As I commented in my introductory post Newbie on board my two younger children who live with my ex partner, aged 10 and 6 were being home schooled.
As of September this year my ex decided not to return my kids to school but instead to home school them. Having been vaguely informed of this by my kids (and not consulted by my ex) I started looking into the process behind home-schooling and whether I believed my ex was the right person to home school (seeing as she has no particular qualifications in many of the core subjects).
As we're selling our house (in which my ex currently lives in despite having both agreed 2 years ago to sell it so we could move on with our lives) and with her having looked at houses further afield from her current address I concluded that as she would potentially be pulling the kids from school to move them to another then missing a few weeks of school wouldn't be too bad.
However, now that she's finally started to get her finger out, sign relevant contracts and set a completion date it now looks like the house will eventually be sold mid-end November to the beginning of December, which means that the kids will have been out of full time education for 3 - 4 months.
Having spoken to the kids on a regular basis via text/facetime and other means it would appear their daily routine consists of getting up when they want to, watching TV, drawing or playing on the computer. I know my daughter has learned to cook a few things to the point where she can now use the oven and hob unattended (at 10?). I've asked how much their mum teaches them and my daughter informs me that she's teaching herself and that mum does nothing.
Ignore the fact that I believe my ex only has the kids so that she can claim benefits which mean she doesn't have to get a "menial" or "mundane job" that would be beneath her, having looked up home schooling a lot of discussions on this seemed to focus on the fact it was hard work for the parent and that it took many hours and dedication, making references to "forgetting about your hobbies" etc, yet my ex does nothing with the kids but instead pretends to run her own business making pennies a month then blowing most of the benefit money on entertainment for herself.
One of my biggest concerns is that this is an important year for my 10 year old daughter as her grades from this would determine what level she would enter high school and the longer she's out of education the more chance she may have to resit a year to catch up.
I've found the number for the council in regards to home schooling and I intend to phone their old school first to find out how it was that they were pulled from school and if there is any process that should have been followed so that I can check up to see if that process has been followed, but I'd be interested to know if there's anything else I could or should do and any other thoughts on this subject.
Thanks in advance.
You said ~
I've found the number for the council in regards to home schooling and I intend to phone their old school first to find out how it was that they were pulled from school and if there is any process that should have been followed so that I can check up to see if that process has been followed, but I'd be interested to know if there's anything else I could or should do and any other thoughts on this subject.
....I think this is the best thing to do as a starting point. Good luck
... Just to add, I think your ex had a duty to inform you about the childrens schooling, at least in respect of the youngest child...but as you were not married, there is the issue of wether you have Parental Responsibility for your 10yr old. The rules governing PR changed on 1st December 2003, after that date, if you are on the birth certificate you automatically have PR., which would apply to your youngest... but I'm not sure of where you stand before that date with your daughter. It might be advisable to look into this.
You could ask for advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, they have a legal department and will be able to advise you.
...and of course some of the Dads on here will be able to advise you further, lots having had personal experience of what is involved with PR and what to do about getting it. Its usually quieter on here at the weekends, and I hope thats because they are all off doing fun things with their kids! :cheer: I'm sure others will be along later to help.