Welcome to Elective Home Education

Doncaster Council - working alongside families in their learning journey

Our statement to you…•Weappreciatethatparents/carers

havechoicesonhowandwhereto

educatetheirchildren.

•Werespecttherearedifferent

methodsof providingasuitable

education.

•Weacknowledgemainstream

schoolingisnotsuitableor

desirableforeveryone.

•Weunderstandthatparentsdon’t

wantus‘watchingover’and

continuallymonitoringthemor

theirchild.

•Weknowmostparentsprovidea

wonderful,interestingandvaried

educationfortheirchildren.

•Weknowthatmosthomeeducated

childrenarehappy,healthyand

receivingasolidandappropriate

educationwhichwillpreparethem

wellfortheirfuture.

Weknowthatmanyparentscanbe

waryof LocalAuthorityinvolvement

butourElectiveHomeEducation

(EHE)officersmeetmanyfamilies

withveryvariedreasonsfor

educatingtheirchildren‘otherwise’.

Wecanprovidesupportandadvice

byworkingalongsidefamilies

whereverwecan.

DoncasterCouncilwantstowork

closelywithhomeeducatorsto

ensurethattheyhavetheservice

theywant.

Therewillberegularconsultationto

discussresources,ideas,newplans

andgiveusfirst-handinformationas

tohowwecanhelptogive

continuedsupporttolocalEHE

families.

Whether you are considering home education or have already embarked on your journey we hope you find the following information helpful.

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InadditionDoncasterLocalAuthority

ParticipationandTransitionService

willoffersupporttoyoungpeople

educatedathomefromage14.

What we will not do•Wewillnevertellyouwhatyou

aredoingiswrong.Ourroleisto

offeradviceandsupport.

•Wewillneverdemandtoseeyour

child/children.

•Wewillnotturnupatyourdoor

unannounced.

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However - if you will let us…•Wewouldlovetobepartof your

continuingeducationaljourney.Our

officerscanofferadviceonnewly

availableresourcesand

informationwhichmightbe

relevanttotheagerangeor

abilitiesof yourchild/children.

•Wewouldlovetoseeordiscuss

educationalaspectsthatyourchild

hasexperienced-it’sconfirmation

tousthatasuitableeducationis

beingprovidedandit’salwaysnice

toseechildren’sachievements.

•Wewouldalsoliketohearfrom

childrentoseeif wecanhelpthem

inanyway.

What’s your route?

ParentsandcarerscometoEHE

frommanydifferentroutes.Some

parentsprefertoEHEfromthestart

sotheirchildrenhavenever

experiencedmainstreamschool.

OtherfamiliesdecidetoEHEat

sometimeaftertheirchildhas

attendedschool.Tosomefamilies

EHEisreallynatural,toothersit

mightbeastruggletoknowwhere

tostart.If yourchildisattending

schoolandyouhavechosento

homeeducateitisnecessarythat

youensurethatyourchildis

de-registeredfromschool.This

meansthatyourchild’snameis

takenoff theschoolregister.Thisis

actuallyaverysimpleprocess.

TheHeadteachermustremove

achild’snamefromtheschool

rollonreceiptof awritten

requestbytheparentadvising

theHeadteacherof theirintentionto

homeeducate.If yourchildisonroll

ataspecialschooltheprocedureis

differentasthelocalauthorityhasto

agreetoremovalfromroll.

Uponreceiptof theletterthe

HeadteacherwillinformDoncaster

Councilandwewillwritetoyouto

offeryoutheopportunitytoaccess

adviceandsupport.

You don’t need a reasonTherearemanydifferentreasons

whyfamilieshomeeducate.Some

familiesprefertohomeeducatefor

religiousorculturalreasons,some

justbecausetheydonotwanttheir

childtobepartof aschoolsystem.

Whateveryourreasons,we’resure

youhaveyourchild’sbestinterests

atthetopof yourlistandwewould

liketosupportyourdecision.

