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

[tinselwreath]

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.

[quote FamilyOfAliens]www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/surge-in-domestic-child-abuse-during-pandemic-reports-specialist-uk-childrens-hospital/[/quote]
That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I also read somewhere that online child sex abuse soared during the initial part of the pandemic when many people were home more world wide.

It does scare me that so many children are vulnerable at home.

Also makes me sad that while my children were having a whale of a time playing in the pool over summer and making crafts, others were living in fear.

@psychomath

A thread so mental it's got everyone on the Coronavirus board in unanimous agreement. And on the topic of schools, no less. It took nine months, but we got there

@tinselwreath

I don't want schools to shut, however, there are too many students in the buildings and it is unfair to pay the school when the parents are actually doing the work if the schools close.

Unfair? Are you 12?? Yes, those dreadful selfish schools reaping mad profits whilst poor parents are at home parenting for FREE!!!! It's not fair.

I think what it basically boils down to is that @tinselwreath is unhappy that her children don’t have the place at school she wants, she’s very anti school and therefore feels she’s entitled to be paid to home educate her children. Get real @tinselwreath, you’ve provided no logical and reasonable discussions to support your views. Not sure I’ve ever seen a thread with so many people all saying the same thing bar one and that’s you. You’re bowing out of the thread because you’ve realised you’re talking utter nonsense.

I think what it basically boils down to is that @tinselwreath is unhappy that her children don’t have the place at school she wants, she’s very anti school and therefore feels she’s entitled to be paid to home educate her children

Or bored with the holidays and thought joining MN would be fun.

"I think what it basically boils down to is that @tinselwreath is unhappy that her children don’t have the place at school she wants, she’s very anti school and therefore feels she’s entitled to be paid to home educate her children"

Her children don't have a place at an appropriate school. It has been legally agreed that they need special school but as yet they haven't been given a place. Those who don't have children with sen can think of it as their 5 year old being put into a secondary school class and being told that will have to do.
I don't agree with OP's argument but her own situation re schools is shit and other people who have never experienced there being no provision for their child are likely to have little understanding of it.

@Butstilltheycome

"I think what it basically boils down to is that *@tinselwreath* is unhappy that her children don’t have the place at school she wants, she’s very anti school and therefore feels she’s entitled to be paid to home educate her children"

Her children don't have a place at an appropriate school. It has been legally agreed that they need special school but as yet they haven't been given a place. Those who don't have children with sen can think of it as their 5 year old being put into a secondary school class and being told that will have to do.
I don't agree with OP's argument but her own situation re schools is shit and other people who have never experienced there being no provision for their child are likely to have little understanding of it.

Yes absolutely, but this situation was the case before covid and will continue to be the case long after covid unless the millions of people who have suddenly discovered there are vulnerable SEN children struggling at school decide to support SEN parents with their fight for more provision and more specialist school places. It us a totally separate issue to Covid, but it has been co-opted by people who see it as an opportunity to argue their own agenda.

I agree but some posters need to rein in the personally directed unpleasantness. Admittedly there has been drip feeding but on reading all the posts it is clear the OP is not trolling and people can disagree with what she says without being arseholes unless they are trolling themselves.

@Butstilltheycome

I agree but some posters need to rein in the personally directed unpleasantness. Admittedly there has been drip feeding but on reading all the posts it is clear the OP is not trolling and people can disagree with what she says without being arseholes unless they are trolling themselves.

I’m sure she’s not trolling too.

But she’s posted more than her fair share of “lols” about how Mumsnet is clearly a cult because people don’t agree with her idea.

I always think don’t dish it out if you can’t take it back at you.

@Butstilltheycome
don't agree with OP's argument but her own situation re schools is shit and other people who have never experienced there being no provision for their child are likely to have little understanding of it.
I have been in that exact situation so I totally understand. Her ideas are still totally batshit.

Those who don't have children with sen can think of it as their 5 year old being put into a secondary school class and being told that will have to do.

That’s not at all what it’s like. Even if the class is not right for her child, it wouldn’t be composed of children ten years older than them.

@tinselwreath why the hell should you be paid for educating YOUR OWN child?! If that's not a grabby concept I don't know what is.

@tinselwreath

I don't want schools to shut, however, there are too many students in the buildings and it is unfair to pay the school when the parents are actually doing the work if the schools close.

The teachers would be the ones setting out the scheme of work and providing the remote teaching resources, the parents would be supervising this - possibly adding additional help.

You have absolutely no concept of the difference between remote learning and home education. You have no concept of the role a teacher has in providing education, do you think the work appears by magic?

@tinselwreath

I never said force people to home educate, I said give them the option. This makes sense when you consider you can't socially distance in schools and there are plenty of parents who have been made redundant in 2020 who deserve to be paid for doing the vast majority of work.

