It is impossible to detail every school who will accept flexischoolers. The situation remains that the majority of schools have never been approached and most still do not know of the concept and possibility. Matters are further complicated by some schools and some flexischooling families wishing to remain under the radar. Added to this contexts will change over time and settings may become more or less flexi-positive according to issues like capacity, staffing and so on.
The following file gives some indication of schools providing flexischooling or declaring they are flexi-positive –
FLEXI-POSITIVE SCHOOLS. JUNE 2018
Important Please note This is not intended nor can be a definitive listing. For many reasons a lot of flexi positive schools ‘keep under the radar’, many we simply do not know about and the majority of schools probably haven’t heard of it until approached. It’s important that you do the leg work and find out what is available and those schools who are willing to explore flexischooling.
At the end of the day most families will approach settings they know or can access until they find a receptive welcome. In some areas this can be a difficult and disheartening process.
The Centre for Personalised Education has devised a simple scheme which we hope will eventually help families and schools locate each other.
The Flexi-Mark and National Network of Flexischools.
With the Flexi-Mark schools/settings can advertise the fact that they work flexibly with learners and families in flexischooling partnerships or are open to developing these.
At the very basic level parents are too often unaware of the availability of flexischooling as an educational option. The paucity of national, local authority and school information is lamentable.
Those parents who do come across the flexischooling concept and wish to pursue it are left to approach schools one by one to try and see whether they will entertain a flexipartnership. They have historically had few starting points, sources of information or support.
It struck us one logical and supportive step would be to acknowledge those schools who are offering flexischooling arrangements or would be prepared to with a Flexi-Mark and registration on a publically available database. Any setting wishing to declare themselves as a flexischool or open to flexischooling can apply to be put on the register and be entitled to display the Flexi-Mark on school notepaper, websites, signage and the alike.
We believe this doesn’t need to be an unwieldy, bureaucratic process as flexischooling partnerships with families will be as individual and flexible as the two partners are. At the end of the day if both parties can develop an agreement and ongoing dialogue that works for them, it is a positive arrangement. ‘Self-certification’ from both parties should be sufficient.
Obtaining a Flexi-Mark is an uncomplicated process of headteachers and governors declaring a commitment to the flexischooling ideal underpinned by a willingness to work in dialogue and partnership with families and the learner. The declaration is supported by the countersignature of a sample of flexi-parents/carers and learners (where a school already has flexischool arrangements).
Schools are asked to provide a few pieces of information for the register of flexischools to help prospective flexi-families locate and contact them. There is scope to develop the process if needed over time but at this stage we seek to start simply and let this grow ‘organically’ in the light of experience. In the future it may be possible to use various self-assessment metrics to describe better the flexischooling offer available at various settings and to chart a development pathway through the flexischooling continuum.
The register will in the first instance hosted on this websites **** with links from other sites and social media such as the Flexischooling Facebook sites.
Sample application proforma….
Application for the Flexi-Mark and Registration in the National Network of Flexischools.
The Headteacher and Chair of governors of
School:
Address:
Website:
Local Authority:
declare a commitment to the flexischooling ideal underpinned by a willingness to work in dialogue and partnership with families and the learner.
Currently our setting can be classified as
No staff experience of flexischooling partnerships
- Some staff experience in flexischooling partnerships
- Half staff experience in flexischooling partnerships
- Most staff experience in flexischooling partnerships
- All staff experienced in flexischooling partnerships
Signed
Headteacher:
Chair of Governors:
Countersignatures (If applicable)
We the undersigned parents / carers and learners declare that this school is working positively with parents and learners in facilitating flexischooling partnerships
Signed
Parent / carer:
Parent / carer:
Learner:
Learner:
Applications should be made to The Centre for Personalised Education