Financial ImplicationsUsually,if youelecttohome

educateyourchild,youdonot

receiveanyhelpwithfundingfrom

theGovernment.

If youhavechosentode-register,or

haveneverregisteredyourchild,the

LocalAuthorityhasnodutyto

arrangeeducationalprovisionat

home.Whenconsideringhome

educationit’simportanttoconsider

howyouwillfundallaspectsof the

education,includingexams.

Approaches to Home Education

Weknowthatmethodsarevery

variedandyet,inthemostpart,

homeeducatingfamiliestendto

fallsomewherebetweenstructured

andautonomous(seebelow).It’s

notuncommontostartwithcertain

ideasandroutinesandthenchange

thingsastimegoeson.It’susuallya

regularlearningprocessforparents

aswellaschildren!

StructuredThisisteachinginaformalmanner

withafixedtimetablethatusually

keepsschoolhoursandschool

termtimes.SometimestheNational

Curriculumisfollowed.Sometimes

astructuredapproachisthechild’s

choiceparticularlyif thechildhas

previouslyhadsomeyearsatschool

priortobeinghomeeducated.

AutonomousFamiliesdonothavetofollowthe

nationalcurriculumoratimetable,

thusallowingfargreaterflexibility.

Usuallythechilddeterminesthe

areasof studyalsodecidinghow,

whenandwhattolearn.Thereis

usuallymorefocus

onusingindividualinterestsor

naturalcuriosity.

What do you HAVE to do?If youhavedecidedtoEHEyour

childthenyoudohavealegalduty

toensurethatyourchildreceives

aneffectiveandsuitableeducation.

Youcandothisanywayyouwant

toandtherearemanywaysand

descriptionsforthemethodchosen.

Italldependsonchoiceandtheage

andabilitiesof yourchildbuthere

areafewof themostcommon:

Living-LearningWhereeverythingineverydaylife

isalearningexperience.Learning

aboutsciencecansimplybe

informalchattingaboutnature,

plantsandgrowthduringawalkin

thewoods.Simplemathsfractions

canbeincorporatedsimplyby

cuttingacakeinslicesforsixpeople

(1/6thof awhole!)Turningona

bedsidelampcanopenuplearning

questionsaboutpowersources,

electricityandenergy.Thisischild

ledandsimplydirectedbythe

educator.

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Flexi-studyThisis,usually,settimetablesto

learnandalsousing‘livinglearning’

Childrenhaveaninformaltimetable

whichconcentratesonwrittenand

verballearningandlearnthe

practicalsideof thingswhile‘living

learning’.Thistypeof studyis

particularlyhelpfulif youwantto

concentrateslightlymoreinonearea

thananother.Itisstillimportantto

giveafullandbalancededucation

though.

Internet SchoolingInthismodernworldof coursewe

mustnotforgetInternetschools.

Thesearesafeandmonitored

virtualclassroomswherechildren

aretaughteitherfixedorvariable

timetabledlessons-thismay

broadlyfollowthenational

curriculumandchildrenwould

normallytakeIGCSEexams.This

isnormallytermtimeinlinewith

schools.

Distance learningTherearemanycoursesavailable

whichprovideteachingsupportwith

assignmentsbeingcompletedand

thensenttothecourseteachersand

formallymarked.

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Thiseducationalmethodisusually

forchildrenaged11+.Thesetypes

of coursesareusuallyfinalisedwith

thestudenttakingIGCSEexams

oncethecourseisfinished.

School at HomeThisiswhatitsays,setlessons,

settimes,followingtheNational

Curriculumbutathome.Of course

youarenotlikelytohaveascience

labinyourshed,agymnasiuminthe

wardrobe,oradramaroomgoing

spare,butthistypeof learningis

muchmorelikethetraditionalidea

of schooling,just‘athome’.Itsworth

rememberingthattheexamples

givenarejustatinyrepresentation

of thewayfamilieschoosetohome

educate.Inourexperiencefamilies

don’tfollowanyspecificrouteas

homeeducationisaverypersonal

experience.Mosthomeeducators

willagreethatwhatworksforone

familymaynotworkforanother.The

mostimportantpointisthattohome

educate,youreally,reallyhaveto

WANTto-wellmostof thetime,

anyway,weallhaveouroff days!

