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Home ed

Find advice from other parents on our Homeschool forum. You may also find our round up of the best online learning resources useful.

Year 11 home education

19 replies

AdultCat · 19/08/2020 17:47

I'm after some advice and don't really know where to start looking!
My DD is due to go back to school in September in to Year 11. For many (genuine) reasons I have started looking in to pulling her out and home schooling. I've tried to look online but I'm making myself confused!
Please can someone confirm if she'd have to do all the subjects she's currently doing at school? I understand (I think!) she doesn't have to do all the GCSEs but English and Maths would have to be sat.
If anyone has any advice or guidance I would be so grateful!

Thank you!

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Saracen · 19/08/2020 23:45

She doesn't haveto sit any exams at all. If she does do them, she can do as many or as few as she wants. She can spread them out over several years if that suits her better. This is the usual approach for home educated teens. It is less stress and easier to focus on the material. Unless your daughter is aiming to get onto a very competitive course, she probably won't need as many exams as school would have made her sit. She could just see how many would be required for any course she may want to do at a local college later. Five or six is probably enough.

That's the good news. The bad news is you'll have to pay for her to do any exams, and it can be hard to find an exam centre which will take her as a private candidate. They don't have to accept private candidates and most find it too much hassle. So there is a lot of research to be done, and you do need to get on it right away as deadlines are usually Nov/Dec/Jan. Have you made contact with local home educators yet? They will be happy to advise on local exam centres where your daughter could sit exams. This can change from year to year so your info has to be up to date.

Oh, what you said about maths and English - it is probably a good idea to do those at some point if she is able to. Colleges are increasingly wanting to see those for entry to most courses. They wouldn't turn her away if she had nothing but would likely make her do a lower-level course. If she arrives at college without solid passes in GCSE maths and English, she will be made to do them alongside whatever else she is studying. It is a government funding requirement now.

AldiAisleofCrap · 19/08/2020 23:49

She can study whatever you and she decide. If she wants to go on to do further education it’s preferable that she sits five GCSE’s including math, English and science.

Saracen · 20/08/2020 09:00

Do you want to say a bit more about your daughter's situation? Start of Year 11 is not a great time to be starting home education to be honest, but it still might be the least-bad option for her depending how things are at school. There are many options. Neither of my children did/will sit any GCSEs before the age of 19 (if ever), but that path wouldn't be right for every child as it does close some doors to them temporarily.

Is your daughter very academic, and does she get on well with exams? Does she have her sights set on college or does she have any rough career ideas?

Saracen · 20/08/2020 09:10

Within home education I think it can be better not to start with "Here's the system; what's the best way to navigate it?" as that is a limiting view and you might miss some great possibilities. If you ask instead "What would suit my child best? If I could create any environment at all for her, what would it look like?" Build on that, go looking and asking around. Don't assume it's impossible. You might be lucky enough to be able to give her exactly what she needs. Even if you can't do that, you can probably get closer to it than you could if she were at school.

AdultCat · 21/08/2020 13:41

Thank you for the replies and sorry for the delay in replying!
So, a bit of background...
DD has never enjoyed school, she's never made close friends, tending just to mix with whoever seems to be around. She's never been one to meet up with friends out of school and will go through all the holidays without any contact to anyone from school. We always have tears before going back to school on Sunday nights and beginning of the terms.
Two years ago she started a Saturday job in her chosen career and has been working full time since the summer holidays began. Her work have offered her an apprenticeship and the college course she'll do alongside do not require any qualifications / exams from school.
For the last two weeks we have had meltdown after meltdown about going back to school. It's made me realise how unhappy she was at school and I don't feel I can make her go back there. In the five months she has been away from school she has turned in to a different person.
It destroys her confidence. She is not academic in the slightest where as it seems she has a real talent in her work place. She is doing what some of the others in their 20s are doing and her boss is so impressed with her.
I want to take her out of school and do the basics plus teach her life skills.
It really upsets me to know what going back to school could do to her.

I have found our local authority so have emailed them for some advice etc.
Thank you again for the replies.

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AldiAisleofCrap · 21/08/2020 13:49

Her work have offered her an apprenticeship and the college course she'll do alongside do not require any qualifications / exams from school.
Then I would just enjoy the year with her, encourage her to read, visit museums, encourage her in any hobbies she may have , have her research things she finds interesting.
Home ed groups are starting up with a wide range of activities she could take part in if she wants to.

AldiAisleofCrap · 21/08/2020 13:50

Also join your local home ed Facebook group.

AdultCat · 21/08/2020 14:22

@AldiIsleofCrap thank you. Will I have to answer to anyone about the work she is doing at home? As in, show / document?
I have joined a fb home Ed group but will look for a local one.
Do you know if she would be allowed to work during 'term time'? I work part time so was wondering if she can work when I'm at work then we do her school learning at home together?
Thank you again!

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AldiAisleofCrap · 21/08/2020 15:30

No , as you don't need to follow the national curriculum. The LEA will contact you and ask to meet, it’s up to you if you accept their offer. Although due to Covid it’s less likely.
Some councils ask to see a plan/sample of work, again it’s optional whether or not you provide those.
I am not sure about the term time working during regular school hours. Hopefully someone on a Facebook group will know.

