New Foundations Home Education
Charity number 1 138591

Annual Report 2011 - 2012 

Our felt making was a big success and everyone got to take a creation home

Index

1.	Introduction - Home education and the law
2.	The need for support - Why we help
3.	New Foundations - 2012
4.	Aims and Objectives
5.	Documents list - Constitution et al
6.	Activities Run this year - art to physics
7.	Finances - September 2011 - July 2012
8.	Management committee

Introduction
Home education and the law
Parents have a right to educate their children at home. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 provides that:
"The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable -
(a)	to his age, ability and aptitude, and
(b)	to any special educational needs he may have,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise."
So now we know parents have the right to home educate but the question remains why do they take up that right. Some parents have always know that they would home educate their children, some may have ethical or moral objections to school others just wish to educate their children themselves. Some may want to raise their children within a particular religious ethos. Many have removed their children from school following extensive bullying, while others may find the curriculum required in school doesn't fit their children's aptitudes and interests. Over half of those deregistered to home educate have suffered severe bullying in schools which the school has been unable to stop. Some have been bullied in more than one school. Nearly half of the children and young people who are New Foundations members have some additional learning needs, or physical problems that made school attendance and school environment very difficult. Some children are high achievers who are unable to move ahead in school and may need to study at levels way in front of their peers.
Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights states that: —No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the state shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teachings in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.
Home educated children don't have to follow the national curriculum, or give traditional lessons. Neither do they need to work to age based standards, or study at set times. An efficient, full time education' takes many forms and parents and children can decide together what works for them. The form the education takes will vary over time depending on the child's needs and can range from a formal, curriculum based approach to an autonomous, child led style. Most families experiment and research and find their own style somewhere between the two. At New Foundations we support families who want to deregister their children, offer information and resources on different styles of education and encourage the sharing of ideas, experiences, information and resources between families.

In 2011/12 new foundations gained 20 new families mainly as a result of families deregistering, families are turning to us more each year looking for support and accurate information on what their rights are and how they can make home education work for them.

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The Need for Support
Whenever a family or individual makes a choice to do something different from the majority there is a risk of social exclusion or isolation. A child who has struggled at school or has been bullied can find that being withdrawn from school causes feeling of isolation or exclusion that can be pushed to the extreme. Children who then remain in isolation become at risk of being NEET not in education, employment or training. Many of the children and young people who join New Foundations H.E. have been bullied because of their special needs, such as Asperger’s syndrome or ADHD. Some have been bullied because of their appearance or personality and feel they are different to others. Families and young people often suffer long term damage from these experiences and struggle to find a place where they feel they fit. They can’t go to after school clubs, local leisure centres and social activities are likely to contain some of the bullies and all have increasingly expensive costs. Home Education support groups bridge the gap for families, providing a place where they can feel accepted and understood to share experiences. A sense of shared experience raises confidence and self-esteem for all members of the family, which has an impact on all aspects of their lives. The support provided is a stepping stone to re-gaining confidence and encourages families to reach out to other services helping to prevent young people becoming NEET. At New Foundations H.E. we are taking this support further and providing opportunities for working in groups, team building and collective responsibility so building a real sense of community. We are enabling families to develop skills which will help every child and young person to claim their education and realize their full potential. In 2012 for the first time in NF a small group of children undertook IGCSE’s with exams in June 2013 we are wishing them every luck for the future. 

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The start of New Foundations
In April 2010 fed up with traveling from Cardiff to Port Talbot every week 2 families got together with a family who were just starting on their home education journey. We discussed what we needed to do in order to set up a group of our own in Cardiff. Therein followed a period of frantic activity whereby we opened bank accounts, set up Facebook pages, developed a constitution and numerous policies to protect our members, set up email lists and found a venue. At that time we approached Voluntary action Cardiff and WCVA for membership and support collected feedback from the rapidly growing members on Facebook and started to put out funding applications. Our first big break through came when we got a grant from the Waterloo Foundation for £5000 that made everything become very real. We now had the money to pay rent on a building and could set an opening date for the end of September. Word spread well and we opened offering table tennis and pool on a table donated by a well-wisher, arts and crafts were organised along with a quiet room for chess draughts and board games etc. A short while later we got a grant from Awards 4 All for £4500 to pay for craft items, circus skills and volunteer expenses. We provided activities every week and have constantly talked to the children and young people about what they would like to see us provide. 
At the beginning of 2012 we moved to Cathays Community Centre which had more facilities and is more focussed on youth activities. The staff there have made us very welcome and there is a sense that we have found a really good niche for the group. Relationships with other home education groups in Bridgend and Neath have prospered and plans are in the pipeline for a shared sports pitch if all goes well. The 3 group leaders led by Bridgend have initiated relationships with Local Education Authorities with a view to improving working practices and securing facilities. Membership numbers have continued to increase over the year and it is clear that the need for support and activities for home educating families is just as important as ever. This year we have received grants from Awards for All for craft activities and Community Chest for sports equipment and coach training. We have also worked hard to raise funds for the group selling snacks and lunches along with donations and car boot sales. We now have in excess of 54 families registered comprising around 150 members. The need for support via email and telephone to families considering home education has increased and we find ourselves spending increasing time filling this need in ever increasing areas. 

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Aims and Objectives
Our aims are...
To provide social and educational opportunities for home educating children and young people and their families and those outside of the educational system by;
a)	Providing premises, resources, support and information for young people
children and their families.
b)	Arranging activities physical, educational and social as a process of
skills development or up scaling, and increasing capabilities to enable them
to fully participate in society and access services as independent, and
responsible individuals.
c)	As part of our commitment to provide resources this year we took on an allotment where the children have been learning about bio diversity and organic gardening.

Documents list

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Documents list

New Foundations H.E. has the following policies which are deemed necessary by our committee. Most documents are available on the web site to down load and hard copies are obtainable on request.
Constitution
Child Protection Policy
Equal Opportunities Policy
Health and Safety Policy
Complaints Procedure and Form
Inclusion and Anti-bullying Policy
Volunteering Policy and Information for Volunteers
Policy for Recruitment of People with a Criminal Record
Policy for the Secure Handling of Disclosures

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Activities Run this year

Clay modelling Dodge ball 	Mosaics 	Jewellery making
Drawing	 Engineering challenges 	Weaving
Sweet making		 Circus skills 			Fabric painting
Painting 		Origami 			Mask making
Guitar lessons	Felt making 			Gardening
Circus skills 		Drumming			Science workshops
Table tennis  		Street dance			 Friendship bracelets
Story telling		Pool				Circus skills
Knex challenges	Chinese New Year!

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Finances
Quarterly Accounts
Opening balance		£2302.29
		Income		Expenditure			Balance

September October November	£293.39	£1735.85	£859.84	
December January February	£2778.94	£719.35	£3156.68	
March April May	£385.89	£1477.28	£3156.68	
June July
August	£256.77	£46.34	£2065.29	
Unrestricted funds from kitchen sales £1030.92
Unrestricted funds from donations and car boot sales £707.69
Total unrestricted funds  £1738.79
Thanks are offered this year to Communities Chest and Awards for All for grants
Thanks are also offered to WCVA, C3SC and Cathays Community Centre for support. 

Thanks are also offered to all our members who have contributed in a variety of ways including financial and practical.

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The Management Committee
Chair Person: Jayne Palmer 
Treasurer: Lianne Bunce
 Secretary: Carrie-ann Driver
 Trustees:
Imogen O’Rourke
Helen Kingman
Committee support
Samantha Paterson

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