Home-educationcanchangewith

theebbandflowof familylifeas

children,theirinterestsandtheir

needs,changeandgrow.Onesize

mostcertainlydoesnotfitalland

oneof thebenefitsof home

educationisthatyoucanalterthefit

asneeded.

Avariedrangeof subjectsshould

beincludedinyoureducational

provisionsuchasmaths,reading,

writing,sciences,geography,history,

andeducationaldiscussiontoname

afew.Of equalimportance,are

sportsandexercise,musicandart.

Mostexperiencedhomeeducators

suggestthatithelpsif youcankeep

youreyesopenforopportunities

andeverydayoccurrencesthatcan

openupdoorsforobservationand

discussion.

Learningcanandshouldbefun

andenjoyableanditcanbeavery

steeplearningcurve,notsomuch

forthechildren,butfortheirparents

and/oradultsinvolvedinthe

children’slife.Thereisno

requirementforhomeeducatorsto

followtheNationalCurriculum

(althoughsomedo).Childrenlearn

atdifferentstagesandagesso

milestonescanbevaried.

TheElectiveHomeEducation

Officerwillalwaysbeavailableto

offeradviceandcanprovideyou

withinformationonhomeeducation

groupsif youwouldfindthat

reassuring.

Thereisavarieddiversityamongst

DoncasterHomeEducatorsand

manymeetregularlyandarrange

socialoreducationalvisitsto

museumsorplacesof interest.

Therearelotsof resourcesavailable

ontheInternetfromformal

worksheetstoartsandcraftssites

andwehavelistedafewof themat

theendof thisbooklet.

ExamsHomeeducatedchildrencantake

someexaminationsasfee-paying

privatecandidatesandmay,for

example,takeGCSE’s,IGCSE’sor

OpenUniversitycourses.

Itcanbedifficulttofindsomewhere

tositexams.However,someschools

andcollegeswillacceptexternal

candidates.DoncasterCouncilwill

provideinformationoneducational

establishmentswhoacceptexternal

candidates.

Why is it all so important?We’resurethatyourgoalsarethe

sameasours-thatallchildrenstay

happy,enjoygrowingup,remain

safe,andreceiveasuitable

educationwhichwillsetthemonthe

roadtoasuccessfulcareeranda

happyandproductivelife.Whenthe

decisiontohomeeducateismade

byparentsitisuptothemtodecide

howtheydeliverthateducation.

Theyarenotrequiredtofollowthe

NationalCurriculumortokeepto

specificschoolhours.

A varied range of subjects should be included in your educational provision such as reading, writing, maths, sciences, geography and history to name a few.

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However,parentsarerequiredby

lawtoensuretheirchildreceivesan

efficientfulltimeeducation,suitable

totheirage,abilityandaptitudeand

toanyspecialeducationalneedsthe

childmayhave.Youmayfindthatif

yourchildhaspreviouslyattended

schooltherewillneedtobeaperiod

of adjustment,it’ssometimescalled

‘de-schooling’Similarlyyourchild

mightbeusedtostructuredlessons

andwillfeelmorecomfortablewith

thatsamebasisforhomeeducation.

Youmaydecidethatyoudonotwish

tofollowanystructure,butwould

preferthatyourchildsetstheirown

learningchoices.Whatevermethod

youchoosethereisreallyonlyone

basicrule-if youarechoosingto

homeeducatethenparentsmust

provideanefficientfulltime

educationwhichissuitabletothe

age,abilityandaptitudeof thechild.

