Letter to local authorities here http://edyourself.org/14-16collegeletter1.pdf
Letter to FE colleges here http://edyourself.org/14-16collegeletter2.pdf
More details are expected by the end of April but meanwhile please direct further questions to 14-16inFE.EFA@education.gsi.gov.uk or to regional EFA contacts, details here http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/executiveagencies/efa/b00199952/educationfundingagency/contacts
Scroll down or click here for more explanation.

All Party Group Home Education Meeting 19th March: Access to FE College 14-16s

The APPG looked at under-16s applying directly to college. Speakers: Matthew Coffey, Learning and Skills Ofsted, Helen Eaton, Assistant Principal Myerscough College Lancashire, Tony Medhurst, AoC, Principal Harrow College, 14-16s Colleges Implementation Group, Ajay Sethi, 14-19 Strategy Manager Lancashire County Council, Malcolm Trobe, Education Funding Agency, ASCL. Chaired by Lord Lucas. DfE was on hand to answer questions and was surprised to learn that most people believed there was no funding for 14-16s unless the learner went on day release from a school (with delegated schools funding) or the college formally joined the new Government initiative and became a fully-fledged 14-16s Centre. This is a matter of particular concern to home educators as it seems most colleges will not be taking up the full 14-16s scheme until September 2014 at the earliest. Andrew Wye from DfE Funding Unit was quite clear that where individual 14-16s begin a college course in September 2013 (part-time or full-time, and whether the course was "continuing" or starting from scratch) the college would be able to claim the course fees directly from the Government, irrespective of whether the college signs up to the whole new 14-16s direct admission scheme this year or not.

Comment: What Happens Now Alternative Provision Funding Has Ceased

There are a number of different categories of 14-16s at college and different ways in which the funding is agreed. #1 The student is a registered pupil at school but attends one (or more) days a week at college. The fees are paid by the school, which also retains overall responsibility. #2The student is working above the level which could be provided in a school. #3 The student is enrolled on a college course which is specifically designed for 14-16s which in most cases will be the same as the ones where school children go one day a week but could be a full time course (very probably vocational, maybe set up for children with "problems") The fees for this always used to be paid by the local authority via Alternative Provision Funding, but AP funding has now ceased. #4 The student wants to do a college course where everyone else on the course happens to be over-16 and may in some cases be much older, for example a GCSE re-take course, or a 16+ vocational course (if the applicant can fulfil the eligibility criteria and is accepted by the college) In the last few years the fees for this did start to be paid by the local authority via Alternative Provision Funding but AP funding doesn't exist any more. #5 The student wants to go to college for a specially designed new 14-16 programme which has a more academic slant to it than the traditional 14-16 FE provision. This is set to replace Alternative Provision Funding and fits in with an overhaul of funding for all settings from nursery through to higher education. Effectively what the Education Funding Agency (ie the Department for Education) said to colleges on April 19th is: "Where you aren't yet implementing #5 we now realise we need to make it clear that you can still get paid for #2 #3 and #4 (bearing in mind that you'll still get the course fees paid for #1 via schools anyway)" There has been an urgent need to spell this out in time for college starting in September 2013 because home educators who asked about college places for under-16s (primarily under #4 but also under #3) were being told that the college wasn't signing up for the new scheme and therefore the college wouldn't be taking ANY under-16s unless they were on the roll of a school. (In other words, the college had ruled itself out of direct funding.) Although the issue was initially flagged up by home educators in #4, the greatest number affected will be young people not otherwise on a school roll in category #3. The main difference between 2012-13 and 2013-14 for home educators is that the young person will no longer need a referral from the local authority since the LA will not be paying the course fees.

All Party Group Home Education Meeting 27th November 2012: SEN and Disability

A meeting was held at Portcullis House, Westminster, on Tuesday 27th November 2012 to discuss Special Educational Needs and Disability with an opportunity to talk to Stephen Kingdom, Deputy Director SEN and Disability at DfE. The aim of the event was to raise awareness and to identify key issues with the new SEN legislation and funding which will impact on home educating families. Contributors identified positives and negatives in the Draft SEN Bill which was being scrutinised by the Education Committee and was set to be introduced to parliament in the New Year. The meeting also heard how families with SEN and disabled children find that services and support are immediately removed once a child starts to be home educated. There was an explanation from Ipsea of how the current statement system should work; section 3 of statement is for the authority to provide and LAs shouldn't evade their duty to make provision by saying that the child is out of school. Whilst welcoming the clarification concerning access to services, home educating parents at the meeting wanted to make it clear that some/many families preferred to find their own ways of meeting their child's needs without input from the council. Local authorities at the meeting asked DfE for a clear exposition from the Government of how the High Needs Block could be used for children in elective home education. It was pointed out that local authorities still have time to use Alternative Provision Funding For SEN Support (deadline January 2013). The general view was that Personal Budgets were not going to be an answer for many families. Click here to read the notes from the meeting.

