Should I worry?

[KarenHL]

I am pg, due in Dec. DC will be 5 in Jan. Presumably the HV will be asking why she isn't in school (we Home-ed). Does this mean I'll automatically get referred to the LA? This worries me a bit as I know from others that the LA can be 'difficult' and I get flustered when I feel under attack (bombarded with lots of questions). Plus with new baby in tow I don't want to feel pressured re teaching.

ATM, we work through a preschool curriculum and I keep (most of) DC's work in a scrapbook. Lots of fieldtrips, stuff in the garden/kitchen isn't noted though.

I'm hoping to take a month off after baby arrives and then switch to a curriculum that I think I'll find easier to manage with a baby in tow too. Seeing as we continue lessons all through the Summer I don't see how LA can argue with that. DC can't read yet, but nor can many of the other children I know her age (schooled and Hedded).

Midwife is already putting the pressure on (along with quite a few other mums where we live) to use the SureStart Centre. I'm sure it's a good resource for those who need it, but as a family, we don't feel the need. We have an active life and don't really have the time (or inclination) to go to the Centre. Most mums here seem to use it as somewhere to drop the kids and get them used to nursery/preschool, while they go and get coffee, meet friends, or do courses in things like 'knowing your child' .

Well, your DD doesnt legally have to be educated at all until the term after her fifth birthday so if HV questioned you on this you could remind her of this. If she referred you to LA you could tell them the same. So you have until early April to put together your curriculum and to start keeping a record of what you do.

As for your Midwife putting pressure on, repeat what you've typed on here to her. In the short appointment you get she has no idea about your life so tells everyone the same. However, as a Sure Start user I would suggest you check what is actually going on in your centre. Personally, I would have been unable to afford some things like Baby Massage and Paediatric First Aid classes which I did at my local centre.

I just didn't bother with a HV for children after my first Said "no thank you" to the offers of visits. That's a good way of keeping off their radar!

You shouldn't get referred - if you do, you can complain about the lack of confidentiality on the part of the HV. Home education is not, in itself, a risk factor. You may want to contact the HV services and make sure that they are not intending to pass your DD's records on to the school nurse service. That sometimes triggers officialdom. The HV services can just keep the records.

ballstoit wrote:

So you have until early April to put together your curriculum and to start keeping a record
of what you do.

Or not.You do not have to have a curriculum or to keep records. If you want to do so for yourself, that is fine, but you do not have to show them to anyone from the LA. The content of the education you provide is YOUR business, not that of the LA.

If you're worried, get a friend to take your DD to the park when the HV comes over, or refuse a visit.

Agree about not seeing a HV at all. Just say you Dont want to see one. Your baby can have all the 8month checks or whatever you want with a GP instead. We saw (and still see) a private pediatrician for all checks/immunisations etc for ds.