What is full time education and what isn't ?

[HisMum4]

Where is the line drawn?
Is there any flexibility and movement around the threshold?

Can the annual review of a DS with a statement of SEN recommend a 40% (3 instead of 5 A level subjects) reduction of curriculum hours which still would count as full time education?

I want DS to change school, but it proved more difficult than I thought as other schools do 5 AS in year 12, but cannot reconcile DS's subjects with their timetable. They can only reconcile 3 AS, but then DS would not be in full time education... But at current school he is timetabled to do 3AS and is in full time education. The school does 4 AS in year 12 as standard. I am confused.

Can the EHCP conversion help the situation?

I think that the definition depends on number of timetable hours rather than no of subjects OP. For tax credit and child benefit, a post-16 child is reckoned as being on a full-time course if they are in school/college for 16 (or more) teaching hours a week so there may be some flexibility.
I found a link on the CAB website and this states that a child cannot be denied full-time education on the grounds of disability www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/education_e/education_school_education_ew/access_to_education.htm.

The issue is not necessarily around full time education but rather around the legality of the need for education. Formal required full-time education finished at the end of Year 11. After that there are options and that includes staying in the school to do "A" levels, going to further education college or undertaking an approved apprenticeship. I do not believe that these are necessarily full-time education in the way that you are approaching them of believing it should be 5 AS subjects.

I guess it is about funding and about hours. The alternative school that timetables 5 AS subjects decided they could not accept DS with 3 subjects because it would not be enough to qualify as full time education.

But DS is currently receiving only 15 hours of subject teaching for his 3 AS. Like all other students, he has 4 additional timetabled hours, one each for PSHE, Independent study time, Lecture series and an extension subject (Mandarin).
There are nominal 25 learning hours in a week. One school uses this to teach 4 subjects, another to teach 5. It looks like both schools use one hour per subject per day. One school is happy with DS having 3 subjects resulting in 7 fewer teaching hours. These hours are earmarked for "independent learning".

So is the threshold then really 16 hours, which means the alternative school needs to timetable at least one additional hours of teacher contact? How could they do it? Please give me some ideas to go back to that school.

I just need to find out whether there is a way for the school that does 5 AS to accept DS for 3 subjects and still qualify for funding for a full time place.

I just want DS to have the same chances and opportunities as all other students.

Crazumum, thaks for the great idea to talk to CAB about the duty of LA. I will have to call them, so I 'd better know what they can and can't do.

Admission, are you driving at doing Physics in another college? The free hours in DS's timetable are positioned randomly at different times in different days. So It is impossible to travel to another school for a lesson. However, shall I request that the LA funds home tuition or "at school" tuition for Physics?

Is he currently in yr 11 or 12? If 11 then he should be transferring over to the EHC this year, if he qualifies for one. If 12 then he wont transfer over. EHCs dont apply to uni if he is looking at this route.

Can I request transfer to EHC?

You can request it but LAs are working towards deadlines so they may not transfer him if he isnt in yr11. I think there is also a grey area around who will get an EHC - i think the spirit of the new reforms is that 'no-one should lose out just because the system is changing' but some LAs are also taking this as an opportunity to review who still needs one. If your DC is succeeding and working at the level he needs to from support which is only provided from school, then they could argue that he doesnt need an EHC plan as his needs are being met through the 'local offer'. He may get to stay on the schools SEN support register instead. If he is getting things like SALT, physio etc then he should get one. TA time might depend on how many hours he gets and whether or not it comes from the schools core budget or from element 2 or 3 of the funding budget. Also, just to keep it simple not LAs appear to be interpreting the guidance differently.

Does anyone know for sure what is "full time"?

Could anyone explain whether DS could qualify for home tuition/ home education in those circumstances? Cab home tuition be part time, i.e, 2 A levels at school, one A level at home?

Can home tuition be part time?

Hi, I'm not an expert in the area, but I think under the new funding regime a full-time programme consists of 540 learning hours per year absolute minimum, target 600, where one A/AS level subject is 150 and there'll be other timetabled stuff on top.

Funding stuff is here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/funding-education-for-16-to-19-year-olds - see the overview of funding formula document.

There are other documents on the gov.UK site about 16-19 study programmes. This guidance (for schools/colleges) came out recently and has a tiny bit of SEN included. There may be more useful or detailed stuff elsewhere but hopefully this will give you somewhere to start if you haven't already found it.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-study-programmes-advice-on-planning-and-delivery