Does anyone homeschool?

EllieA_3

I've been told im 38th on the list for my sons chosen senior school and i've basically been told that i can appeal but it's pointless he won't get in.

There is no way of gods green earth he's going to his assigned school. Trust me this isn't an irrational rant it's just not happening i am appealing but if it fail's i need an alternate plan.

So im in all seriousness looking at homeschooling.

Ok so heres my issues.

a) i know nothing about it?? anyone got any thoughts experience good/bad??

b) i'm the sole earner for my household which poses some logisical problems. How the hell can i make it work and still pay my bills? Im guessing that if i give up work to homeschool the benifit's people arn't going to be very sympathetic.

P.s when i was hunting for a school i went to 16 including all of those im in the catchment area for, only 2 were suitable for my son and i've been told i stand no hope of getting into either because im miles away from both and both are heavily oversubscribed so it's not a simple case of looking for another. My son has special needs and i'm not willing to negotiate on his health and well being.

pinkshoes

Could you rent a house near the school so you fall within the catchment area?

Counting_Pennies_2

You mention your son has special needs. Has he had them diagnosed by a professional and had it written down, did you state it in the application.

If so you stand a good chance of winning appeal, but you will need to fight hard. Do visit the appeals thread on the families board.

Given your circumstances, I do wonder if homeschooling is wise. I wonder instead, if you can squeeze your household finances a bit more and look at a local private school. A few of my friends have and they deal with their special needs really well. It doesn't have to be ultra expensive.

hth

travelgran

There is an organisation called Education Otherwise which supports home schoolers. It's an enormous commitment and you will need also to ensure that your son has some social life with his peers eg scouts, sports so he is not isolated

Nottoobadyet

I was home schooled for my entire upbringing (in America) and it was a profoundly positive experience that set me up very well for life. I cant overstate, though, how much of a commitment of time, effort and energy it is for parents, especially if a child has special needs. Its something people do when they are passionate about educating their children themselves - its very difficult to make work if you are doing it because you feel you were forced into it by some other reason.

Feel free to ask me any questions, if you'd like.

EllieA_3

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

You mention your son has special needs. Has he had them diagnosed by a professional and had it written down, did you state it in the application.

If so you stand a good chance of winning appeal, but you will need to fight hard. Do visit the appeals thread on the families board.

Given your circumstances, I do wonder if homeschooling is wise. I wonder instead, if you can squeeze your household finances a bit more and look at a local private school. A few of my friends have and they deal with their special needs really well. It doesn't have to be ultra expensive.

hth

Yes it's been stated by a proffessional and i have documentation, but no it wasn't added to his application as i have opt'ed not to have him diagnosed.

I spoke directly to my first choice school about they told me that if i wrote a specific thing on the application i would get a place, so i wrote what they told me rather than explaining his special needs.

They told me that all school's claim to deal with special need's well and therefore the LEA wouldn't see that as good reason to pick that school specifically.

I would love to try private school, i did look into it but the cost is simply more than my budget can handle.

Honestly i'm not sure homeschooling is wise, my son is autistic he need's social interaction with peer's his own age so he can learn normal behavour, however if the alternative means 5 years of bullying and misery I think that will have a greater impact on his social skill's.

I've spoken to his specialist and she admitted that the school they assigned him would mean a massive step backwards in his development and i would most like be forced to have him diagnosed in order for him to get any support. Honestly she really scared me, she thinks that school would be the end of any chance of a normal life for him.

EllieA_3

travelgran wrote: »

There is an organisation called Education Otherwise which supports home schoolers. It's an enormous commitment and you will need also to ensure that your son has some social life with his peers eg scouts, sports so he is not isolated

Unfortunatly school is the only place he socialises which is why it was so important to get him into the right one, he won't do clubs or sports i've tried many many times but he hates and creates such a fuss it spoil's it for the other children.

Amanda65

By all means tell me to mind my own business, but if your son is autistic and by having a statement he would have got into your chosen school, why would you not want to have this done ?

Nicki

EllieA wrote: »

They told me that all school's claim to deal with special need's well and therefore the LEA wouldn't see that as good reason to pick that school specifically.

That's nonsense for a start! Depending on what the disability is some schools are more suited than others. Whilst all schools will have some children with special needs in them, they won't all be suited for all special needs and if your child had a statement, the LEA would look at the one best suited for his own needs. With an autistic child for example, you might be looking at a smaller school, or one with a high staff-pupil ratio.

I think you have made life more difficult for yourself by not having a formal diagnosis for your child, and I assume he also doesn't have a statement as if he did the school, transfer would have been handled differently. Your LEA should have a parents advice centre to advise parents on education matters though, and I'd contact them as a matter of urgency. You could also try ACE http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/ for advice.

I think you should appeal and use his special needs as a ground as after all this is the reason why you want him in that school and not the one he has been assigned to. Having an autistic child myself, there is no way on earth I personally would home school. My child needs the structure of the school day and the opportunities to socialise in a supervised setting she gets there, and both she and I would be stressed beyond endurance if she were home 24/7. I do know one family with an ASD child who do home school but they get a lot of help from an army of volunteers to do so.

kazwookie

EllieA wrote: »

Yes it's been stated by a proffessional and i have documentation, but no it wasn't added to his application as i have opt'ed not to have him diagnosed.

Why did you take this course of action?? when it will / could affect his whole schooling future?

EllieA_3

I didn't add it because he didn't have a statement and I was told that without one me saying he had special needs was pointless

The reason I havnt had him statemented is because with the help and support of an amazing primary school he has thrived. At the time I didn't see what he needed a bit of paper for. I was getting all the help I needed without it and I was concerned what that label would mean. Tbh I was scared of getting it

Honestly I underestimated how hard it was to get him into the right school.

I may talk to the specialist today and see if we can get the. Statement