flexi -schooling
Dear Sir or Madam,
I have already sent an email to the DCSF regarding flexi- schooling and have not received a confirmation let alone a response.Therefore I feel the only way to get a response is to use the FOI Act.
The person in charge (outgoing now) of Elective Home Education in my LA- the Principle Education Social worker , Colin Briden has also in the past put this question in an email to the DCSF and received no answer.
In the flexi-schooling guidelines both in the pupil attendance registers and EHE 2007 guidelines it is not clear which attendance code should be put in a school's register if the headmaster agrees to the plan.
The current 2007 guidelines merely says to put it as 'an authorised absence'.
However there are many different codes that come under 'authorised'.
This has led to confusion (nationwide) and a disparity of practice and a disparity in what individual Local Authorities advise the headmasters when they ask for information.
Some say C
Others say B
if it is C then flexi-schooling although supposedly encouraged by the DCSF in all guidance, is not in the best interests of schools- as then the child is counted in the global absences.
If it is 'B' then the entire scenario becomes easily negotiated with willing headmasters.
please give me the DCSF's official answer to this or forward my email to whomever is qualified to make this final decision
Yours faithfully,
Tania Berlow
Dear Ms Berlow,
Thank you for your recent email. A reply will be sent to you as soon as
possible (where a response is required). For information, the
departmental standard for correspondence received is that responses
should be sent within 15 working days or 20 working days if you are
requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Your correspondence has been allocated the reference number 2009/0064435
Thank you.
Central Allocation Team
Public Communications Team
Tel: 0870 0002288
www.dcsf.gov.uk
Dear Ms Berlow,
Thank you for your email dated 16 July 2009 about flexi-schooling.
Flexi-schooling is the term used for a system whereby children are partly
educated at school and partly educated elsewhere, usually at home. Unlike
full-time home education, any agreement between a pupil's parents and a
school for the child to be flexi-schooled is at the headteacher's
discretion.
The nature of home education is that it often does not follow strict
timetables or the patterns of a normal school day. Educational activities
that take place outside the normal school day are not recorded in the
statutory attendance register.
Off-site activities which take place during the school's normal day can be
recorded as approved educational activity, code B, but only if the
activities meet the legislative requirements [see section 6 (4) of The
Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006] and the school
has received confirmation that the activity took place during the session
in question.
If the child was not undertaking educational activity, he/she should be
recorded as authorised absence, code C.
If the school is notified the child was ill, attending a medical or dental
appointment, on a family holiday or was absent for some other reason then
the appropriate attendance code should be used.
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 and Guidance
on applying the Education Pupil Registration Regulations; Keeping Pupil
Registers can be found at
[1]http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/schoolattendance/...
Yours sincerely,
Karen Kennedy
Improving Behaviour and Attendance Unit
[email address]
[2]www.dcsf.gov.uk
Your correspondence has been allocated the reference number 2009/0064435.
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/schoolattendance/...
2. http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/
Tania Berlow left an annotation ()
Vicki- a headmaster who is willing will consider it a code B in the register but as the child is still registered, the school is still acting in loco parentis even although the parent may doing the bulk of the time. Basically the parent still has handed over the duty to the school.In this regard the child is not considered home educated and the headmaster and parent must agree on the 'plan'.
Usually headmasters agree to flexi time if it is part of an intention to return to school full time. Most will not consider it unless they have so few numbers registered that there is a danger of closure. A few have considered it as an option but unless you follow the National Curriculum, the academic subject become tricky.I have yet to find a headmaster who will agree to the parents doing the academics and the child attending only for the group activities and arts etc.....although technically there is no reason why not.Most would say that some of the other full time children would not consider it fair that some children did not have to do these bits and that this was not desirable for the cohesiveness of the school.
J. Grant left an annotation ()
I would suggest that a possible obstacle to H/T agreeing to flexi-schooling is that it could disadvantage the school re. exam results and league tables. If the child is of SAt/ exam age then they would still be counted in the statistics as they are on the school roll. This is the case even if they are not entered for any exams. Particularly in small schools, one child can make a large difference to a percentage. Also, would a school be willing to be responsible for a child's exam results if they have not had any teaching input in that subject?
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Vicky the viking left an annotation ()
This is a really big issue and an obstacle for any parent wishing to take up the flexi schooling approach. There needs to be a different code added specific for children who are flexi schooled