Home Ed Library card...what else?!

[jellyrolly]

I happened to get talking to the librarian today who asked me if I had a Home Ed library card, meaning any charges to order in special materials etc would not be levied.

And the other day I met a woman who had been given a free laptop to teach her child.

Like most people I meet who home ed, I have no resources or support, I'm sure there must be some.

I wondered if anyone knew if there was a centralised place where all this sort of information is? I've Googled and Googled and can't find anything. Thank you in advance.

These things are arranged locally so if no one at your LA or in your local home ed groups has heard of them, then I would tend to think that they don't apply to children who are electively home educated.

However, in Sheffield where I am, home educators can get a card for the Schools Library from the LA which would otherwise cost between £50 and a hundred pounds a year.

I'm near Sheffield, I guess that is the same card as I have now.

We don't access the home ed groups as my son has special needs and it doesn't work out very well socially for him.

Thank you anyway, I appreciate taking the time to reply.

Hi Jelly,
In my experience goodies for home educators are hard won by tenacious HE parents who badger LA's and businesses until they are helpful. Hampshire for example now has an exam centre and pays exam fees for some children because of people like this.
I have neither the personality or the energy to be one of those people but I am in awe (and very grateful) to those that have.
Would your local HE group befriend you and give you some pointers even if you have to explain that you can't socialise at the moment?

Thank you, I think that's true. I've joined two local groups (I will ask there) but I think the bottom line is there aren't any resources routinely available. I just wanted to make sure my son wasn't missing out on things that are out there as he can't really access the groups or school any more. HE works really well for him in most ways but it quite isolating due to his social anxiety.

If you go anywhere (zoo, historic site etc) it is always worth asking whether they do an educational (school) rate. IME they often give this to HE visitors without anybody having to make any special arrangements. I think many places can see HE as analogous to school, and don't have to think twice about whether they ought to apply the discount. Sometimes there are restrictions on when you can claim the discount, e.g. pre-booked visits only or school hours only. If the "teacher" gets in free then that is a big saving for you.

Good advice Saracen.

I've been home educating for nearly 18 years. I've rarely heard of special library cards and exam centres, but never anything like free laptops.

there may be support for online learning if children are unable to attend school on medical grounds BUT where the child remains on roll at the school, I clarified this with Sheffield Parent Carer Forum and the LA last year. That's possibly where the misunderstanding arose. The yahoo group for Sheffield and surrounding area is a place to socialise even if you can't get to meetings.

www.sheffieldparentcarerforum.org.uk/news/the-home-and-hospital-education-service
syhec.co.uk/resources/