WeaskHomeEducatorstoprovide

uswithinformationaboutthetypeof

educationthatwillbeoffered.This

canbesuppliedinoneormoreof

thefollowingways:

1. Apersonalmeeting(atyour

homeoranothervenue)withour

ElectiveHomeEducationOfficer.

2. Bycompletingourinformation

form.

3. Writingareport.

4. Writingaletteraboutyour

educationphilosophy.

5. Showingexamplesof

educationalexperience

(photos,essaysetc).

6. Gainingendorsementfrom

athirdparty.

Three suggested elements to Educational Philosophies(Courtesyof FionaNicholson

www.edyourself.org)

a) TheBelief Statement.Thisisyour

“philosophyof education”orthe

valueswhichareimportanttoyou

andyourfamily

b) TheListof Resourcesusedin

yourdaytodayhomeeducation

c) Howyouareputtingyourbeliefs

intopractice.(AlsoKnownas

“TheReport”)Giveexamplesof

howyourhomeeducationworks

inpractice.Manyfamiliesalso

finditusefultokeeparecord

whentheyfirststarthome

educating,toremindthemselves

of allthattheyaredoingona

dailybasis.

UpdatesAsyourchildgrowsitislikelythat

yourprovisionwilltooandwiththis

inmindwecontacteachEHEfamily

eitherannuallyormoreregularlyif

requested.Itisimportantthatwe

mentionthatitisnotalegal

requirementforhomeeducators

toprovideregularupdatestous.

Howeverwedofeelthatithelps

ustounderstandwherewecould

provideservicestohomeeducators

orhighlightexistingserviceswhich

maybeuseful.

Withthisinmindweoffermanyways

forexchangeof information:

1. AmeetingwiththeOfficerso

thatwecankeepyouupdatedon

anynewsupportservicesand

youcanletusknowhowthings

havebeenprogressingsinceour

lastcontact.

2. AletterorrevisedEducational

Philosophy.

3. FurtherExamplesof the

educationalexperience.

What’s the different between EHE (Elective Home Education) and CME (Children Missing Education)?Everychildisentitledbylawtoan

educationeitherbyregular

attendanceatschoolor‘otherwise’.

EveryLAhasadutytoensurethat

childrenarenotmissingeducation

andsoneedtoascertainthata

childfallsundertheumbrellaof

EHEandnotCME.

Why is it all so important?Everychildhasarighttoan

education.Parentscanmake

choicesonhowthatisdeliveredbut

legallyithastobeeducationthatis

“efficient”-itachieveswhatitsets

outtoachieveand“suitable”-it

preparesthechildforlifeinsociety

asfullandequalcitizensandalso

enablesthechildtoachievehis/her

fullpotential.

We’resurethatyourgoalsarethe

sameasours-thatallchildrenstay

happy,staysafe,enjoygrowingup,

remainsafeandreceiveasuitable

educationwhichwillsetthemonthe

roadtoasuccessfulcareeranda

happyandproductivelife.

Is there a negative side to EHE?Wehavelistenedtosomeof the

concernsfromexistingEHEparents

andchildren.Theseareafew

whichyoumayfindinteresting.

My child seems to have lost interest in education and sometimes it can be difficult to spark their interest at all. What shall I do?

Whynottryacompletelydifferent

approach.Forexample,oneEHE

childwasjustnotinterestedin

historyatall.Thenasurprisetrip

tothecinematosee‘TheKings

Speech’endedinafourweek

projectontheRoyalKingsand

Queensof England!Thisledto

deeperinterestinspecifictime

periodsinhistoryandsomevery

detailedanddedicatedresearch

withcontinuedinterest.

I’m finding it difficult to get my child to exercise.

AsEHEparentsit’seasytonottake

intoaccounttheactualtimetabled

physicaleducationlessonsyour

childnolongerhas.Whenyoualso

factorinwalkingtoandfromschool,

walkingbetweenclassroomsand

playing/runningatbreaktimesthat’s

alotof missedexercise!Motivation

isthekey,exercisecanalsobefun,

iceskating,swimming,orjust

walkingthedogandthrowingaball

isallexercise.