AdultCat · 21/08/2020 16:12

Thank you. I've emailed our local authority this afternoon and requested a couple more Fb groups.
I think I'm actually going to do this!! 😳

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AldiAisleofCrap · 21/08/2020 16:17

@AdultCat you don’t email the LEA it’s the school you need to contact. You need to write a dereg letter and post recorded delivery.

AldiAisleofCrap · 21/08/2020 16:18

Well done though, mental health is so important.

AdultCat · 21/08/2020 21:50

I only emailed asking for any information / advice to start with.
Thank you. I knew she was unhappy at school but lockdown has made me realise just how unhappy she was. I don't have any good reason to send her back at all! She's already checked out of trying and decided she's going to fail her exams anyway because the course she wants to do doesn't require any grades.
Thanks again for your help Flowers

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AldiAisleofCrap · 21/08/2020 23:34

No problem , my eldest was the same was utterly miserable in high school. We didn’t pull her out until the January of year 11 I really not taking her out of school sooner. She did go onto college and was a different girl in that environment.
It’s great that your daughter has such talent and focus.

Saracen · 22/08/2020 10:44

Wow, sounds like she has great focus and is doing really well! If I were you I wouldn't hesitate to home ed. It will let her keep concentrating on what she is good at, which is probably where her future lies. And even if she changes direction with that, she'll probably be better off with a few years of work experience than a set of not-very-good exam grades which would have left her unconfident in her own abilities.

I'd still consider the possibility of doing maths and English at some point, not necessarily now. Some emplyers and programmes may require them. Current government policy is that EVERYONE of any age can do those two subjects for free at college if they don't already have "good" passes - you don't even have to be on a low income or unemployed. It sounds like she could do with a break from academics just now, but you might just plant the idea in her mind that she may want to do them some day.

Saracen · 22/08/2020 10:50

My eldest initially planned a hands-on career and wasn't going to bother with GCSEs (or at least not bother at age 16). They later decided that English and maths would be useful after all and sat one aged 19 and one at 20. I am sure they got better marks and had less stress than if they had done them younger.

Saracen · 22/08/2020 11:14

The child labour laws apply to your daughter the same as if she were at school. You can google the law. Hours are restricted until she finishes "Compulsory School Age". Assuming she started school at the "usual" age rather than a year earlier or later, she finishes CSA the last Friday of June 2021. (Presumably the law was set to that age in order to try to keep kids at school until they had done their exams.) After that there are just a few restrictions which continue until the child is 18, most relating to working in physically or morally dodgy settings such as strip clubs or with hazardous materials.

Some parts of the law are clear, e.g. the earliest time of day the child can start work and the maximum hours per day. The complication for home educated kids is that the law refers to "school hours" and "school days". Some years ago, the Dept for Education was asked to clarify how this applied to HE children. After all, we don't have to educate during the same hours as the local schools do. For parents like me (and perhaps you) whose child is doing hands-on learning, there isn't even a clear distinction between education, work, and leisure: kids are learning all the time. DfE responded basically "your guess is as good as ours". Which I believe means that anyone who makes any slightly unusual arrangements (e.g. employing the child on a Wednesday daytime during local school term-time) could potentially find themselves prosecuted and the judge would have to decide how to interpret the law. This has never happened so there is no legal precedent.

So it is a risk, but I would argue that if everyone is acting in good faith and the child is clearly not being exploited then it is a small risk. Prosecutions for child labour violations are few and far between and tend to deal with extreme cases. I allowed my teen to work part-time during the usual "school hours" for several small local firms which did not trouble themselves to find out what their legal obligations were. (They also should have applied for a work permit from the LA before emplying a child, which they did not do.) I was satisfied that the working conditions were safe and not exploitative, and for me this was good enough. I also let my teen do self-employed work when local kids were at school - it's all the same to us. Note that any adult who is aware (or could be expected to be aware) that a child is being employed illegally is potentially liable to prosecution: not only the employer but also coworkers and the child's parents.

Also check the byelaws in your area. Most LAs require employers to obtain work permits for children. Some relax the national law or have additional restrictions which take account of local needs - for example in a farming area the LA might allow children to work longer hours during harvest time only.

If you wanted to be 100% safe then you could use the local state school hours and term-times when interpreting the law.

AdultCat · 22/08/2020 15:42

Thank you all again. I'm really grateful for the replies and your support!

This morning has confirmed my decision. From work she has text me upset that she can't face going back to school. She said she's not sleeping and constantly feels sick. That's not a life I want for my child.
I'm going to speak to her boss about what he can offer her, even if it's not paid and just a placement.

Thank you again!

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Saracen · 23/08/2020 09:01

Volunteering counts as work too for the child labour laws, if it is done for a business intended to generate a profit - so, arguably charity shops come under its scope but helping out at Girl Guides doesn't.

This makes sense, because people might otherwise exploit children in a family business, say, and claim that the child wants to do it. Or pay the parent under the table while saying the child is volunteering.

There are exemptions for "work experience" but I think that may be limited in duration and it only applies if a school or the LA has been involved in setting it up, which effectively excludes home educated children from doing work experience.

I don't know how apprenticeships work and what the minimum age is, but you could look that up to see whether her employer could register for an apprenticeship scheme. Young people can get NVQs that way without much/any paper-based education.

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