Follow-up to the November SEN Meeting

Click here to read more about the SEN clauses in the final Children and Families Bill published February 2013 http://edyourself.org/articles/seninchildrenfamiliesbill.php Click here for updated Guidance and FAQ on Home Education Funding (especially for SEN) published by DfE February 2013 http://edyourself.org/articles/funding.php Read my memo to Bill Committee The Education Committee published its report on Support For Home Education on December 18th which included recommendations for greater support to children with SEN who are home educated. The Press Notice comments on "some worrying evidence that provisions were not being fully met as they would be for schooled children". Mr Stuart explained, "Local authorities have a duty to see that provisions in Statements are met regardless of whether or not the young person attends school. They should seek to support families in meeting their children's needs, not withdraw altogether. We urge the DfE to investigate these issues and to make the responsibilities of local authorities very clear in this and other areas concerning home education." Read more about the Education Committee Home Education Report here On December 19th the Committee published its Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Draft SEN Bill which recommended "that the Department for Education examine with close attention the written evidence provided to our inquiry on issues not covered in our report and give careful consideration to the points raised by witnesses in drafting the Bill which is to be presented to Parliament." A Working Group set up after the APG meeting sent a memo to the Education Committee which can be read here http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmeduc/631/631vw137.htm and also met with the SEN Division, Funding, and Legal team at DfE on the day the Committee Report was published to discuss the issues raised. On December 20th Graham Stuart MP held a live web chat where Tricia asked: "The Bill claims to make parents more central yet parents are hardly mentioned. In fact, if anything, the Bill erodes the position of parents. Will you be encouraging the DfE to remove any wording which appears to conflict with S.7 of the Education Act, after all it is the parents' responsibility to ensure their child's SEN are met, the LA should just be enabling them to do so, not being made responsible themselves?" Graham Stuart replied: "The Minister told us that nothing in the Bill will aim to reduce the centrality of parents in making decisions for their children. I am particularly concerned to ensure that, for instance, home educators don't find LAs using the legislation to seek to change the balance in relationships and will maintain a dialogue with the Government to try to head off inadvertent changes." "Clause 3 gives LAs the excuse they've been looking for to see all home educated children to check if they may have SEN. Is that really the intention, if not, how will you ensure LAs will be prevented from doing so. We know they'll be likely to ignore any clarification in guidance?" Graham Stuart replied "I'm determined to ensure that this doesn't happen. Obviously it is Ministers, not the Committee, who decide but I have already spoken to Ed Timpson and he agrees that nothing like this should be allowed to happen. Stay watchful, however, because, as you know, these things have a way of creeping in"

Inviting MPs to APG Meetings

Chair Graham Stuart; Vice Chair Andrew Griffiths; Treasurer David Anderson; Secretary Tim Farron. The Home Education Advisory Service acts as secretariat for the All Party Group on Home Education. The APG secretariat sends invitations to all MPs before each event, but we know from experience that MPs are more likely to respond if a constituent asks them to attend. If you aren't sure who is your MP, you can find out by putting your postcode in the search box here http://www.writetothem.com/ This site can also be used to send an email to your MP. Please do telephone or email your MP's constituency office and ask your MP to attend the All Party Group meetings. Explain briefly why it is important to you. Click here to see which MPs are in each local authority area http://edyourself.org/articles/MPsLAs.php NB when emailing, be sure to include your full postal address so that your MP knows you are a constituent. If you are unsure what to say to your MP or you want to check whether your MP has already responded, please get in touch. If your MP has a prior engagement, you can try asking for a researcher or assistant from the MP's office to attend. See the drop-down list here for MPs arranged by political party/constituency/MP's name, including contact details for the MP's constituency office http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/ Further details about the All Party Group for Home Education can be found here http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/home-education.htm

Membership of All Party Groups must be open to all Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the group must include at least 20 Members (each of whom must be a Member of the House of Commons or House of Lords) comprising: at least 10 Members who are from the same political party as the government, and at least 10 who are not from the government party (of whom at least 6 must be from the main opposition party), and includes at least one officer (Secretary, Treasurer) who is a Member of the House of Commons. APGs are classified on the Register either as subject groups (relating to a particular topic eg. forestry) or country groups (relating to a particular country or region). Rules and procedures for All Party Parliamentary Groups can be found here http://www.parliament.uk/documents/pcfs/all-party-groups/guide-to-the-rules-on-apgs.pdf via this page http://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/apg/