Whataboutsuggestinganartlesson

inthewoods,alongwalk,arest

whilesketching,thenabriskwalk

backhome.

I’m concerned that my child is not socialising enough with other children of similar ages. What can I do?Thismightbeagoodtimetojoina

localclub.Findalistof localclubs

offeringasubjectyouthinkyour

childwouldbeinterestedin.Drama

clubs,Scouts,Guides,Karateclubs,

thelikelihoodisthatfriendshipswill

beforged.Youcouldalsolookfor

localgroupsof homeeducators.

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Progress enquiries from the Local Authority

Sometimeswereceiveinformation,

thatmakesitappearthatparentsare

notprovidingasuitable

education,obviouslywehaveto

checkthisinformation.Thefirstthing

wedoissimplyconductinformal

enquiriesbyaskingyou-sothatwe

cansatisfyourownlegal

requirements.Thistypeof enquiry

isnotthesameasaformalnotice

undersection437(1),andisnot

necessarilyaprecursorfor

formalprocedures.Parentsare

undernodutytorespondtosuch

enquiries,butwehopeyouwill.

Obviouslywecan’t‘forgetaboutit’

orputthefiletothebottomof the

pileif wedon’tgetanyanswer-we

havetofollowupandsometimesof

coursewedohavetotakefurther

stepstoensurethatachildreceives

asuitableeducation,butthiswould

beourlastresort.

Wewouldlovetoworkandlearn

frommoreexperiencedhome

educatorsasitreallydoeshelpus

todecidewhetherweneedtomake

changestoourprocedures.

Withthisinminditisveryhelpfulif

wehaveannualcontactwithyouso

thatyoucanprovideabrief update.

Ouraimistobuildasolid

relationshipwithallHomeEducation

families,sothatwecansaythat

everyHomeEducatedchildin

Doncasterishappy,healthyand

learningwell.

Helpful ResourcesManywebsitesareavailabletohelp

homeeducators.Thesesitesrange

fromfreeinformationandideas,to

paidforworksheets.Thelinksbelow

aresomethathavebeenusedby

otherDoncasterEHEfamilies.

Ed Yourself

www.edyourself.org

Doncaster Home Education Group

www.doncasterhomeeducation.

blogspot.co.uk/

Ideas for home schooling

www.homeschooling-ideas.com

Education Otherwise

www.educationotherwise.net

Home Education Advisory

service

www.heas.org.uk

HE Special (Home Education

Children with Special

Education Needs)

www.he-special.org.uk

www.home-education.org.uk

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Parents may decide to exercise their right to home educate their child from a very early age and so the child may not have been previously enrolled at school.

10

Library

Therearemanylibrariesinand

aroundDoncasterandtheyare

allfreetojoin.Manylibrariesoffer

accesstoacomputerwithInternet

access.HomeEducatorscannow

haveaccesstotheschoolslibrary

serviceatacostof £50peryear.

Internet schools:

www.interhigh.co.uk

www.briteschool.co.uk

www.firstcollege.co.uk

Distance Learning:

www.oxfordhomeschooling.co.uk

www.nec.ac.uk/info

www.ukopencollege.co.uk

The Legal bitsThelawrelatingtoElectiveHome

Education:

Theresponsibilityforachild’s

educationrestswiththeirparents.In

England,educationiscompulsory,

butschoolisnot.

Article2of Protocol1of the

EuropeanConventiononHuman

Rightsstatesthat:

“Nopersonshallbedeniedthe

righttoeducation.Intheexerciseof

anyfunctionswhichitassumesin

relationtoeducationandto

teaching,theStateshallrespect

therightof parentstoensuresuch

educationandteachingisin

conformitywiththeirownreligious

andphilosophicalconvictions.”

