Home ed, Child over 18 and Universal credit query

[bluenoise72]

Hi, our daughter has just turned 18. We took her out of school 2 years ago because she was/is suffering emotionally and is autistic. We are claiming Universal Credit and have had a message from the DWp asking if our daughter is in full time education, what courses if any , venues and dates for the exams etc. We have already told them that she is home schooled several times and the form does not ask about Home ed at all. We have answered them as best we can stating she is still in full time ed ( she isn't doing any formal education though like GCSE's , she is still struggling and frankly we dont know if she will ever do proper courses or indeed get a job. I am worried that by filling win the form the only way we could is misleading, are we still legally allowed UC if she is not studying? She may at some point but who knows? I would appreciate some advice. My wife is adamant that we dont need to tell them anything because they've not asked about Home ed , so we've basically said shins doing GCSE's and will hopefully take an exam within the next year?

I would give them a call and check this because with home educating 16+ it varies, you don’t want to be caught out

Mmm I would call them as well

Or at least explain in more detail in the journal

What kind of a learning curriculum are you following? Will her lessons definitely not lead to any qualifications?

Surely an 18 year old who is not taking sny exams isn't actually being homeschooled at this point? They're just unemployed?

If she’s over 18 and not following any official study program she won’t qualify.

As long as the education began before DD’s 16th birthday or DD has an EHCP and is receiving tuition, engaging in practical work or supervised study for 12+ hours a week she can remain a qualifying young person even if DD is not doing formal qualifications/examinations/courses. Life skills can still meet the criteria.

You should consider whether you are better off with DD on your/DW’s claim or whether you would be better off if DD, or you or DW as her appointee, claiming in her own right.

Does she have an EHCP? You can't start home Ed and claim CB post 16 unless you have one and have notified the council.

I don't think you can claim UC unless you started Home Ed prior to 16 education. Afaik the education for UC also has to be approved by the LA.

Rather than ring and risk talking to a poorly trained member of staff, which apparently is very common at the moment, I think you're better off keeping it in writing (and keeping screenshots in case conversations disappear from your journal). You could quote to them from the regulations https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/376/regulation/5#:~:text=Meaning%20of%20%E2%80%9Cqualifying%20young%20person%E2%80%9D&text=(iii)where%20the%20average%20time,exceeds%2012%20hours%20per%20week.

Home education is an approved course of study, as mention on the .gov page relating to Child Benefit for 16-19s: www.gov.uk/child-benefit-16-19

A few posters are mistaken about one detail: unlike Tax Credits and Child Benefit, the UC regulations DON'T specify that a home educated young person must have been home educated as a child in order to qualify. Unfortunately there is another difference, which is that you can't claim for a qualifying young person on UC quite as long as on other benefits: with UC, it's only until 1 Sept after they turn 19.

Home education does need to begin before 16 if there’s no EHCP according to the government’s UC guidance here.

she is suffering emotional and developmental issues and has struggled to do the physical GCSE course work we bought her 2 years ago. She is studying by watching educational videos and "life" study but not official forms of education right now.

@bluenoise72 I'm not sure that what you describe could in any way reasonably be referred to as home education.

Watching educational videos isn't really the same as home education.

It does sound very wishy washy from the thread

Yep I agree with this, this doesn’t sound like it would qualify as home education. She is just at home.

Does she have a EHCP and was she home Ed prior to 16?

@Mrsttcno1 agreed. I watch many educational videos throughout the day, purely because I'm interested in learning about the world around me. As do my children. I don't consider that to be "home educating" in any sense, nor am I clear on what OP means by life studies.

You took her out of school/off rolled her in year 11, the year she would have been sitting any exams she could have?
You've then let her watch youtube for two years rather than try and find her a suitable placement or college in which to study for the Maths/English she didn't get to take?
You're hoping to keep quiet while claiming for another year for her?

Look, I get it. Many feel they have no choice but to off roll when they have a school refuser/someone not coping, and they're being threatened with fines or exclusion or the school won't enter her anyway...but...there would have been other pathways and options. If she's not got an EHCP and you suspect ND but no current referral or diagnosis, you need her to self-refer as an adult asap.
You also need to look for alternative provision - anything that gets her out the house - so she's not bed rotting.
There'll be help out there - not a lot but some - atm you are doing her no favours at all: no work experience, no job, no qualifications, no apprenticeship, no GCSE at least in Maths and English. She's being set up to fail.

Resources to support autistic pupils with exams (autism.org.uk)

Parents and carers (autism.org.uk)

Who are online GCSEs for? | King's InterHigh (kingsinterhigh.co.uk)
Internet High will be £££ and usually for 11-16 but if education has been interrupted then they might take her on.

Get a written statement from the LA stating she is in approved home education. It has nothing to do with having an EHCP.

It does for CB and possibly for UC if the child was removed from school post 16.

Do you and your DP both work full time? It sounds like in reality your DD left school after GCSEs and has done nothing g since. What’s the plan for her future?

So she’s over 18 and not in education.
On what basis could you claim she’s being home schooled? Watching videos is not a course of study, it’s watching tv.

She could claim uc in her own right. But she will need to provide a fit note if not well enough to work, or look for a job.