Flexi schooling in Bury - LA refuse it

[Manchesterkid]

Hi there just wondering if anybody has any advice on this ..

I am looking into home ed and flexi schooling when my daughter is 5. However I've been loosely structuring her learning for the last year and going to home ed groups

I would like to look at the possibility of flexi schooling in September as I think this would really suit us.

If it doesn't work I may decide to home ed but want to try flexi first.

My daughter has food and chemical allergies to traffic fumes cleaning products, fragrance etc. She has been going to nursery for just over a year and even though we They are very good with her allergies she has ended up being ill. I have visited a few schools and they don't seem to be as supportive (major issue are the cleaning products and intensity). My daughter wouldn't be able to attend full time anyway as she would end up ill.

Bury council say they don't allow flexi schooling - only a reduced timetable for a 6 week period. I explained to them that it is legal and some schools do it and it can work well but they were not interested

I also contacted two adjacent councils Lancashire and Bolton and they say they would be ok as long as a head agrees it. I don't really want to move so I'd like to try to get Bury council to agree this. Do you have any advice on how best to approach the council?

I have also contacted the school to duscuss it next week but they said they will need to speak to the council

Many thanks for any help

Rachel

Although it is legal, there is no obligation for any particular school to provide flexi-schooling. And although I sound a bit defeatist, I doubt you will be able to persuade the council.

Academies are not bound by LEA policy - do you have any near enough for you to stand a chance of receiving an offer?

Contact your MP? Are you Bury north or south?

My Ds goes to School in Bury area, they are hot in with allergies it seems, although no personal experience. A discussion with all relevant head teachers on your shortlist might be useful. They may have sway over the council.

My understanding of flexi schooling is that it's in the gift of the head teacher. If they think it's ok, they'll say yes; otherwise they'll say no.

how about looking at small schools, forest schools, those kinds of set up?

Lots of that sort of thing in the hippy south west (example links below), I bet there is a bit of it in your area too. Obviously, you'd have to pay - it's not state provided!

stoneburylearning.co.uk/small-school/

ourpace.co.uk/

Would you not be better getting to get them to make reasonable adjustments to the environment of the school so your child can attend? Perhaps a letter from the hospital outlining how they can make school safe for her while still keeping it clean would help? It seems unfair her allergies are preventing her from going to school?

Hi everyone

Thanks for the support and replies although it doesn't seem like I will be able to get flexi schooling agreed by the sounds of it

I'm in bury north - tottington area

I was hoping there would be some approach that may change Bury's stance on flexi schooling seeing as neighbouring Lancashire and Bolton are aware of it and allow it as long as the head does.

I have read somewhere on a forum that flexi schooling should be considered if it will help the child?

There are some schools that allow it but they seem to be small rural schools and all the ones near me get oversubscribed.

In answer to the question about trying to get school to adapt to my little girls allergies ...it is very hard to avoid the chemicals it's cleaning chemicals, traffic fumes, paint, perfume. She only goes 4 hours twice a week to nursery and is still ill sometimes as it's impossible to avoid all the allergens. It's just a case of trying to keep them below the threshold of what her body can handle. So at home we can control it much better nobody uses anything scented, no painting or new carpets, we don't go out at rush hour etc

Thanks again everyone I'm still holding out hope xx

I don't think the council is allowed to implement a blanket ban on flexischooling, given that the government says it's at the head's discretion. In practice, few headteachers will allow it anyway.

I believe the biggest support group for parents who want to flexischool, or are already doing so, is the Facebook group "flexischooling families uk", so you might want to join that. I'm sure they will have good advice for you.

It seems to me that you would have good grounds to work something out on the grounds of your daughter's medical needs. What about applying for an EHCP for her? The council would then be obliged to think how best to meet her needs. For example, if there is a particular school which is better able than others to reduce her exposure to allergens and you could get it named on the EHCP, she would be guaranteed a place there, with transport if it isn't near. If school turns out to have a terrible effect on your daughter's health regardless, then the EHCP could be amended so it specifies a reduced timetable and then you WOULD be guaranteed the right to part-time attendance. In addition or instead, the LA might send tutors out to your home.

An EHCP takes a long time so if you start now, it may not be in place for September.

Another option, of course, is to send your daughter in to school only when she can manage it. Obviously you would need to ensure that your daughter's doctor is on board and ready to authorise absences, as there will be a lot of them. The school should contact the LA even before your daughter starts school to try to ensure that your daughter's education doesn't suffer as a result of the expected absences. There will be a named contact for you at the LA to help liaise with the school and keep on top of the situation. This applies if your child has missed, or is expected to miss, at least 15 days of school in a year (not necessarily consecutively). www.gov.uk/illness-child-education

Hi everyone
I m recently de registered my child for home education he is 6 years old some people say he needs to sit in exams but I don't know where exams take place please help me if any body knows about my child examination

Hi user,

You've been misinformed. The law varies in the different countries of the UK, but no country in the UK requires home educated children to sit exams. Which country do you live in? I could link to some more information about the legal requirements if you want to tell me that.

Many years from now, when your child is a teenager, you might choose for him to sit exams to get qualifications. These may help him get into college or university or get the job he wants. Not all home educated teens do exams, but most do.

Are you in touch with your local home ed community? If you go along to some groups then you can chat with other parents about these things, and get some ideas about how you might approach home education (there are LOADS of ways to do it well!). It is amazing what a lot of odd ideas people have about home education if they don't do it themselves!