Dd doesn't want to do her GCSEs

[timothytoeseatenbyaghoul]

Can anyone help please?

Dd is home educated, she has a tutor that gives her work weekly. Dd has decided she will not be doing her GCSEs so why am I bothering to pay for a maths and English tutor.

She's just turned 16 in oct. What should she be learning if there's no goal in sight?

If your teen doesn't follow the national curriculum what do they do?

Thanks

@timothytoeseatenbyaghoul

Without GCSEs in maths and English her options for work are seriously limited and career progression unlikely unless she takes them (or equivalent) later. I'm applying for jobs and every one, even entry level require maths and English even if you are 48! The fact you managed 25 years ago doesn't reflect the world today. I seriously think you need to consider getting her into college, who decided home Ed? The functional literacy and numeracy if GCSEs are too challenging her. Education or training is compulsory until 18 now

Thank you bibabbles

@Hoppinggreen

She wants to know how to convince The Authorities that her daughter is in education when she’s not basically

At 16 though does she need to be in education? And if she does then why not go on an study things relating to what she wants to do job wise? Why would you be asking what she needs to do for the next 2 years? What's going to be different when she is 18?

Aren't kids suppose to be in education until they are 18 or am I missing something?

@timothytoeseatenbyaghoul

Ohalrightthen- read the thread. She won't need employment. God how many times do I need to say it. She has better And will have even better. What's more better than a happy life?

What does this even mean? She has better and will have even better?

@timothytoeseatenbyaghoul

Aren't kids suppose to be in education until they are 18 or am I missing something?

So keep her in education then. Wtf!

That's what I'm trying to do! Gods sake how many times!

Make her do gcse (can't see why she wouldn't when she has studied for them until this point) then she can go kn to college to do beauty. Its really not that difficult to understand.

@timothytoeseatenbyaghoul
I think you've had a couple of answers regarding what you could do to continue being able to claim child benefit. Is that what this is about? Because if she truly doesn't want to continue any form of education or apprenticeship, then she could just - you know - not do any education or apprenticeships and why would you even care, if that fits in with your values, which it seems to? What would it matter?

On the other hand, if she wants any fighting chance of a job in the future, she'd be pretty well placed to do at least maths and english GCSE. That's just 2 - out of what, 9 - 11 that most people do? I'm pretty sure all retail jobs require basic maths and english these days, let alone any other sectors.

It also sounds like she might be open to self employment, as a cleaner or beautician. If that's the case, I would definitely make sure she takes maths and english. To run a business successfully and turn a profit - and who knows, maybe she'll want to employ staff one day - it definitely pays to be able to communicate effectively and basic maths to run accounts and issue invoices. Otherwise, she'll wind up being on PAYE at someone else's business, as a cleaner or beautician it's likely to work out at national minimal wage or less when you account for what's expected of her.

It's not wise, OP. Chances are if you posted here in 20 years time, she may be divorced with kids and working in a NMW job to pay the bills. Why set someone up for failure? It's good to have a backup plan.

My boyfriend has had to pay to do his GCSEs because he wants to change his career. He's forgotten a lot because a lot of time has passed - he's had to start from the beginning of the syllabus. He's stuck in jobs he hates because he's not qualified for anything outside his apprenticeship (and your daughter doesn't even have that!).

She doesn't want to do it. End of.

I haven’t read through the whole thread but if your dd was interested in going in to beauty she might find an further Ed college much more accommodating and inclusive than school was. I used to teach floristry at an college and had traveller girls in most classes. They never reported bullying/ problems with the other students. All student had to do maths and English functional skills qualifications if they didn’t have their gcse equivalents ( if they were under 19). These were much more work based than gcse and more relevant to a practical career.

I don’t think there’s a formal list of things she must learn if you continue home schooling her. Just whatever interests her and is relevant to her life.
College is September might be a good idea if she were willing?

@timothytoeseatenbyaghoul

She doesn't want to do it. End of.

So what does she want to do?

