Help! Withdrawal process Scotland

[Ras83]

Hi, I’m new to Home educating but after a year of many problems and much deliberation we have decided to withdraw our 6 year old son from school. I’ve drafted a letter for our LA but I’ve been advised to included a proposed education plan & provision.....this might sound silly but we were wondering what this should look like?! Should I just set out in letter form our own philosophy and our initial thoughts/plans for how we will be home schooling him? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we desperately want their consent to have him home!!x

Hi Ras, I'm not in Scotland so can't help. Sorry you haven't had a response yet!

I assume you have been in touch with SchoolHouse, the Scottish home ed charity? If not, that would be the first place to go. There are some forums linked from their website which are popular with Scottish home educators, so you'll probably get more help there.

Facebook is also a really good place to ask questions. For example, there is the FB group "Home Education Support Scotland (Scottish Home Education Forum)". I'm not on it so I can't say if it is any good, but presumably with over 2000 members there will be some very knowledgeable and helpful people on there! FB is also the place to go if you are looking to meet up with other HE families who live in your area. Good luck with it!

Firstly, contact Schoolhouse, they will advise you. Secondly, DO NOT withdraw your child from school until you have permission from the council. The amount of time this takes and the attitudes you encounter will depend on which council area you live in. I hope it's not North Ayrshire because they are a waking nightmare.

An educational philosophy document is just that. Outline how you view education, what your thoughts are, what your approach will be. Then include any resources you plan to use, any groups your child will attend, how you plan to make sure that he is a part of the community, how you plan to deliver "PE" etc. This part is important because, again depending on the council, they might make a big deal lack of socialisation opportunities, lack of gym equipment and the like.

Remember, the council has no right to enter your home and no right to come and inspect anything. Mine tried to force their way in here to inspect my first-aid provisions! Also remember that councils are not allowed to deny permission to withdraw without good reason. Good luck.

Hi thank you for your replies much appreciated! I went ahead and sent letter this week with an outline of our plans and provision for our ds. We have had to take him home on several occasions now including today due to his behaviour and severe anxiety at school. The ed pyscologist called and wants to meet with us, she has observed our ds in school and said over the phone that we will be required to meet with her when our letter is received...is this correct? I’m fine with that as we have nothing to hide and believe that this is the best way forward for all of us as a family! But we’re new to this whole process, it’s amazing how much conflicting advice we’ve had x

Ask SchoolHouse. Don't rely on the word of LA staff, who are very unlikely to have any training in home education and often confuse some policy they have concocted with the law.

I expect that SchoolHouse will either point you toward a specific law which you can read for yourself, or (if the LA is making stuff up) will suggest to you that you tell the LA to cite whichever law they claim applies. If the LA go quiet or mumble something about their policy, just ask them again, "Where in law does it say I must do that?"

This is the best way to discover the truth when faced with conflicting advice about legal requirements.

Have you asked the GP to sign your child off with anxiety? That might buy you enough time to get the LA consent to withdraw him from school, without him having to return to school in the meantime.

Hi Saracen, yes we have an appt with gp tomorrow and I’m hoping they will give us a line for him. I got the impression over the phone yesterday that the ed psych didn’t think my removing him from school was the right thing. She asked what I was going to do tomorrow....I said that I didn’t feel my ds was safe in school (I observed him myself in school this week) and that his behaviour and issues have escalated, he’s screaming for help and the staff are in agreement. I think to keep everything legal we need him signed off, I hope the gp will agree!

No, that is not right at all. You do not have to meet with anyone. The council will tell you any old rubbish, truth be told. Most of them have no idea about home ed and can't see past school.

Good luck with the GP. They are, ime, extremely reluctant to sign kids off. You may just have to tough it out while you wait for permission, but they must deal with your request within a reasonable time frame and can't withhold permission without very good reason.

Thanks lessstressed I’m not getting my hopes up for gp but honestly he can’t go back to school it’s a really dire situation!! I had a call this afternoon from a lady in the ASN department who says she received our letter seeking consent to withdraw ds and wants to meet with us next week. I’ve agreed to this. She was keen to come to our home but I said we’d come to her at the council. I’m really not sure what we’re going to be walking in to, I feel a little unsure about it in my gut to be honest but don’t want us to make a rod for our backs either! She said meeting would be ‘easy’ so hopefully it is! Thanks for all your replies and advice xx

Just be careful. When we went to a meeting with the council ASN folk they brought lawyers and heads of services with them. They threatened us and tried to bully us. We thought we were just meeting with a teacher and an ASN representative! It was awful.

Just keep reminding them that by law a child's education is the responsibility of his parents. You decide how that education is delivered, not them. Do you have a plan of action in your head for educating your DS? Just stick to that and how you think you are going to help him with his particular needs and don't let them try to derail you. Its also an idea to have thought through a statement on how school is clearly not the best place for your son and how it is exacerbating his difficulties.

I hope it goes well for you. Contact Schoolhouse for better advice. They are fabulous and very, very supportive.