Flexi-schooling Conference London June 17th 2011

Introduction to Hollinsclough Pilot

The flexischooling conference profiled the innovative work being undertaken by Hollinsclough School in Staffordshire. As a small rural primary school, Hollinsclough faced closure due to falling rolls which made the school unsustainable. At the same time, the headteacher Janette Mountford-Lees received an enquiry from a home educating parent asking whether children could attend the school on a part-time basis while receiving the remainder of their education at home. What happened next is set out in New models for organising education: Flexi-schooling - how one school does it well Guidance Report Paul Gutherson and Janette Mountford-Lees published June 2011.

How to make a flexischooling arrangement work

At the flexischooling conference in London hosted by CfBT Educational Trust to launch the Hollinsclough Pilot Report, the audience included local authority home education advisors, council academics, home educating parents wanting to find out more about the flexischooling option together with heads and governors of small rural primary schools who are in the early stages of devising their own flexi-school options. The Hollinsclough head talked through the issues with Staffordshire Council and subsequently an Advisory Group was set up which included representatives from the school, the local authority, school governors and home educating parents. On behalf of CfBT Education Trust, Paul Gutherson carried out a Rapid Evidence Review to cover issues identified by the advisory group as potentially significant obstacles and issues, with the aim of establishing a workable model of flexi-schooling that met both statutory requirements and the needs of families. Parents of children already attending the school full-time were consulted on how the flexischooling proposals would affect the day-to-day life of the school and the impact continues to be monitored. Conference delegates felt it was important to have some form of contract between the school and the family to clarify roles and responsibilities for all parties. Flexischooling is not limited to primary schools; we are aware of a very few secondary schools where home-educated young people attended part time under a flexischool arrangement in order to take GCSEs.

Conference Speakers

Slides from Hollinsclough School Presentation
Peter Humphries of Personalised Education Now
Ian Cunningham of the South Downs Learning Centre
Sir John Daniel, Commonwealth of Learning
Sir Jim Rose

Further information about the law on flexischooling

In a flexi-schooling arrangement children are registered as pupils at the school and attend part-time, but spend other parts of the week being educated off-site by their parents. This arrangement is a matter for the head teacher, rather than the local authority, to negotiate with parents. The child will be required to follow the National Curriculum whilst at school but not whilst he or she is being educated at home. Since the child is a registered pupil at the school, this is technically NOT home education, though the families concerned may consider themselves to be in part-time school and part-time home education. The school register can be marked Code B for approved educational activity which must be of an educational nature and must be supervised by a person authorised by the proprietor or head teacher. More information on flexischool can be found in the Government Guidance on Pupil Registration Regulations page 22 and in the Government's Home Education Guidelines

Article on Flexischooling and Hollinsclough School in the Independent June 17th

Forum for discussing flexischool issues

At the flexischooling conference a number of delegates said there was a wealth of expertise at the conference and it was felt it would be useful to have some sort of forum where schools, local authorities, parents and other interested parties could meet online to ask questions and share their experiences. It was pointed out that many councils prohibit access to Facebook and yahoo groups. In the interim, anyone wishing to find out more can use the contact form on this website.

Extending flexischooling beyond small rural primary schools

There is great potential for flexischooling options at secondary level either in school or at college as a way for young people to take exams pre-16 and to aid the transition to Further Education. Non-coerced voluntary flexischooling arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs would also help those who are not able to cope with full-time school. (NB Some parents whose children have SEN or behavioural problems are pushed into keeping children at home part of the time, which is not flexischooling.) In addition, some parents - such as single parents for example - who would not be able or willing to home educate on a full-time basis have expressed a great interest in flexischooling.

For further discussion of any of the above issues, please use the contact form

Links

Regulations on flexischooling in England
Hollinsclough School Website
Home Educating Children with Special Needs
2011 Report on Home Education Funding Special Needs Support and College Places 14-16
Home Education and Exams
New Flexischooling Option at Erpingham Primary, Norfolk
Flexischooling at new West Sussex Free School
Private Flexischool in Berkshire
Private School in Hertfordshire with Flexi Option
Private Muslim Montessori Flexischool Option in Leicester
Flexischooling Pioneer Philip Toogood, Personalised Education Now
Small Schools Newsletter May 2011
Paul Bennett, National College: The Future of Small Primary Schools
Human Scale Education Publications
Flexischooling article, The Guardian 2009
Flexischooling at its best: blog post by mother of boy with Aspergers