Resources for home education

Regulations regarding child employment apply to all children of compulsory school age whether they attend a school or are home educated. Children may not work until they attain the age of 13 years. Before a child is able to commence any form of employment he/she must be in possession of a Work Permit.

Regulations regarding children in entertainment apply to all children of compulsory school age whether they attend a school or are home educated. A Performance Licence is required if a child is engaged in paid work in the theatre, in a film or television performance, in modelling or sport.

Further information on Child Employment, Work Permits and Children in Entertainment on our dedicated webpage

Early Help is an approach to working that brings together professionals from a range of different services who work with the whole family. It aims to help improve things for everyone. We believe that children and families need to be heard when they first ask for help. This minimises risk and addresses the needs at the earliest opportunity. Early Help is a voluntary process and consent from young people, and their families is always sought.

Early Help can be provided through a single agency or multi agency response. The support is appropriate to the needs of the children, families and what is happening for them at the time.

An Early Help Assessment (EHA) is normally initiated by a trusted professional with whom the family already have a relationship with and are happy to share their concerns and worries with. This might be a Learning Mentor, Health Visitor or any professional who knows the family. EHAs are also used as a gateway assessment to access several other forms of support. For example, an EHA needs to be completed by a professional when families would like to access a Family Worker or the Early Support Pathway.

To access Early Help Support you can ask the professional that you are working with if there is one. Contact the Contact Centre, visit our Local Offer page or drop into your nearest Child and Family Centre. They will be able to support you though this process.

You can also contact the Early Help Hub: early.helphub@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or call: 01480 376 666 (office hours) if you want to know more.

Crisis

International House Trust Assessment East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT. Please email Cambridge.exams@ihlondon.com

Hills Road Sixth Form College Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, C2 8PE Email: enquiries@hillsroad.uk Book an exam | Hills Road Sixth Form College

Tutors & Exams (St Neots) Suites 1 & 2 Terek House, Sandpiper Cl, Eaton Socon, St Neots, PE19 8EP Tel: 024 76221008. Email: stneots@tutorsandexams.uk Part of the Tutors and Exams group across the UK.

GCSE Exam Boards

Oxford Cambridge & RSA (OCR). Email: helpdesk@ocr.org.uk Tel: 01223 553998

OCR Information Bureau, Vocational Qualifications. Email: cib@ocr.org.uk Tel: 024 7647 0033

Edexcel. Email: enquiries@edexcel.org.uk Tel: 0870 240 9800

The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) Email: mailbox@aqa.org.uk Tel: 0161 953 1180

University of Cambridge International Qualifications

OCR OCR Examinations, The Triangle Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8EA. Please email support@ocr.org.uk

Ferry Meadows, Peterborough

The education team run two groups in the park, for two different age groups. They provide a relaxed and fun environment that builds curiosity, creativity and connection with nature. Their sessions give home educated children the space to learn through exploring, play and hands-on experiences in the great outdoors. They have:

• Home Educators Seedlings Group: Monday afternoons 1pm-3pm, activities are aimed at children age 5-11, and run every two weeks.
• Home Educators Saplings Group: Friday afternoons 1pm-3pm, activities are aimed at children age 11-14, and run every two weeks.

At each session, there will be different Forest School themed activities, which may vary slightly depending on the groups engagement. Grown-ups attend for free and are asked to stay with their children throughout the session.

New attendees can come along to their first session for free. Email education@neneparktrust.org.uk and quote 'NPT-Trial' to book. All details can be found at Home Educators | Nene Park Trust.

Fireflies Forest School, Huntingdon Home Ed Hawks (Age 5-13)

Year 11

Preparing for adulthood is a time of important change for young people. For some, this could mean entering the world of work or leaving formal education. For others this might be starting a training course, furthering studies or living away from home. Most young people will have an increase in responsibility for managing their day-to-day lives. This will include managing their health and wellbeing.

Our ‘Getting Ready for Change’ (GR4C) Year 11 questionnaire is aimed at young people aged 15-16. It encourages them to consider some health-related topics to identify where they could benefit from support.

After completing the interactive digital questionnaire, they will be receive a downloadable summary of their answers. The summary will include personalised links to further useful information. They will also receive advice regarding where to access further help.

The questionnaire is anonymous and takes 10-15 minutes to complete. You will be asked to provide your home postcode and school attended (select elected home educated). This information allows us to develop our service around the needs of the children and young people in our communities.

Complete the Getting ready for change Year 11 questionnaire

Reception and Year 6

During your journey through education there are times when significant change occurs. These are known as transition points and align with key points in your development. Age 4 to 5 and 10 to 11 are both transitional stages for children. To help your children prepare for this, local NHS clinicians have created an online questionnaire. This can be your ‘Getting Ready for Change’ checklist.

It is designed to help you identify any areas where you might want more information or advice.

Completing the short questionnaire, can help you navigate this time of transition and help you ‘Get Ready for Change’.

Complete the Getting ready for change Reception questionnaire

Complete the Getting ready for change Year 6 questionnaire

Useful links

Communities, sport and libraries | Cambridgeshire County Council

MyChoice16 - Your Online Careers Gateway

Libraries have a wealth of information and resources for home educated families. Families who are registered with the Local Authority can benefit from an offer that we have secured with the library service, specifically for home educated families to have additional rights when borrowing library books.

