Hi I have 2 questions about home ed. :-)

[mummyloveslucy]

Hi, I wasn't sure wether or not to do two posts or put them together. anyway, the first one is do I have to de register my daughter from school?
She's leaving her school at Christmas and i'm going to home ed, possibly for good or if it dosn't work out then until a place becomes available at a decent school. Do I need to let someone know or will the school do that?

The other question is, my daughter has SEN's and we are in the process of asking for a statment. Whould this be of any benefit if we were to home ed long term? Would she be entitled to any tuition or anything like that or does it only apply to school?

If any one could answer either question, that would be brilliant. Thanks.

1. Yes, you do have to deregister her or, by law, she'll be truanting. However, deregistering is no big deal - just send a letter to the head (hand deliver it just in case!) saying you want her name taken off the school register and that you'll be arranging education other than at that school from now on.

1. I dont' know, sorry!

Thank you, I'll get on to that then.

A statement won't give her any entitlement to tuition etc - it might be useful if you think she might go back to school fairly soon, but otherwise I don't think it adds any value.

Thank you, I didn't think so but wasn't sure. We'll still go for it just in case, that way she'll have it if HE dosn't work out.

Would it help with an application for DLA though,ie additional help with dressing, soiling, motor skills , communication etc, which if granted you could then use towards activities for her including tuition Being a private school I'd copy the letter to the LA too.

Yes, I'm going to apply for that for her. Can I do it on line?

dla has to applied for on a huge application form, about 40 pages if i remember rightly!

My son has a statement but this doesnt offer him any support whilst home ed, you also dont have to provide what is listed in the statement.

congratulations on your decision to home ed! use this month to look for some fun things you can spend doing/making in the new year!

Thank you, I will. It'll be lovely not to have to rush around every morning to get her ready for school and just do things our way.

I think DLA will be more beneficial than the statment, but I'll still aply for both just in case HE dosn't work out.

Won't a statement enable you to access SALT and OT services etc if specified too, however she is being educated?

they dont have to provide anything if home educating!

@ mumof4darlings "they dont have to provide anything if home educating!"

Well I may be talking nonsense, but I seem to remember from discussions I've read on HE-Special (he-special.org.uk/) that it depends whether the service in question is classed as medical or educational. Some services might usually be provided at school but that doesn't mean they count as educational services or that they cannot be accessed elsewhere. Referrals can be made by doctors.

My daughter has SALT and she has never been to school, nor does she have a statement.

@ mummyloveslucy You can do the DLA application online but there are a couple of reasons why it might be better on paper.

I have heard horror stories of applications disappearing from the system while the applicants are drafting them. Considering what a massive form it is, imagine if you had been working on it for days and all your work disappeared! If you do decide to do it online then you might want to back it up somehow such as taking screenshots.

If you ring up to request the form, and then succeed in returning the form by the deadline - I think it's six weeks? - any successful claim will be backdated to the date when you requested the form. So will linked benefits such as Carers Allowance and Tax Credits, if I remember right. If you submit it online or print the form off yourself then it's only payable from the date you submit it.

I have applied for a DLA form today. She should still get her speech therapy, as she was having it before she started school and she's also at a private school at the moment and still recieves it. They did try to say that she wasn't entitled to it being at a private school, but we managed to sort it out.

@saracen, maybe it depends what area you are in.

We managed to get SALT assessments done, and also were able to self refer here, but therapy afterwards was never offered for my eldest son even though diagnosed asd and lots of things picked up. My daughter got given a pack for me to work through at home with her, but they didnt do anything themselves with her.

Nice to hear of some positive stories!