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.

"As someone mentioned upthread there have been people dealing with this issue before covid due to SEN. Those parents should have been compensated at the time as they are unable to work"

What those parents want is for their child to be given a suitable school place, not to be given a few hundred pounds a month to shut up and go away.

Don't compare looking after your healthy child to being an unpaid carer. They are nothing alike.

@tinselwreath

Of course people have children because they want them, but society needs to make it possible for families to exist. That is so society can exist. What do you think will happen to the fertility rate once more women realise that it is literally impossible to have a career and a child? How many mothers will be able to never carry a job on a financial basis? There are only so many jobs that pay enough for a parent to stay home, not even considering single parent households. You're naive if you think this pandemic is not going to have long term implications.

I have a career and two children. It's not "literally impossible".

Of course this pandemic is going to have long term implications. I'm confused by what your argument is though. If this money is to be made available on the basis of 'I'm a taxpayer and I don't want to pay for services I'm not using' how does that work when the parent (which you assume has to be the mother) is not working to home educate? She won't be paying tax in the first place. Or do you propose that this benefit is only given when the household pays tax? How much tax does the household have to pay to qualify? What do you have to do to prove you are home educating? Will people have to prove they've missed out on employment to get the money and how would they stop fraud?

To me this seems like a way to pay money to (a) the rich who were already private schooling, (b) people already choosing to home educate, or (c) parents who will do anything for money and may not home educate properly / at all.

You've also suggested this should be on top of school funding. Where's the money coming from? Other people's taxes?

I paid taxes for many years before I was a parent or active NHS user and in many respects drew little back from the pool in £ sense. A healthy population means you and your loved ones are healthier. An educated population means you and your loved ones benefit from a healthier population of working adults and a more healthy economy. I have little time for those who can't bring themselves to look at the bigger picture. We don't exist in 'splendid isolation' - our opportunities are only as good as the links and chances we make for each other.

@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

must be a first.

This thread is very odd

Some parents still the money for their kids food to use for drugs and alcohol. Pretty sure those would love to receive the money to homeschool.

£300 isn't enough. Properly homeschooling is a full time job and most people would earn £300 a week let alone a month.
I also just think that homeschooling is hard work and is not effective for the kids. I think blended learning with school support is better than pure homeschooling.
You linked to an American study to show homeschooling gives better results. I'm sure school is different in America but homeschooling is also different in non Covid times. There are lots of groups you can go to for homeschooled children. Parents share resources/expertise and usually don't follow the curriculum meaning kids will be massively behind in some areas and ahead in others when they finally rejoin school.
I think it's a nice idea to get school class sizes down but really doesn't stand up in real life.

There are many parents who would neglect their children and take the cash!

I do think people should be offered the choice though, things will be worse in January and I think it seems only right to let parents take their children out if they can home school for a short time.

@NoSquirrels

I really don’t think you’ve thought this through.

Here, parent of vulnerable child, here’s £300+ a month extra to keep your kid home from school, where no one can see what’s going on and interfere...

Brilliant idea. Jeepers.

Ah, but didn't you read the OP, apparently in a pandemic we all have to make sacrifices, apparently vulnerable children are going to be one of them...

You call responders functionally illiterate and this a cult site, whereby that would make us cult members then accuse others of bullying.... lol. Your arguments have more holes than a string vest. But hey, it’s given me a few giggles. 😂😂

@Butstilltheycome

I am a carer, that's why it bothers me when I take on the work (hence I was up all night, not drink and drugs as someone wanted to suggest) and people think I should just do it as a parent. Its not easy and a lot of people give up. I haven't been given a SEN school place and the nursery we had told us they didn't have the ability, so here I am, no respite and no school. I have had no speech therapy or physical therapy for my children because of covid. So yes, I feel empathy when I see other parents in similar (not even the same) position as myself. I feel really sad for parents who are being forced to WFH because they have to pay the bills and educate at the same time yet in all honesty we are looking at months of lockdown again, but no one will admit it to the plebs yet. And if you look at educational material online, a lot of it is expensive so for parents who find themselves in this boat, it might be helpful. I am not an idiot, nor deranged. I went to a top uni and graduated, had a career and found myself unexpectedly in this position. I am sure there will be more parents joining me soon.

