info on keeping up with 14yr old edding

[twisha]

i have just (last 2 weeks) de-reg my 2 from school,with a view that they both would like to go to collage at 16+ i am trying to keep them up to date with the things they will need to know to get into collage to follow their selective routes.
were following a ks3 workbook, left over from school,for maths and science, some of the stuff i havent heard of before!
i'm after books that doesnt cost a fortune for maths english science, mainly with the answere's in!!!
any other info on edding 14 to 16 yr ols would be good.
thanks

[TeenyTinyTorya]

The Home Education Advisory Service have a library of books and resources which can be loaned out to members, which would probably be of use to you. You could contact Education Otherwise as well, for information and support. There are also lots of good websites where your children can work online, and there are a number of support and discussion groups and e-mail lists. There may even be a group of home-educators who meet locally to you. There's also an e-mail group for home-edded teenagers, and correspondence courses you can do - sorry, I'm waffling now, but there's a lot out there. Here's some links -

Education Otherwise

HEAS

Resources

Home edded teens

[twisha]

thankyou, i tried connections for any info they might know of, but as i was told "we work under the lea, and youve chose to home ed, so we cant really help until the childs 16!"
well pardon me!

[Blandmum]

Connections do very, very little for children who are in school unlss they have some additional need.

[piscesmoon]

To be fair to Connexions they don't pretend to offer advice on school subjects, I see them as a sort of CAB for the teenager, to help with decision processes such as career advice, work, housing, relationships etc. Therefore you would get advice on education at 16+ in terms of choice and qualifications but it is not their job to go into syllabus.
I have found them very helpful.

[julienoshoes]

I wouldn't touch Connexions with a barge pole personally.
Read this and this to find out why.

Twisha, I agree with TeenyTinyTorya
and would add Home Education in the UK to the list of webpages, written and owned by a mom who home educated her two lads very successfully through their teenage years. An excellent site full of resources.

However I would further point out that there is another way to do all of this.
Many home educators of teens, don't follow any work scheme.workbooks or any other plan. Many follow the children's interests entirely-have a look at the book, A Teenage Liberation Handbook ;How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education My children have just done just that!
The eldest went to college post 16 and did the A levels he wanted (and did very well), the middle one has followed a different life path, got lots of real life and work experience (including helping to run workshops for women who are victims of domestic violence, and sailing round the UK for two long summers) she now lives in a city she loves, doing a job she enjoys.
The youngest has started an OU course aged 15, she won't bother with GCSEs or A levels-and will either go on and complete her whole degree via the OU or use the degree level courses she will have under her belt, to demonstrate to universities that she can study independently to the required level. This is a direction an increasing number of home ed young people are taking.

[TeenyTinyTorya]

Totally agree, don't get involved with Connexions. Thanks, Julie, I forgot about HE in the UK.

As Julie says, there are many different ways to approach teenage home-education. I went to college at 13 and did some open learning computer courses, and then studied GCSEs and A-Levels by distance learning, going back to college at 17 to train first as a nursery nurse then as an actor. I decided to get some exams to make it easy for me to get into whichever courses I chose, and also for interest - I did Classical Civilisation and Latin, so they were very much for interest's sake! I also used Open Uni, and did some psychology and childcare courses with them.

However, my brother has never taken any formal exams. He went to college at 15 to study electrical engineering on the basis of his practical experience alone, no exams needed. He's now nearly 19, the youngest student in Scotland to gain an HND, and a qualified sound engineer.

There's no right or wrong way to do it, so I would suggest that you go with your teenagers' interests and inclinations, and don't worry too much about having to do anything formal.

[piscesmoon]

I have only used Connexions in a very limited way, for career advice, and they also helped my DS to get a Saturday job. I wouldn't want them to do more than that, but they are very good for going in browsing all their information on colleges etc. I think they can be useful if you use them like a CAB and are not expecting more than impartial advice.

[julienoshoes]

Sorry thread highjack here

For me the problem with Connexions is that they are NOT a CAB for teenagers
CAB are an independent help organization, not affiliated with Government-Connexions most definitely cannot be classed as the same thing.

Using an assessment process (APIR) the Personal Advisor (PA) from Connexions can obtain information from the young person and make assessments under the following headings:

• physical health
  
• income
  
• housing
  
• social and community factors
  
• family history and functioning
  
• capacity of parents/carers
  
• risk of committing criminal offences (or re-offending)
  
• relationships within family and society
  
• attitudes and motivation
  
• identity/self-image
  
• aspirations
  
• life skills, key skills and basic skills
  
• achievements and participation
  
• substance misuse
  
• mental health/emotional well-being
  
  and
  As far as information gleaned from the APIR is concerned, a young person?s PA will decide which parts of it should be shared.
  
  The Connexions service believes that any young person in the target age-group (ie 13 or over) can consent to information-sharing in their own right, without the knowledge or involvement of parents, so long as the PA believes them to be ?competent?
  
  AND Sections 114-122 of the The Learning and Skills Act 2000 allow for information to be collected and shared without consent across a wide range of agencies
  
  from ARCH's Database Masterclass'
  
  A CAB wouldn't be doing that.
  
  If folks know what Connexions really is-and still choose to use it, then that is fine-but I wouldn't touch them, not even with a barge pole.