Does anyone home school their children?

addictedtosoreen

Hi all
I am thinking of home schooling my 13 yr old son. The school he goes to is terrible and I have been having so much trouble with them. I feel i could give him a better education at home. What are peoples thoughts on this? any advise gladly taken x

elvis86

addictedtosoreen wrote: »

Hi all
I am thinking of home schooling my 13 yr old son. The school he goes to is terrible and I have been having so much trouble with them. I feel i could give him a better education at home. What are peoples thoughts on this? [A]ny [advice] gladly taken. x

I wouldn't bother...:D

addictedtosoreen

Believe me, even with my crap punctuation, I could do a better job!

SailorSam

Expert Advice on Home Schooling at A Home Education (UK)

fawd1

There are loads of home schooling websites about, you can take a look on there to see what you would need to do. It does start to become more difficult at his age as he would usually start preparing for G.C.S.E's and the like and you have to decide whether, realistically you would be able to cover all his subjects. He doesn't HAVE to take these exams, but I think it would be really detrimental to his future prospects if he doesn't. You also have to inform the school in writing that you're leaving so that your local council are aware that you're home schooling etc etc. It's quite involved work, so I would certainly consider changing his school first.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/parents/schoolslearninganddevelopment/choosingaschool/dg_4016124
http://www.education-otherwise.net/

These websites might help.

mucklebones

Funnily enough the only time in life your punctuation is under scrutiny is on forums where posts are patrolled by grammar police.

Im all for home schooling, school just dosent suit everybody. There are some fantastic local groups that get together for home educated children too. If you feel you can do better then I wouldnt hesitate, providing it was something that he was happy with too. Goodluck.

TheEffect

Without writing a detailed statement of why you shouldn't, I'll give my few simple points.

1) School is not only teaching your son the subjects he needs to know, it's teaching him how to socialise, deal with every day problems and how to fit into society. If you home-school your child, he may suffer with these skills.

2) It's going to be hard for your son, and possibly for you, to keep a more formal attitude towards home-schooling. What happens when your son doesn't want to do some work?

3) What happens if you're ill for a few weeks? Who will 'cover' you? Your son loses out on important work.

addictedtosoreen

mucklebones wrote: »

Funnily enough the only time in life your punctuation is under scrutiny is on forums where posts are patrolled by grammar police.

PMSL :rotfl:

GobbledyGook

There are a number of excellent home school networks around. I'd suggest finding your local one and speaking to people who have been home schooling before you make a decision. They'll also be able to let you know what the network is like in your area.

In some cases home schooling is great for the child, but in my experience this tends to be in areas with a strong home schooling network where both the parent and the child have a lot of understanding support. This also gives the child important opportunities to mix with other children, and most importantly gives both the parent and child time apart from one another.


Have you exhausted all options for moving to a different school in your area? Will the core issues with schooling evaporate on home schooling or will they still be there in a different guise?

addictedtosoreen

TheEffect wrote: »

Without writing a detailed statement of why you shouldn't, I'll give my few simple points.

1) School is not only teaching your son the subjects he needs to know, it's teaching him how to socialise, deal with every day problems and how to fit into society. If you home-school your child, he may suffer with these skills.

2) It's going to be hard for your son, and possibly for you, to keep a more formal attitude towards home-schooling. What happens when your son doesn't want to do some work?

3) What happens if you're ill for a few weeks? Who will 'cover' you? Your son loses out on important work.

I do take your very valid points onboard, it is the downside of home schooling that i do worry about. It is not a decision I will take lightly at all as my childrens education is soooo important to me. I just think that mainstream school is very fixed and not suitable for every child.

pinkclouds

TheEffect wrote: »

1) School is not only teaching your son the subjects he needs to know, it's teaching him how to socialise, deal with every day problems and how to fit into society. If you home-school your child, he may suffer with these skills.

2) It's going to be hard for your son, and possibly for you, to keep a more formal attitude towards home-schooling. What happens when your son doesn't want to do some work?

3) What happens if you're ill for a few weeks? Who will 'cover' you? Your son loses out on important work.

The first point is untrue. Children at school do not necessarily socialise. Some are too shy or are bullied. Children who are homeschooled can socialise in the same way as children at school - by attending homeschool groups (i.e. peer group contact) and by attending interest groups (e.g. Guides, Scouts) or extracurricular groups (e.g. rugby, tennis).

The latter two points are true. You will need to be sufficiently determined and motivated to work around these issues.

fawd1 wrote: »

There are loads of home schooling websites about, you can take a look on there to see what you would need to do. It does start to become more difficult at his age as he would usually start preparing for G.C.S.E's and the like and you have to decide whether, realistically you would be able to cover all his subjects. He doesn't HAVE to take these exams, but I think it would be really detrimental to his future prospects if he doesn't. You also have to inform the school in writing that you're leaving so that your local council are aware that you're home schooling etc etc. It's quite involved work, so I would certainly consider changing his school first.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/parents/schoolslearninganddevelopment/choosingaschool/dg_4016124
http://www.education-otherwise.net/

Agree with the above post. I have friends who homeschool, although I don't do this myself. EO is a useful starting point. There are a few other similar organisations e.g. HEAS. Exams are very useful and should be attempted in the usual manner. It is as normal to hire exam tutors for homeschooled kids as it is for kids who attend state school. You may have difficulty sourcing an exam centre, so this should be an *early priority*. You do need to inform your LEA that you are withdrawing your child from school and "educating otherwise" - it's a simple letter. You can do this with immediate effect. You do not need to comply with any contact/auditing, although you may be asked to confirm your intentions and provide a note of your broad educational aims. Some LEAs are more helpful than others - do not necessarily expect *any* support and do ensure you have sufficient funds to provide all educational materials *yourself*. Finally, be certain that this is the route you want to take. It can be tough - and many people may criticise you - but it is entirely legal and can be equally adequate as mainstream schooling. And, if you decide it was the wrong decision, it's not set in stone - you can always re-apply for a school place at a later date.

Good luck!