Information and resources the library can offer ranging from:

• Library services 5- 16 years of age
• Book Start
• Special Educational Needs
• Stories in other languages

• Airborne Forces Museum (Aldershot)
• Anglesey Abbey (Cambridge)
• Botanical Gardens (Cambridge)
• Bottisham Airfield Museum
• Burwell House
• Burwell Museum and Windmill
• Cambridge Museum of Technology (Cambridge)
• Cambridge Science Centre
• Chatteris Museum
• Cromwell Museum (Huntingdon)
• David Parr House (Cambridge)
• Denny Abbey & The Farmland Museum (Waterbeach)
• Elton Hall and Gardens
• Ely Cathedral
• Ely Museum
• Fossils Galore (March)
• Houghton Mill
• Imperial War Museum Duxford
• Kettle’sYard (Cambridge)
• Marchand District Museum
• Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Cambridge)
• Museum of Armed Policing (Chatteris)
• Museum of Classical Archaeology (Cambridge)
• Norris Museum (St Ives)
• Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House (Wisbech)
• Peckover House and Garden (Wisbech)
• Prikewillow Engine Museum
• RAF Witchford Collection (Ely)
• Ramsey Rural Museum CIO
• Ruskin Gallery (Cambridge)
• Scott Polar Research Institute (Cambridge)
• Sedgwick Museum of Earth Science (Cambridge)
• St Neots Museum
• Stretham Old Engine
• The Centre for Computing History (Cambridge)
• The Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge)
• The Stained Glass Museum (Ely)
• Thorney Heritage Museum
• Tower Museum (Bassingbourn)
• University Museum of Zoology (Cambridge)
• Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum
• Whipple Museum of the History of Science (Cambridge)
• Whittlesey Museum
• Wicken Fen (Ely)
• Wimpole Estate and Home Farm (Royston)
• Wisbech and Fenland Museum

Useful resources

Below are links to websites which you may find useful that could offer support. Please note that the services below are not linked in any way to Cambridgeshire County Council:

Service Family Federation - Army

Service Family Federation - Navy

Service Family Federation - RAF

Military charity support

Forces Additional needs and Disability Forum (FANDF)

Little Troopers (variety of support from trips for separated families to education packs and support for schools)

MOD Directorate of Children and Young people (DCYP)

Reading Force (reading scrapbooks to be shared with parent overseas to promote communication)

Scotty Little Soldiers (supporting bereaved service children)

SSAFA (Welfare support)

The Royal British Legion (Welfare and practical support for families)

Teaching Remembrance | Learning Resources | Royal British Legion

Money Time Homeschool Financial Literacy Curriculum MoneyTime | Online Financial Literacy Course for Kids

Cambridgeshire County Council recognises that home educated children may enjoy taking part in physical activity and participating in team sport. Below are links to websites which you may find useful. Please note that the services below are not linked in any way to Cambridgeshire County Council and is not a comprehensive list:

Living Sport is the Active Partnership for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. They are a charity with the aim of improving the health, happiness and wellbeing of the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by inspiring them to get active.

Sport England website provides tips, advice and guidance on how to keep or get active in and around your home

Physical Education at Home information on learn-together website for children to access physical education in the home.

Below are links to opportunities for young people for funding and youth involvement led by Living Sport:

Youth Funding Opportunities - Living Sport Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

Living Sport Youth Community - Living Sport Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

All Inclusive FC | All Inclusive FC All Inclusive Football Coaching is more than just an organisation; it’s a movement to make football available to everyone. Their mission is to ensure that no one is sidelined because of their circumstances. They believe in football’s power to unite, inspire, and transform lives.

Facebook has many support groups including 'Home Education Cambridgeshire'. They also have a page called ‘What’s on in Cambridgeshire’ which is very useful and another called ‘Cambridgeshire Walks’.

Tiger Bus Pass

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has launched the Tiger bus pass, offering bus fares for just £1 for those under 25.

£1 Bus Fare - Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority

Cambridgeshire County Council has not checked the suitability of any company or tutor. It is the responsibility of home educators to judge the quality and suitability. The companies have not been listed in any particular order. There may be alternative companies which may be equally beneficial for your child. This is just a small selection.

When using workbooks and revision guides it is useful to explore a variety of books available. Major book shops have a wide range of books produced by different publishers. They can also be purchased online. While the content of the books may be similar, they will have different presentation styles. Different publishing styles will suit different learning styles. It is important to get the workbooks suitable for your child’s abilities rather than the year group they would be in if they were in school.

• Bond
• CGP Books
• Collins
• Edexcel
• Letts
• Oxford Work books
• Schofield and Sims
• SparkNotes
• Usborne

Centre 33 support young carers up to the age of 18 across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. They provide:

• a young carers needs assessment
• information, advice and support
• opportunities to meet up with other young carers
• one to one support
• groups in primary and secondary schools and other places across Cambridgeshire
• regular activities and events
• support during transitions such as changing schools, starting independent living.

You can visit the Centre 33 website to request a 'young carers needs assessment’ or find out more about what they do. You can also find out if there is a group in your area. For some groups you may need a young carers or a social worker to get in touch for you.

Find out more about Centre 33’s support for Young Carers