It's not for the child benefit it's £20 she has it to get her nails ect done. I'm going to look into colleges again but it would really help if some people wasn't so discriminating and judgemental to pass it on to they're kids.

timothy I'm not trying to be unkind, and you can't force her to do them if she really doesn't want to. But I do think you should explain to her why they're important.

Being blunt, she won't be offered anything formal where she had to work at a level equivalent to GCSE or above, because people will think she won't manage to complete the course successfully.

It doesn't matter that she chose not to do them, the result is that she'll be seen the same as somebody who is incapable of doing them — she doesn't have the qualification.

If she loves reading, and has hobbies and a potential future business plan, doesn't she want to prove she's clever/grown up enough to move onto the next stage?

What a very depressing thread.

I suppose all the independent and strong women who have ambition have to be balanced out somewhere by those who's idea of success is being married by 18, no qualifications, no career, no ambition beyond being a wife. If she needs no qualifications because she is never going to work, what will be her main skills in life - Cooking? Cleaning? Popping out babies?

Even successful people like to have a back up plan in case Plan A goes wrong. What will be her Plan B - marry another bloke? I am aghast that we have a culture in the UK that encourages the dumbing down of women and that it would seem (at least in this case) to be the mothers doing it to their own daughters.

Maths and English are taught to all children as essential for all the reasons other posters have pointed out. It is at least necessary to be able to count your husband's pennies (assuming she is given permission to do that!) or to understand how precarious her position as an unskilled woman of no means is if her husband should no longer be a suitable career choice.

@timothytoeseatenbyaghoul

It's not for the child benefit it's £20 she has it to get her nails ect done. I'm going to look into colleges again but it would really help if some people wasn't so discriminating and judgemental to pass it on to they're kids.

Who is discriminating? This thread is utterly pointless.

I am aghast that we have a culture in the UK that encourages the dumbing down of women

Oh, we've got more than one culture in the UK that does this, trust me.

Polka- I don't mean this to sound blunt- but don't you think I have, do you honestly think I've been flippant with it? She doesn't want to do it she's suffers with her mh. End of. But thanks.

If you know she will be married at 18 and start popping out kids, and won't need to work, why keep her in education?

OP. Without being judgemental, how does your DD plan to fund her adult life?

If you're happy to support her whilst she's 16 and not in school, I'd say that's up to you, and lucky her.

I don't know much about your culture, so again, not judgemental, just a question: is the plan that she marries as a young adult and that her husband supports her and any children?
In the normal course of events, will there ever be a time in her life when she will need to support her self, or contribute to the household income?

If she's never going to need an income, I'd suggest first aid courses, typing courses, cookery courses would all be useful for when she has a family.

Because it's the law! Oh wait us travellers don't follow laws do we?!

Functional Skills English and Maths will open doors for her should she choose a different path later in life.
FutureLearn has a ton of free online courses that might spark her interest. Coursera and Open University have free online courses as well. If you need a certificate for 'proof of learning' they will provide one for a small fee.
Definitely look into a First Aid course of some sort, it's a very useful life skill to have in all settings. She cou,d do an Animal First Aid course, one for kids and also one for adults to fill in more time.

It's not discriminating or judgemental, it's reality!

Even though it's a "legal" requirement, nobody will do anything if she doesn't do any exams or continue any form of education.

So, if you're on board with her not planning for the future, or having a backup plan, then you really don't need to do anything.

If it was my daughter, I'd just make sure she is aware of what she's setting herself up for. She would be 100% reliant on her parents or a boyfriend, and later, a husband. She won't have any options. She would make it very difficult for herself to do anything that's outside homemaking, and she may very well restrict herself to a traveller lifestyle for life (which is fine while she wants it, but what if she changes her mind? Like you did?). The reality is that the majority of people without any qualifications slip through the gaps in society. Not many become CEOs or successful business owners!

It's not very nice to say "popping out kids" how do you know she can have them? Rude.

I do not agree with your way of life at all but I absolutely respect your right to live it as you see fit. You're limiting your daughters future. She needs the tools to live independently in case she ever chooses to or needs to. Also she is still a child, you need to look beyond your culture, it may not be sustainable forever and you may be hanging out to dry if she ever has to or wants to get a job.