A number of home educating parents feel an obscure sense of grievance that once they take their children out of school, they become entirely responsible for their children's education. At the back of their minds, they perhaps feel that the local authority has vast sums of money which they spend on schools and that they are wilfully denying home educated children their rightful share of this pot. It's not really like that at all.
Schools are very expensive places to run and the money raised through Council tax is nowhere near enough to pay for them. Instead, the money for schools is provided by central government in London. It comes from Income Tax and Corporation Tax. Each year, the local authority counts how many school children it has and then asks the government for the appropriate amount of money. For each child registered at a school, the local authority receives a fixed sum.. This amount, the Age Weighted Pupil Unit or AWPU varies currently from £2152 a year for children in Year 1 to £3530 for those in Year 11.
Would it be just and equitable for home educating parents to be included in the annual returns and then handed the AWPU each year in order to pay for their children's education? The problem is that the great bulk of this money is spent upon the salaries of teachers and upkeep of school buildings. As parents, we do not really expect a salary for teaching our own children, nor is it easy to see why the local authority should help us with the upkeep of our homes! The idea has been suggested that a voucher system should be established, so that all parents receive a credit note for the AWPU which they would then be free to spend where they wished. This would mean that they could shop around schools and nurseries or even use the money to contribute to a private education for their child. If such a scheme were to operate, then it would I suppose be reasonable for home educating parents to be a part of it.
The main difficulty though is that the majority of home educators simply wish to be left alone and have as little to do with their local authority as possible. Nobody gives out money without wanting to see what they have got in exchange and if local authorities did start handing out cash to home educating families, they would be sure to keep a much closer eye on them than is presently the case. My own daughter's examinations cost me the best part of £1000. That was my affair and I really don't see that the taxpayer should be expected to fund the enterprise. I had a free choice in which subjects she took and when she took them. Had we wished, she need not have sat any examinations at all. It is precisely this freedom which many home educating parents value and I can't see many being keen to sacrifice it for a lot of interference from their local authority.
The truth is that anybody who wishes for their child to be educated for free is able to do so. Indeed, children have a legal right to this free education. Those of us who choose not to avail ourselves of this right can hardly expect to be offered a cash alternative! The schools are there and we can use them or not as we decide.
Simon says-At the back of their minds, they perhaps feel that the local authority has vast sums of money which they spend on schools and that they are wilfully denying home educated children their rightful share of this pot. It's not really like that at all.
ReplyDeleteit is like that where is that money that would have been spent on our child now he is home educated does it just vanish into thin air? they got the money to spend they always seen to find it when it suits them! we want the money to give our child a much better education whats wrong with that dont you want children to get top education or only for those that can afford it the rest of us tough luck?
Nobody gives out money without wanting to see what they have got in exchange and if local authorities did start handing out cash to home educating families, they would be sure to keep a much closer eye on them than is presently
government give out money all the time and does not check how it is spent really look at defence billions have been wasted of computer schemes that dont delivey i know some one who works as a buyer he sells parts to defence department and he told me this is true you always mark up good lots to defence department cos they not worried its only tax payers money LOL i said your joking and he said no its the truth!
The schools are there and we can use them or not as we decide. thats not really true is it most of the sate schools are crap what kind of choice is that?? and if you had problem with a local state school your marked down as a trouble maker and your child and you will not be treated well by any new school after all its got to be the parent fault its never the LEA or school is it Simon/Julie??
yeah lets have that 5 grand i spend on a new computer and some learning disks and a online course for Peter LOL
Curious that Hampshire County Council should have decided that your correspondence falls foul of its Unreasonably Persistent and Vexatious Complaints Policy. Tell me, do you ever get the impression that all the rest of the world is out of step with you, rather than the other way round? It's just a thought!
ReplyDeleteOld crafty Simon says- Curious that Hampshire County Council should have decided that your correspondence falls foul of its Unreasonably Persistent and Vexatious Complaints Policy. Tell me, do you ever get the impression that all the rest of the world is out of step with you, rather than the other way round? It's just a thought!
ReplyDeletePeter wrote those letters not me! i thought every child view counted Simon?
quite a lot of people agree with Peter about being giving money resourses for his home education so Peter not the only one to want this and a lot of people agree that Hampshire Council gives a poor service to its customers over education and home education! come round here and i get some tax payers to tell you that face to face if you want? or will the truth hurt to much for you?
dont you want Peter to have that money to spend on his home education so that he gets a even better home education? i know you dont you want children to have to go to a crap state school or nothing thats not the answer and you know it! thats why we in the mess we are with the low education of many children you got think outside of the box Simon you spend to much time cosying up to LA's/Balls'DCSF/Badman habe you taken him out on a date yet LOL
Anonymous, you have said that you would like a private education for your son. Have you considered applying for scholarships? Personally, I wouldn't want my children educated in a private school but if you do, and your son is academically inclined, maybe you could do that?
