Do children have to stay in education until 18?

[SingleMum01]

was chatting the other day with some mums and a couple said that kids have to stay in education now until 18, not 16. Have I missed something?!

Hmmm yes it was introduced/is being introduced shortly

No, 16 still applies. Most students IME go on to study vocational qualifications at a college if they leave after GSCEs but it's not compulsory.

Is that true? Has it been applied?

The current Year 7s and under have to stay in education or training until 18. They don't have to stay at school though.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_173002

yes is true

So currently you can still leave at 16 but not for long!

How will they enforce it?

So EMA will also finish as the goverment will not have to "keep" teenagers in education it will be compulasry.

Although you will be able to marry and have children yourslef legally but still stay in education

My DD is in the first year group that has to stay till 18, in either school doing A-levels, or college doing vocational training. I don't see how they can enforce it for someone like my DD, I see it as being very expensive for the government to provide all the additional support SEN children will need for an extra 2 years, Where will that extra funding come from? And it also means that Child benefit will be paid for two further years as well, and also an ex-partners liability for maintenance continues for an extra 2 years. She is currently in Y7. My friends daughter is EXACTLY one year older than my DD (same birthday), she will be able to leave school in July 2013, where my DD will have to stay in some form of (probably NOT very useful to her in particular) education until July 2016!!!

And Ivykaty has a point, at the moment, if a teenager falls pregnant before the end of compulsory education (i.e. before the end of Y11), The LEA has to provide a home tutor and allow the teenager to sit her exams. Will that be true if a 17/18yo does the same? WHERE would that money come from?? And, another sore point locally is that whilst we have a very good secondary locally, it has no more room to expand, is already only Y7-Y11, where are they going to put an extra 2 yr groups, the local college hasn't got the space, as there will be 3 other schools having the same problem, now this thread REALLY has got me thinking...may have to do some research on this topic...

So by keeping teenagers in education the goverment saves

EMA
private tutor
Dole money
apprentiship funding

They don't have to stay at school or college! They can be in workplace-based training which is the same as apprenticeships. When you look at it, the vast majority of 16-18 year olds are in education or training anyway. They're trying to deal with those who fall through the cracks, as it were. So they can get a job at 16, but it must come with training - nothing wrong with that, surely?

No, nothing wrong with that for the vast majority of people, but what about DC's like my DD, who won't even scrape a c-grade at GCSE, and also have problems in that they aren't very able with their hands either, so wouldn't even gain 'vocational' qualifications, what do THEY do for an additional 2 years, sit in a classroom doing nothing? And are they going to expand special school to cope with an additional 2 years groups? Or are those SN kids meant to suddenly be NT and go and do 'work based training'??!! I know it's now that 'thems the rules' but where is all the necessary funding going to be 'magicked up' from? SEN are already underfunded in schools, and now the funding is going to have to cover an extra 2 years. I personally DON'T see the logic. The schools will just have even more truancy, as if you're married with a baby at 17 (which is perfectly legal) are you likely to still be going to school every day??

And in my local area, there wouldn't be enough places, even with college/sixth form college& work based placements, so where do the rest of these teenagers go? My area doesn't seem to be (from the googling I've been doing) organising enough placements/college places for these children. Hmmmmm....may just ask the LEA THAT one....