Newbie homeschooling advice

Haggis_man

Bullet points:

15 year old son, year 10.
Never been particularly happy at school and now "school refusing".
Not truanting and well behaved at both school and home.
Took him to GP who referred to CAMHS - appt mid April.
Meeting at school - agreed attendance strategy.
School reps mention Asperger spectrum and we agreed that this was something we had thought about (issues over the years).
He has been "self-educating" in school library but has recently stopped doing this and just goes to school, wonders for 30 mins and comes home.
He does work at home but I am not happy with the quality and quantity.
His vision is that he is going to be an internet entrepreneur.
He does have skills in this area and works on this with a friend at weekends (they have made modest amounts of money).
He is single-minded and gave us a presentation on his proposals at the weekend.
As a parent, and someone who has spent most of his life in education of some form or other (recently finished a postgrad Diploma at the age of 48) I have concerns!
My wife is not a graduate and works part time (just to give you the full picture).

Seriously considering homeschooling for GCSE's but can't find enough relevant advice for our situation. Have done the Googling so I know the basics but need more advice/reassurance that we wouldn't be making a big mistake. Any point in speaking to LA education dept?
Surely it's not as simple as writing a letter to the school saying we're taking him out?

And can it be done with me working full time and wife working 24hrs/week (intermittently throughout the day)?

We have a piano and the house is full of books

Hope you can help!

Haggis man (first posting!)

Counting_Pennies_2

If it needs to be this extreme and if you can afford it, have you considered hiring a tutor for a few key hours a week and then allowing him to study the books the rest of the time?


Personally though I would be trying out a different school, and not being lenient at him refusing school. I would say it is a legal responsibility to be in school until the age of 16 and then if he does not wish to continue studying upon successfully gaining GCSE grades that he would then need to earn money and pay you rent.


But I don't fully understand the spectrums of syndromes so will leave it up to parents who have this experience to suggest

meritaten

there is a poster on here called Reeree who homeschooled her grandson very successfully. there are also a few others who homeschooled. I know reeree wont mind giving you some advice. would you like me to pm her?

just from my basic knowledge
yes, it is a matter of telling your local education dept that you are now 'homeschooling'. and they WILL come check there is actually schooling happening. you can get copies of the curriculum but your son would be working on his GCSEs so would need info on those to keep him up to speed. he could take the exams along with other students. he wouldn't miss out on those. home schooling works for some kids.

and it ISNT a legal responsibility to be educated 'in school'. Just to ensure a child is EDUCATED! different thing entirely.

Seanymph

If you are homeschooling he doesn't have to do GCSE's - why not let him explore his entreprenuerial (sp?) side more.

His 'project' could be to turn over x amount in the first month...

He could go into an OU course from home with no GCSE's, but honestly, exams are not the be all and end all - he is obviously motivated in his own direction, intelligent, and current. Can you support what he is doing rather than dictate what he is doing?

Haggis_man

meritaten wrote: »

there is a poster on here called Reeree who homeschooled her grandson very successfully. there are also a few others who homeschooled. I know reeree wont mind giving you some advice. would you like me to pm her?

Thanks for your suggestion. I am hoping to hear from people who having taken a teenager out of school - does Reeree fall into this category? Obviously it's a whole different ball game starting homeschooling so late....

Regards
Haggis man

Haggis_man

Seanymph wrote: »

If you are homeschooling he doesn't have to do GCSE's - why not let him explore his entreprenuerial (sp?) side more.

His 'project' could be to turn over x amount in the first month...

He could go into an OU course from home with no GCSE's, but honestly, exams are not the be all and end all - he is obviously motivated in his own direction, intelligent, and current. Can you support what he is doing rather than dictate what he is doing?