@Mummyoflittledragon

People who respond that they will be forced to do something, when I stated it was a voluntary option are functionally illiterate. What else would you call that? And yes, the echo chamber reminds me of cults. I guess I've used some terms you haven't seen before and that could be hilarious or whatever.

OP you haven’t addressed most of the points raised by others explaining why your idea wouldn’t be feasible.

Well, the echo chamber has more than one possible explanation. We could be a cult, yes. Or maybe your idea is so poor that the vast majority of people disagree with it... 🤔

Yeah, probably the cult thing.

You need to look at it in a practical sense.

Lets imagine a primary school of 200 children, 30 parents decide to homeschool their children. Where I live a pupil brings a school £6,789 per year, so this primary school has now lost around £200,000.

So we have a £200,000 deficit. The school has the same utility costs, building maintenance, the school will also have a similar wage bill, they may be able to make possibly one TA redundant depending on the SEND needs in each class. There will be a very small reduction in the need for resources, writing books, pencils etc.

Now my question is, how do you @tinselwreath propose this school plugs the £200,000 deficit?

I am laughing at £9000 a month.

We get about £7000 A YEAR to educate your child. You can have that and see how far it stretches.

@HidingInTheToiletFor5minsPeace

The points I've seen opposing this idea

1. Safeguarding. I've mentioned the HV and honestly that's all I have personally seen this year for my children so it wouldn't be any different than what's already happening.

1. Cost. There is plenty of money for cronyism, so I don't believe this. There is not the political will to fund education, but there was money for Serco.

1. Lack of oversight. What oversight is there when kids are receiving different forms of education right now? The educational system as it was in 2019 does not exist. We have a patchwork system and some able to go to school, some are continuously sent home.

@tinselwreath

You obviously known nothing about education, school finance or pedagogy.

Are you Nick Gibb?

I’ve been a teacher for 20 years and wouldn’t feel confident that I could provide my child with a good education in all subjects, particularly science based ones. Not to GCSE level anyway. I have doubts that many people would be unable to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for their children.

[quote BelleSausage]@tinselwreath

You obviously known nothing about education, school finance or pedagogy.

Are you Nick Gibb?[/quote]
Could be Michael Gove who wanted all children to be above average in maths

Being a carer is really tough but accessing appropriate support is completely different from what you’re proposing. The biggest thing you don’t seem to be getting is economy of scale and the way that
School financing works.

I have a good career with small children. If we lockdown again I will have to homeschool while working. Would I get the £300 a month. I’ll still do a good job of home schooling even if working (probably better than some who aren’t) but it certainly wouldn’t be enough to tempt me to quit my job. That £300 would be quite nice on top of my salary but it would make a much bigger difference for that to be paid to our school. The vast majority of children will benefit from being with their peers in school. I don’t think homeschooling is a model that the government would ever want to encourage.

The main point not addressed yet, is what happens when schools (that aren't closed) reopen and there are no teachers or resources because their funding has 'followed the children'?

@tinselwreath Are you going to address how a small primary school solves their £200,000 per year deficit?

@SimonJT

In a situation where the school has such a severe deficit, I would expect there to be some form of additional support with maintenance and utility costs. At this point there seems to be a blank cheque for furlough, so I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility.

@IndecentFeminist

Do you think everyone would keep their kids home? I don't think many would find it worth it depending on their income. It would decrease pupil ratio and I think that would be safer for social distancing purposes and making sure schools stay open for the parents who really need it.

@tinselwreath

No, society does owe parents because it is parents who are making the sacrifice in order for society to function in the future. Or do you think a world of only OAP's wouldn't be a disaster? Should we not have healthcare providers and a functional society so we can retire in our old age? Or do you expect us all to work until we die? What happens when the last doctor dies? Ridiculous. People need to appreciate people who have taken on the huge financial and life sacrifice of raising the future we will all need.

She's been watching the handmaids tale. Are you also a zealot my love?