Parents aren't doing the vast majority of the work.

I'd like you to outline how you have come to this conclusion please.

@Notnowokay

They should furlough the teachers and offer it automatically to parents who cannot find suitable child care for their children.

Not threaten parents who want to keep their children at home with fines. I personally know lot of parents who don’t want to lose their children place at school but don’t want to get fined and possibly taken to court.

Remove the stick and watch the amount of school children who physically attend reduce automatically.

Well yes, with the teachers furloughed the number of students would presumably need to reduce to zero?

Even if some chose to stay, not all employers can afford to furlough staff - so many businesses are struggling already and there are still costs for furloughed staff, plus you then have to try to sort out a replacement (who will.cost more) or do less business. Some of the points on here around 'employers need to be more flexible' clearly either work in the public sector or in large or covid-secure companies where this is even possible.

And like many many others have said, there are some who would keep vulnerable children home, and many many others who would take their kids out with the best of intentions to home educate but actually do very little.

Lovely!! I send my kids to private school... do you think the Gov will give me ££££ ? I'm not using the state services. I have also used private health care for all of my non emergency operations, you don't suppose I will get a tax rebate do you??

So a vulnerable abused child who has a degree of respite at school and gets a education, becomes a cash cow for parents who don't have either the ability nor willingness to educate their child.

Meanwhile, schools become defunded further as they recieve funding based partly on the number of children they have registered with them, which means that they have to do the same for the kids left, but with less resources.

Yep, cracking well thought out idea there OP.

You should run for parliament. You'd be a shoe in.

"That’s not at all what it’s like. Even if the class is not right for her child, it wouldn’t be composed of children ten years older than them."

It's putting them in a class that is completely unsuitable for them and yes it could be as unsuitable as putting a typical 5 year old in a class with 12 year olds. It isn't just about age it's about everything else that contributes to the child's sen such as sensory issues that make the child physically distressed because of the number of other children and noise of the classroom or distressed because no one with them properly understands them and what they are trying to communicate as they may be non verbal and many more reasons.

I never said force people to home educate, I said give them the option. This makes sense when you consider you can't socially distance in schools and there are plenty of parents who have been made redundant in 2020 who deserve to be paid for doing the vast majority of work

I don't actually think the parents are doing the vast majority of work. The schools are sending the work home. Your child simply needs to complete it. I found with my kids that are at school it was much easier to home school them, because the majority of work I was doing was encouraging them to do the work set. For my home ed child it's far harder as I have to put all the parts of their education together myself. The experiences are very different. I wouldn't underestimate what it is the schools actually provide. Aside from this as a home edder I don't want the government to fund it as then we have to adhere to what they think our children should be doing and how it should be delivered. Which is what we were moving away from when we opted to take our kids out in the first place. I think you will find most home edders (the ones that actually do it) would agree with this.

FGS What makes you think that parents are capable of teaching their kids? I know I would prefer to have my NHS money so I can do my own healthcare or how about I get the money from my council tax for my waste collection and I will sort that myself. Oh and I can see the police are busy. I don't need their services; I will take care of that myself. If you can't see how much nonsense this is, you are most certainly not ready to educate your child!

The mistake the OP has made is putting the situation of families of children with sn in with the general problems created by covid. Her children should have the decent educational provision that most others until recently took for granted.

The LAs that leave disabled children without provision for months or years at a time may be expecting parents to educate or perhaps just don't care but I don't think that can be mashed in with giving money to parents.

@tinselwreath there is no money in an EHCP. You have to apply for additional funding in my authority and it is barely enough to cover support. It's shockingly underfunded

The OP thinks that the funding school gets for her DC should be diverted to her bank account. This money should not be given to the teachers when they ‘are not working’.

I’m going to assume that the OP is educated to degree & postgraduate level at the very least. She might even have an MA in child psychology or SEN education if she is going to be paid as a SENCO fo her child as well...

Yes, do away with the lazy, skiving teachers... give the money to the OP instead.

"there is no money in an EHCP. You have to apply for additional funding in my authority and it is barely enough to cover support. It's shockingly underfunded"

An Ehcp must be quantified and qualified so that it is absolutely clear what provision a child gets. Any provision on it has to be provided no matter what the cost. Local Authorities get around this by making it so vague the 'provision' is meaningless.

The money covers everything needed to run the school and not just an amount directly for the child. Training, insurance, emptying bins, advertising, admin staff, revords, ed P and assessment, ICT, security, resources, HR, governance, appeals, ewo, cleaning and repairs and everything needed to keep the child in school, repairs

I would hazard a guess a parent would likely get nearer £1400 per child and be more accountable for standards, exams etc to ensure the money was spent on the child s education. That would be my thinking.