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Not many people know that it is legal to take a child/teenager out of school if they are having problems such as being bullied. Although it is true that if a child is constantly playing truant from school, the parent or carer are held responsible and can get fined or worse, imprisonment. I was having a lot of trouble at school until the point where i would do anything to avoid going. My mum always supported me and when i told her of my social anxiety disorder she started looking for ways to help me. There wasn't a lot of information about things like that we couldn't afford a home-tutor, we almost gave up but my mum found it very helpful ringing the education welfare office. They advised her about home-schooling but it didn't sound right for me. We wrote a letter to my headmaster asking him to take me off the register as i will be receiving education elsewhere. Even though we didn't know where, this stopped my mum getting into any trouble. I saw an advert for ICS, a home learning company and decided to go with them. I found that this was the best kind of education for myself and we worked out it only costs near enough the same as the amount of dinner money i would have had! We rang the education welfare office and told them what i was doing, at the time we didn't even know if it was legal. They appointed me with an education welfare officer that came to visit me once every 6 months to see how everything was going. It was a great success and at the end of it i received my GCSE's with one B and the rest C's, which i was very proud of. To sit the GCSE's you just have to contact any local schools or colleges and ask if they take external candidates. This means that your coursework is sent away by you, and you only sit the actual exam at that venue. I rang AQA and told them about my situation. They were very helpful and gave me forwarding addresses for my coursework. If you are thinking about taking your child out of school you must take into account all the following points:

1.
Is there a valid reason for why you are taking your child out of school? Such as being bullied.

2.
Will your child's social life suffer?

3.
Write a letter asking the head of the school to take your child off the register as they will be receiving education elsewhere. You don't have to tell them why!

4.
Ring the education welfare office and let them know what's happening.

5.
The most important thing is that your child is happy.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Jackson.
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