Home schooling in UK.?

Question

I am considering home schooling my daughter and was wondering if anyone had any experiences they would like to share with regards to home schooling in the UK.

Also any tips on how to get started and how to avoid pressure from the 'officials' would be much appreciated.

I should maybe add that she is only 2 and a half at the moment so we have a while to work out exactly how we want to proceed.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I home educate my 3 children . If you are really thinking about not sending them to school dont register them at all . The LEA have no right to enter your home or do tests on your children . You can write written reports on your childs progress but always state that your childs progress is improving and are happy otherwise they might pressure you into something you might not wish to do. It also depends on which area your in aswell some LEA are really nice but where i live there are real nasty read some of my friends letters and she went through h**l and back . So i stated the law to them and they totally backed off from me for a whole year. Apart from that my children dont ever want to go back to school as they were really bullied badly and they still have nightmares it was the best thing i ever done.

Answer 2

I work in FE (teaching English at GCSE/AS and A Level).  We are getting quite a few students who have been home schooled coming into the college I work at.  They are all very pleasant well, rounded individuals with a mature approach to life.

The problem we have is that because the majority have no formally recognised qualifications (because examination boards don't seem to welcome independent candidates) this means they have to join GCSE classes where the majority of students have failed GCSE (at least once - from what we can gather about the way that schools in our region are entering students for English - and Maths.  School taught students are entered in their fourth year of senior school for the November resit of GCSEs in English and Maths.  If they fail - which the majority do, they resit the exams at the end of 4th year.  The majority still fail.  Then they take the November resit in their final year of GCSEs.  Again, some fail.  This means that they are entered again in the Summer exams before they leave school.  In effect, by the time they reach college with a 'D' grade, they have sat the same examinations 4 times!).  

Home schooled students are very eager to learn and socially well-adjusted (a commendable trait that has obviously been inherited from home).  However, they find it difficult to adjust to being a class of students that they feel are 'delinquent'.  (The students aren't really - it's just that in extreme cases they have failed their GCSE English 4 times by the time they get to us, and they have been branded as 'thick/stupid/a no hoper' at school, so what's the point of trying again?).  This doesn't mean that home-taught bullies are considered different to their peers - most of our GCSE resit students simply think that its unusual that someone has never sat a GCSE before.  They are usually quite curious to learn about different learning that has taken place other than traditional school - and most of the resits have been bullied at some point because teachers have made them out to be 'different'.

It means that in relation to AS/A levels, home-taught students have to spend 3 years at college - one year doing 5 GCSE subjects and then another 2 gaining A levels to allow them entry into university. Rather than the 2 years for those who have passed their GCSEs at school.

It's a bit of a catch 22 situation: AS/A Level provider's don't allow external candidates (i.e. home taught students) because of the level of specialism that is required to pass the examinations.

There's another aspect that's worth thinking about.  Universities won't accept anyone who hasn't got GCSE maths or English or those who don't have AS/A levels in the 16-19 bracket.

The only other alternative is that the student has to wait until they are 19 years old and then go to an FE colllege to take an Access course - and the subjects are more and more limited every year for this - and usually have to be paid for, too.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I'm considering it too...but I decided to put my daughter in school first to see how she likes it...I hated school but some thrive on it..I am paying for her to be in a private school at the moment as our local ones are awful. I am nervous about homeschooling as there is not such a good support network of other homeschooling parents in the UK as there is in the US...but homeschooling is growing and the old preconceptions are getting challenged...something like 150.000 kids in the UK are now homeschooled....it has risen by about 50precent over the last few years....sorry I cannot be of more practical help...I just wanted to offer you my support....good luck.

Answer 4

There is some general information on homeschooling here:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Here's some info on homeschooling in the UK:

http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Un...

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Google "education otherwise." Their website should answer all your questions and put you in touch with other people in your area in the same position.

Answer 6

Hi

With around 50,000 home educated children in the UK there is a very active support network and a local presence in most parts of the country.

Home education is easier than ever these days as campaigning home educators have worked hard to assert their rights.

Its difficult to answer this question as it is so unspecific but in general terms you need to make contact with other home educators as soon as you can so as to prepare yourself well in advance.

there are good FAQs on line as well as support mailing lists (see my source list.)

Answer 7

My brother is home-schooled, you don't need to do work that follows the curriculum, and the LEA officers come to visit once a year (Check on the work, read with your child sometimes, and basically just like a check up to see if you are actually doing anything). You can get the work books from almost anywhere, and they are just as good as schoolwork (If not better). My brother is 8 and he does English Maths Science and then things like Painting Wood, Bricklaying, Cleaning, Cooking Tea, Guitar Lessons. He Can Read My Big Books Easily With No Help (Has Read Stuff Like Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, nearly all books from Roald Dahl, and ones like Lord Of The Rings) Also Go On Websites Like http://www.funbrain.com/ and other learning games, its easier to learn whilst having fun!

Answer 8

Home Schooling is a tough choice. As a parent you obviously want what’s best for your child. At 2 and a half it’s great and no one knows her like you do. It is also scary to look out there at schools, the pressures they are under and the mistakes they sometimes make. You can also look around at some of the other kids and think “I don’t want her to be like that” and know you can do a better job.

You can get a simple form from your Local Authority that will opt her out of school and they will check regularly that she is developing and actually getting schooling.

Look for local groups of other parents who are doing the same thing. They often have groups that meet up to support each other and make sure that the children also get good social interaction.

We did look at it as an option. What steered us back to schools was; Schools are not just about maths, English and exams. Putting up with the other kids, learning strategies to cope with difficult situations and people. These are all things that kids need to learn for use in later life. The very things that we were trying to protect them from may have turned out to have crushed them in later life as they had not developed any emotional intelligence and coping strategies to draw upon.

Best of luck :)

Answer 9

You dont have to register her in any school when the time comes or advise the local authority and you shouldnt have to worry about it

Sometimes Health visitors will put in a good word to the LEA to tell them that you have decided to homeschool ! If it happens, they are not allowed in your home or you dont have to show any kind of work you will be doing. If you see them on your door step one day, just send them away asking them to send you a letter with a proper appointment. Once you receive the letter tell them that you are not ready to receive them and make an other appointment at a later date. ( much later date)

I homeschool two children and what i have done is send them an education philosophy, after a few months of homeschooling.

I met the inspector in november last year and she was pleasantly nice, i've shown her some of the works we had done and everything went well, but you dont have to do it.

A simple letter ( again when the time comes) explaining your programm for the year ahead is enough. Dont let them force you for a visit, you are right to refuse.

2 good websites about home education:

http://www.education-otherwise.org/

http://www.heas.org.uk/