ReplyDeleteI've always felt that money would come with strings and I'm not interested in jumping through their hoops for cash. I would like it if the state education system were changed overnight into an invitational, mixed age system of learning centres with public exams offered for free to anyone who wants to partake. But that's not going to happen. As the system is at present, I think any money offered will not be worth the conditions imposed.
Allie says Anonymous, you have said that you would like a private education for your son. Have you considered applying for scholarships? Personally, I wouldn't want my children educated in a private school but if you do, and your son is academically inclined, maybe you could do that?
ReplyDeletePeter been offered scholarships but not the full amount and we could not have afforded to move to be near the private school and the house prices tend to be a lot more cos of the area and we still need to work! unless of course HCC will buy us a house and give us work? LOL see the rich can just move to anther area not have to worry about work or how much a house costs also they are hidden costs with private school such as they field trips i dont think they go to Hasting for a day out more like Italy or USA or Rome for education trips which would of course cost a lot!
ive always felt that money would come with strings and I'm not interested in jumping through their hoops for cash. why? it does not have to unless you let it? they work for us so should do what we want ie lets have some of OUR money to help pay for a better home education for those children that want it if you dont want the money we have yours to! we want that 5 grand that state school children get that all dont you want Peter to have a better home education? you want him to have 2nd rate education like Simon and Julie do? i spend that 5 grand reall good online course computer learning disk private tutor etc.i send you the recipts if you want them LOL!
I don't believe that the LAs should hand over the AWPU to HEers (even if they actually had it in their possession, which we know they don't since it ceases to exits if a child isn't in a state school.) Reasons....
ReplyDeletea) it would cause private school parents to demand the same and that would cause chaos.
b) It would break the whole basis of taxation - ie that we all pay for things even if we don't use them.
c) The country is broke anyway!
But... I do belive that the LAs, with a bit of extra funding could do more to help HErs. You mention exam access, which as we know is very expensive if we have to use profit making tutorial centres etc. It should be possible for LAs to make a few schools more HEr friendly in this repsect (and Hants is doing that) even if they still have to pay basic exam fees - £25 a subject is much more reasonable that £150. They may, with a bit more Govt help, even be able to offer some free GCSES.
There are other things which LAs could do at minimal cost which some HE families may want to engage in - the use of science labs, which we now enjoy, is one (low cost to the LA and free to us). Since I believe that this sort of activity will improve relationships between families and the LA, all who get involved in this are winners. And there are other things- we were given a box of books by the LA to use as a library source, which they must have been given by some Govt scheme- there must be many more simple ideas!
Julie says-It should be possible for LAs to make a few schools more HEr friendly in this repsect (and Hants is doing that)
ReplyDeleteNo resourses in this part of Hampshire and Jan Lweis refuses to engage with Peter?
Julie also says-we were given a box of books by the LA to use as a library source, which they must have been given by some Govt scheme-
no books given here to Peter why?
Peter gets a 2nd rate education and Jan Lewis does nothing yet she is paid by tax payer to work with ALL home educators in Hampshire.
I'm sorry to hear that your son is receiving a second rate education. Have you considered sending him to school?
ReplyDeleteSimon says-I'm sorry to hear that your son is receiving a second rate education. Have you considered sending him to school?
ReplyDeleteno as the state schools around here are rubbish so if he went to school he get a 3rd rate education! all we need is that 5 grand and we can give him a first rate home education dont you agree Simon Julie? or do you want him t ohave 2nd rate education? or back to school for a 3rd rate education?
Providing hard cash to home educators is fraught with difficulties and would come with all sorts of nasty strings attached, given that it's public money and someone would want to account for it. It would be open to abuse and may well attract a load of people whose primary motive was to get their hands on the money rather than educate their children. You certainly can't accuse present-day home educators of doing it for the money!
ReplyDeleteIf it's made available at all, money should be spent on facilities. The obvious one that comes up is exams, which I know you had to pay for yourself, Simon. That's an easy one to provide with minimal fiscal strings because the LA knows what it's spent, that the named persons turned up to sit the exams and gained whatever grades from them. The only catch would be if some Jobsworth wanted to have proof of ability to pass the exams before paying for them, and how that proof would be provided (sit mock exams, perhaps?)
Other places to spend this fantasy money would be on making school labs and sports equipment available when otherwise not in use, either for free or a nominal fee. This could then be open to schoolchildren and even adults as well, if any wanted to try science practicals in a more relaxed environment.
Dave H says-providing hard cash to home educators is fraught with difficulties and would come with all sorts of nasty strings attached,
ReplyDeleteit does not have to be recipts could be sent in to show what the money was spent on.remember the LA officers/council work for us we pay they wages as tax payers!