Please help...ed authority problem :-(

[clouiseg]

Hi all

I've been posting here the last few weeks about our issues with moving from England to Scotland and the fact that the EA cocked up here and put my teenaged DD in the wrong year at her new school.

She was identified as a high achiever in England but the Schools here refuse to acknowledge the level she was as in England & the results of her CAT tests. Despite admitting that they should have acted in the beginning to get her into the year above which is equivalent to her academic level, they have shoved her in the lowest year as the 'curriculum for excellence' doesn't support her situation!! On top of that they have said that she can't even do one of the sciences (biology) required for her chosen career path as there is too little interest from other pupils so they will be removing it from the curriculum!! So she is sat in school doing work she did a year ago at her last school & they refuse to help.

The upshot is that we have decided that she is to be home educated at I can revert her back to the English Curriculum and she can eventually sit GCSEs.

HOWEVER.....

Following my application to the EA to remove her from school they have said we are not allowed until they give permission as she has attended a school in scotland (for all of 10 weeks!)

They need to carry out child protection checks and all sorts of other things before she can be HE. This apparently can take up to 3 months (but we had already decided to begin HE her when they broke up for holidays in April & she is already much happier).

DD literally burst into tears when we told her. She rightfully said that she is not learning ANYTHING at the school as she is already a year ahead, and that she would learn so much more at home. She despises the place and is already bullied for wanting to pay attention in class. She begged me not to send her back and is so low today the poor girl.

I am in a moral dilemma. If I force her to go back to tomorrow I feel it will be of no benefit to her educationally and it is not the best thing for her welfare. She has been there for such a short time I feel resentful that they can dictate and that I can possibly face prosecution if I don't send her back.

Any help or advice at all please???

One other thing, if youdo decide not to send her into school, I would write to the school and cc the council to tell them that is what you are doing, and why. That way even if they decide to get the truancy people involved they can't make out they were "concerned because she just didn't turn up". It doesn't make it legally "right" to keep her off, but I think it's better to state up front that you're doing it, since there is zero chance they just won't notice, and it puts you in a better light if you are keeping them informed.

Do have a read of the official guidance from the Scottish Government - it will give you the most detailed legal position. www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/17133313/3 One useful bit is this -

"In the period between receipt of an application to withdraw the child and a decision being issued, the authority should take a reasonable approach to attendance procedures. In most cases it would be inappropriate to initiate or pursue attendance procedures in respect of a child awaiting consent to be withdrawn from school."

So, if you decide not to send her to school in the meantime, then they are very unlikely to take any action re truancy.

They also say "Previous irregular attendance is not of itself a sufficient reason for refusing consent" - so taking her out of school should not prejudice their decision.

In Scotland, they are allowed to consider if there are any existing child protection issues - that doesn't mean they can assume the decision to HE has anything to do with child protection, but that they need to be cautious if a family are already known to have problems, to make sure HE isn't going to make things worse. I guess because you have moved here recently, they are going to have to check with the child protection peope in your old area to see if you were known to them. It ought to be a technicality, but if they are feeling unhelpfl hey may drag their feet.

Do contact Schoolhouse for advice and help - they'll know about your council area, and even individuals, and know how best to approach them.

Just a thought here, (don't know Scottish system, but know Scottish parents are enroled) could you place her in an internet school such as Interhigh (has lots of LEA placed children) thus avoiding the clash, and have her there while registering /they 'drag their feet'?
They're quite used to taking 'respite' children and you might find it suits her anyway and you want to leave her there.

Wishing you luck.

Ty mrsv sorry X posts!!

Oh wow what a star...I'll be throwing those facts at them if they decide to pursue us or drag their heels!

Have a speech therapy appt for dd2 shortly so as soon as I'm back I intend to contact schoolhouse and prepare an education plan to get things swiftly moving! Ty for the great advice!

If you look at the government guidelines linked from SchoolHouse, LAs are directed that six weeks should normally be adequate.

They are also advised that it would usually be inappropriate to pursue families about keeping kids off school while they await consent. I guess it depends whether you feel the benefits of beginning HE immediately outweigh any worry/hassle you might face if they did pursue you for truancy.

Hope you get some good advice tomorrow!

Saracen I think that would have been a good idea if I hadn't burnt my bridges with the head at the end of last term. We had a very heated conversation and he particularly didn't like me citing one of my issues as pupils using facebook and iPods during lessons! He was very defensive and I fear I've dug myself into a hole with him .

And yes, afaik the child protection checks are on US! . I couldn't believe it either! They need to ensure there are no outstanding CP issues which would compromise her welfare!! FFS! We also have to await allocation to a home link worker and await a meeting with an education officer to outline our Education Plan. They have also requested a timetable....which they can swivel for because in the first instance I plan an autonomous education to allow DD the freedom to build her confidence again!! I found out from another HE mum that the process took 10 weeks as they dragged their heels.

julien ty! I've been signposted to them before so will def get in contact tomorrow! I'm appalled that I could potentially face legal action for providing my DD with more of an education than the local authority can!

Part of me thinks LET THEM pursue me and I'm sure any court in the land wouldn't waste their time on this? How can a mum be penalised for wanting to enhance her childs education when there are as many families who face action for simply not being arsed/capable of getting their kids to school!! And there's always the media to highlight our plight if they did decide to kick up a fuss

Schoolhouse are the experts on home ed in Scotland-please do contact them ASAP

Their website states:

"As long as a child remains enrolled at a state school, a parent is legally obliged to ensure regular attendance unless he/she can show ?reasonable excuse?.

If a child is physically ill, or is suffering extreme stress and anxiety as a result of school attendance, it should be possible to obtain a medical certificate to this effect, and this would constitute ?reasonable excuse? to keep the child at home pending consent for withdrawal (which should be granted within a reasonable timescale). In the meantime a parent should keep a record of what is being done to educate the child as the more supporting evidence there is, the easier it will be to satisfy the authority."

So I really think they will be in the best place to advise you on the way forward here.

all the best and I hope you get it sorted.

"They need to carry out child protection checks and all sorts of other things before she can be HE. This apparently can take up to 3 months"

I'm not very familiar with the law in Scotland, but I'm pretty sure that is way out of line. Child protection checks?? On whom? Not on YOU, surely; you are the parents! And I thought it was your responsibility to check out any tutors you might choose to employ.

They are supposed to decide fairly quickly (three months sounds excessive to me!) and not withhold consent unreasonably. Have you been in contact with SchoolHouse for advice?

www.schoolhouse.org.uk/home-education-and-the-law/how-your-local-authority-should-respond-to-your-request

Can you ask the head to authorise absence while you are awaiting consent? In England/Wales there is an attendance code for "educated off-site" - the same one as is used for work experience and field trips - and if it's similar in Scotland then there is no reason the head couldn't do this, though this would be at his/her discretion.