Parentshavearighttoeducatetheir

childrenathome.Section7of the

EducationAct1996providesthat:

“Theparentof everychildof

compulsoryschoolageshallcause

himtoreceiveefficientfull-time

educationsuitable-

(a)tohisage,abilityandaptitude,

and(b)toanyspecialeducational

needshemayhave,eitherbyregular

attendanceatschoolorotherwise.”

Theresponsibilityforachild’s

educationrestswithhisorher

parents.An“efficient”and“suitable”

educationisnotdefinedinthe

EducationAct1996but“efficient”

hasbeenbroadlydescribedincase

lawasaneducationthat“achieves

thatwhichitsetsouttoachieve”,

anda“suitable”educationisone

that“primarilyequipsachildforlife

withinthecommunityof whichheis

amember,ratherthanthewayof life

inthecountryasawhole,aslong

asitdoesnotforeclosethechild’s

optionsinlateryearstoadoptsome

otherformof lifeif hewishes

todoso”.

Parental rights and responsibilities

Parentsmaydecidetoexercisetheir

righttohomeeducatetheirchild

fromaveryearlyageandsothe

childmaynothavebeenpreviously

enrolledatschool.Theymayalso

electtohomeeducateatanyother

stageuptotheendof compulsory

schoolage.Parentsarenot

requiredtoregisterorseekapproval

fromthelocalauthoritytoeducate

theirchildrenathome.Parentswho

choosetoeducatetheirchildrenat

homemustbepreparedtoassume

fullfinancialresponsibility,including

bearingthecostof anypublic

examinations.However,local

authoritiesareencouragedto

providesupportwhereresources

permit.

Parentsmustalsoensurethattheir

childrenreceiveasuitablefull-time

educationforaslongastheyare

beingeducatedathome.

Localauthoritieshaveastatutory

dutyundersection436Aof the

EducationAct1996,insertedbythe

EducationandInspectionsAct2006,

tomakearrangementstoenable

themtoestablishtheidentities,

sofarasitispossibletodoso,of

childrenintheirareawhoarenot

receivingasuitableeducation.The

dutyappliesinrelationtochildren

of compulsoryschoolagewhoare

notonaschoolroll,andwhoare

notreceivingasuitableeducation

otherwisethanbeingatschool(for

example,athome,privately,orin

alternativeprovision).Theguidance

issuedmakesitclearthattheduty

doesnotapplytochildrenwhoare

beingeducatedathome.

LocalAuthoritieshavenostatutory

dutiesinrelationtomonitoringthe

qualityof homeeducationona

routinebasis.However,under

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Section437(1)of theEducationAct

1996,LocalAuthoritiesshall

interveneif itappearsthatparents

arenotprovidingasuitable

education.Thissectionstatesthat:

“If itappearstoaLocalEducation

Authoritythatachildof compulsory

schoolageintheirareaisnot

receivingsuitableeducation,either

byregularattendanceatschoolor

otherwise,theyshallserveanotice

inwritingontheparentrequiring

himtosatisfythemwithintheperiod

specifiedinthenoticethatthechild

isreceivingsucheducation.”

Section437(2)of theActprovides

thattheperiodshallnotbelessthan

15daysbeginningwiththedayon

whichthenoticeisserved

Priortoservinganoticeunder

section437(1),LocalAuthoritiesare

encouragedtoaddressthesituation

informally.

Themostobviouscourseof actionif

theLocalAuthorityhasinformation

thatmakesitappearthatparentsare

notprovidingasuitableeducation,

wouldbetoaskparentsforfurther

informationabouttheeducationthey

areproviding.Sucharequestisnot

thesameasanoticeundersection

437(1),andisnotnecessarilya

precursorforformalprocedures.

Parentsareundernodutyto

respondtosuchenquiries,butit

wouldbesensibleforthem

todoso.

www.doncaster.gov.uk

For more information please contact: Doncaster Council

Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster, DN1 3BU.Telephone: 01302 736504