota approach wouldn't work.
The time between March and September nearly broke me.

Hoppinggreen · 27/12/2020 10:44

I would support this as long as I get £300 per month per child towards Private school fees as well

WunWun · 27/12/2020 10:46

Where do you think the money will come from? It's tied up in the buildings and wages etc. Firing teachers and selling up the properties seems a bit... permanent don't you think? I don't think there is cash just lying around for this. I mean even if it wasn't a fucking stupid idea anyway.

FamilyOfAliens · 27/12/2020 10:50

@Trackandtrace

The government and LAs have been threatening families with fines through the pandemic if theydont aend their children. Removing the threat of fines would mean those who can and would prefer to have children at home during this time could do so.
It has also been widely reported that child protection cases have soared during the pandemic. While I disagree with fining, having the LA work with the school to monitor children who are not attending school, for whatever reason, has to be a priority.

In amongst the children being educated at home (whose parents surely wouldn’t object to cooperating with the LA if it meant more children being kept safe?) will be children who are being abused at home and being kept off so no-one knows.