College

Lewisham College scheme for home-educated teenagers is on its own page. For general information about college schemes for home-educated students, read on.

College Schemes for Home-Educated Students
Some colleges will accept part-time home-educated students aged 14-16. There are two different schemes which this can fall under. One is the 'National 14-16 scheme' which allows 14-16 year-old school pupils to attend college classes either full-time or part-time. The other is the 'infill scheme for home-educated students'. This is a special scheme only for home-educated students and the majority of colleges will not have come across it yet, so you will need to provide them with information. You should find the references they need on this page and they are up to date for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Infill Scheme for Home-Educated Students
A college can admit home educated students to any course as "infill" students, ie filling empty places, and it's funded directly by the Education Funding Agency as if they were aged 16-19. The family does not need to pay for this - funding is given directly to the college by the Education Funding Agency and the college doesn't need to claim from the Local Authority. In the past, there was some discretionary funding available from LAs for this, but few actually used it.

It's entirely up to the college whether to admit HE under-16s ; they do not have to accept you. Although you have a right to a school place, you do not have a right to attend college under this scheme.

Students can do courses at Level 1 (eg Btec Level 1, GCSE grade D-G), Level 2 (GCSE grade A*-C), or Level 3 (A-levels, BTec Diplomas).

Most colleges don't know about this special scheme and will assume you're asking about the national 14-16 scheme, which is much more difficult for colleges to comply with than the HE scheme. It's important to read up on it first and you may well need to educate the college about the scheme.

However, with home-ed students, the parent still has overall responsibility for the student's education and these requirements don't apply. The government has confirmed that any FE college can admit home-ed students for part-time courses, without needing any special permission or to fulfil any extra requirements. It's entirely between the college and the student's family. Colleges do not need to be participating in the national 14-16 scheme in order to take on home-ed students.

Dedicated Home-Ed Classes
Some colleges offer dedicated classes for home-educated students to attend part-time, under the Infill funding scheme. These are often ideal because they will not make assumptions about the student's ability level.

One example of a college which is participating in the special home-ed infill scheme is New College, Swindon. Its page for home-ed applicants says:"'Young people aged 14-16 who are home educated in England are now able to attend College part-time or full-time and the Government will pay for the course(s). These students can do any course agreed by the College and not just a designated 14-16 course....""As the parent retains responsibility for the child, the College does not legally have to make special arrangements for pastoral care or offer a full curriculum. '"More details on EdYourself 14-16 College places

National 14-16 College Scheme
The national scheme for 14-16 year-olds is a big undertaking for colleges as they become effectively schools for that age group, and there are lots of additional responsibilities for them, eg they have to take overall responsibility for the student's education, provide a dedicated area for 14-16 year-olds, and more.

This programme is less flexible than the home-ed scheme, in that you will normally be expected to attend full-time and to behave in many ways like a school pupil. However, if you would prefer a part-time programme then you can always ask; if they have unfilled places, they may consider it.

Which colleges are participating?
There are a number of home-ed students in our area who are attending part-time 16+ college courses at under 16 years old, fully funded. There is no national list of colleges which accept home-educated students in this way, but you can find a partial list on http://edyourself.org/articles/14-16collegeFAQ.php

It's always worth approaching new colleges to see if they will accept students on this scheme. You will probably have to give them details of the scheme as they may not be aware of it. Even if they have accepted home-ed students in the past, that may have been under the old funding system.

Don't expect to find details of special provision for home-educated children on the college's website; they don't normally publicise it this way. Ask on the local home education email or facebook groups to find out out the latest.

Home-Ed Infill Scheme
Please ask on the South London Home Ed email group to check current details, but in recent years students have had favourable responses and/or attended courses at various colleges, including: If you know of another college accessible from South London which has accepted part-time home-educated students, please add a comment below.
 * Lewisham College GCSE scheme especially for home-ed teenagers
 * Carshalton College,
 * Lambeth College,
 * Stratford Building Crafts College has been positive about approaches but not yet confirmed.
 * Shooters Hill College - has an intensive 5 GCSEs in a year course.
 * Hadlow College
 * City and Islington College, London (CANDI) - pilot scheme to start September 2019 offering GCSEs in English (Lang & Lit), Maths, Science and History.

National 14-16 scheme
Local colleges participating in this scheme include the UTCs (see below), plus :
 * Bromley College
 * Lambeth College
 * Leigh UTC (Dartford)
 * Greenwich UTC
 * South Bank Engineering UTC
 * Tower Hamlets College

UTCs - University Technical Colleges
"University technical colleges (UTCs) are government-funded schools that offer 14–18 year olds a great deal more than traditional schools. They teach students technical and scientific subjects in a whole new way and are educating the inventors, engineers, scientists and technicians of tomorrow"

These are technically schools. The attraction for home educators is that they have an intake at age 14 and offer a more specialised education than regular schools. Several home-educated students joined UTCs in South London in 2016, starting in Year 10. All have settled in well and have given broadly positive reports of the colleges. You can ask about their experiences via the SLHE email group if you wish. UTC staff have recently been actively encouraging home-educated students to apply as a result of these positive experiences.

There are UTCs in Dartford, Greenwich, Lambeth, Westminster, Bromley, Brixton (South Bank UTC) and elsewhere. See the University Technical Colleges site for an up-to-date list. The new Mulberry UTC opening in Bow, East London, in September 2017, is actively seeking applications from home-educated students.

GCSEs In a Year at College
Shooters Hill College has set up an 'EBacc' programme of a one-year course leading to a core set of GCSEs. It's aimed at people who have recently arrived in the UK or, for whatever reason, have not achieved their potential in GCSEs. They are aiming this course at people aged 16+, BUT it would be worth asking them if they would consider younger students on it as SHC have been accommodating for some younger HE students on an individual basis in the past. Alternatively, it may be a way of gaining qualifications in a year at 16+ and so avoiding paying to take exams as a private candidate whilst home-educated.

Information copied below, from: Shooters Hill College GCSE Course

"This course is applicable to students who have recently arrived in the UK and need an opportunity to upgrade their skills in order to move onto a Level 3 / A Level course in a years’ time..This course might also be suitable for those UK students who did not achieve the x 5 9-4 grades at GCSE for various personal reasons, and as a result are not able to access a Level 3 course relevant to their future aspirations. This course is not suitable for students wishing to enrol for a Level 3 BTEC programme, they should be looking at doing a Level 2 BTEC which would allow progression to their Level 3 BTEC choice."

Tower Hamlets College has a "New Arrivals" programme which is aimed primarily at newcomers to the country, but they have accepted home educated students on the course before. It gives you an opportunity to obtain core GCSEs in one year so that you can move on to further education.