Part of me thinks you may be right but the other part of me says: "Don't be ridiculous - he's just like many children who don't like school and is just looking for an easy life. Why should he be able to do what he likes?" If his passion was music, say, and he was gigging with a band and clearly very talented with obvious prospects, I may have a different attitude; but at the moment I don't see any encouraging evidence that his dreams might become reality. I feel there are many thousands of youngsters with the same ideas....

tyllwyd

My daughter has a friend who left school for home education in year 10. She's working towards about six GCSEs at the moment, but she hasn't taken them yet, so I don't know how successful or otherwise it will turn out to be. They are working with a tutoring college, who I think are giving some support and also providing a place where she can sit her exams. I think she is actually taking iGCSEs rather than GCSEs because they are more suitable for home education (based on final exams rather than controlled assessments). But I think her mum is giving a lot of support, and she was saying that it is a nightmare trying to work out what is the right curriculum for this year's exams because it keeps changing.

It's quite an expensive business sitting exams privately - my daughter is taking a French iGCSE, and she has a tutor for an hour a week at £20, and sitting the exam will cost over £200, so I won't be impressed if she doesn't pass because she hasn't put enough effort in.

I think you need to start by agreeing with your son what he is aiming for - do you want him to have GCSE passes, which ones do you consider important, or would you prefer to go for a more general approach to education. Does he want to continue education at college or similar - what sort of qualifications would he need for entry?

greenorange

Seanymph wrote: »

If you are homeschooling he doesn't have to do GCSE's - why not let him explore his entreprenuerial (sp?) side more.

His 'project' could be to turn over x amount in the first month...

He could go into an OU course from home with no GCSE's, but honestly, exams are not the be all and end all - he is obviously motivated in his own direction, intelligent, and current. Can you support what he is doing rather than dictate what he is doing?

What happens if in the future, his projects fail, and he is forced to get a job to support his family, put food on the table, and a roof over their head? How many companies do you think will consider him with no qualifications, and not much else on his CV?

Unfortunately while exams aren't the be-all-end-all, they're a part of life, and to allow a 15 year old who hasn't even started living yet to make such decisions, is wrong. He should pursue GCSEs at the bare minimum.

Obviously this is all just my opinion. I do not have kids, but if my 15 year old decided he didn't want to go to school or study any qualifications, well, he wouldn't have a choice.

There are millions of children in this world who would give their life for an education, yet many who are handed it on a plate take it for granted.

Haggis_man

greenorange wrote: »

What happens if in the future, his projects fail, and he is forced to get a job to support his family, put food on the table, and a roof over their head? How many companies do you think will consider him with no qualifications, and not much else on his CV?

Unfortunately while exams aren't the be-all-end-all, they're a part of life, and to allow a 15 year old who hasn't even started living yet to make such decisions, is wrong. He should pursue GCSEs at the bare minimum.

Obviously this is all just my opinion. I do not have kids, but if my 15 year old decided he didn't want to go to school or study any qualifications, well, he wouldn't have a choice.

There are millions of children in this world who would give their life for an education, yet many who are handed it on a plate take it for granted.

Your response is also my natural reaction but (a) I have kids and (b) I therefore know it's not that simple!

I knew I would get a wide diversity of opinion on this - that's why we're having problems deciding!

wik

Hi OP...
I dont know if this is of any use to you? In our area we have a specialist team -I have copyed a bit about it below

-The Complex and Medical Needs Education Team (CAMNET) provides an education for children (aged 3 to 16 years old) who are not able to go to school because of medical or mental health problems.

CAMNET has an open referral system, including referrals form parents and carers.-

3 years ago after my mother died my then 15 year old was unable to leave the house due to the onset of grief enduced problems, at first she had tutors from CAMNET who came to the house, then she went to the above group, she was able to do her GSCE's some at home and some at the unit... she went on to get good results, has been able to attend college for 2 years and has just been offered places at 2 universities starting this autumn.

There is hope and help out there
wik x

meritaten

Haggis_man wrote: »

Thanks for your suggestion. I am hoping to hear from people who having taken a teenager out of school - does Reeree fall into this category? Obviously it's a whole different ball game starting homeschooling so late....

Regards
Haggis man

yes, I believe her grandson was about 14. and it was because he was badly bullied. but, that apart, she can tell you about the 'homeschooling'. and can inform you of the way the LEA reacted. (positively, I believe). reeree isn't the only one but I can't remember the names of the others who have homeschooled.
I have PM'd her anyway as its a while since she updated us. she is offline right now. but, I think she will come along and help - she is a lovely person and always keen to help out.