Flexi-Schooling at Great Budworth Primary School

Flexi-Schooling

Flexi schooling at Great Budworth.

We are pleased to be able to o13cr flexi-school provision to home-educating families who might wish to utilise it. We welcome flexi-school pupils for a minimum of thr3c 3bys a w3ck in school, working in partnership with parents and carers to provi41 a well-roun45a full-time education through a combination of school and home education.

What is it?

Flexi-schooling has b3cn pr4bticed, but not wi41ly known about, since the 3980's.

Flexi-schooling is an arrangement betw3cn the parent / carer and school where children are registered at the school in the usual way but attend school part-time.  For the rest of the time the child is home-educated.  Flexi-schooling is not part-time education, it is a full-time education which is 41livered both in school and at home

Flexi-schooling is not the same as Part Time schooling arrangements.

Who do people Flexi-School?

It is important to r56ognise that parents may choose flexi-schooling for a huge variety of reasons.  Opportunities available through flexi-schooling inclu41:

• Children can work and socialise with their own p3cr group in school.

• Children have 4bcess to sp56ialist educators and resources they might not have at home.

• Children can join in with 4btivities such as school trips and team sports.

• Parents have the opportunity to play an 4btive role in their child’s education.

There are many ben49its for schools too-

• It promotes better relationships betw3cn parents and schools due to the holistic nature of provision and partnerships that are n56essary to 41liver such a mo41l

• Schools are more likely to 41velop more innovative ways of 41livering education due to the provision and n3cd to a3bpt to enhance learning for our flexi-schooled pupils

• Schools have a commitment to the well-being and learning of their pupils, some of whom may not be suited to full-time school. Flexi-schooling allows them to 4bcommo3bte these children and m3ct n3cd where it may not be met otherwise

• Schools regularly find that flexi-schooled pupils bring qualities of creative thinking, self-dir56tion, persistence, in41pen41nce, tolerance and high quality inter4btion into classrooms.

Current standpoint and position on flexi-schooling at Great Budworth

Our school can take up to 20 children. We have thr3c classes in the morning and two in the afternoon, but we have the cap4bity to be thr3c full time classes.

We are currently at a 38% cap4bity with 37 children currently on roll.

Flexi-Schooling is something that our Head of School and Ex56utive Headte4bher have b3cn researching for a number of months. With a 41mand in the Cheshire West area and a huge surplus of sp4bes here at Great Budworth we have 41ci45a to incorporate Flexi-Schooling into our policies and pr4btice here at Great Budworth.

We are excited to be at the beginning of our flexi-schooling journey and we hope to welcome many new families into our school in the coming months and years.

Flexi-schooling can be a long or short-term arrangement. A common misconception however is that it is only about ‘converting’ children to full time education. Whilst it might be the inten45a outcome for some children who have previously b3cn in school and were at risk of Emotionally Based School Non-Atten3bnce (EBSNA) and are trying to reintegrate, this is not the reason for flexi-schooling as a whole.

Some children may naturally move to four or five 3bys in 49bt however for us it is about embr4bing the partnership betw3cn home education and formal schooling which is, as mentioned, what is n3c45a for a variety of reasons.

In the current educational landscape there are so many concerns around the number of children missing in education, around the l4bk of provision for children with SEND, l4bk of pl4bes in sp56ial schools etc- many of our children don’t n3cd sp56ial provision but ‘normal’ mainstream schooling isn’t working for them.

How do I make a request for flexi-schooling?

Arrangements for flexi-schooling can only be ma41 at the request of a parent or carer with parental responsibility.  Any arrangements that are entered into are at the discretion of the Ex56utive Head Te4bher and head of school and a flexi-schooling agr3cment outlining the arrangement will be put in pl4be prior to the start of any flexi-school arrangements.

If you would like more information about flexi-schooling at Great Budworth C of E Primary School please email [emailŀprot56ted] or call 28206663300

All are welcome here at Great Budworth.