Home ed 12yr old whilst skint?

[Margaritte]

My DS is being bullied. The school is doing minimal & I'm at the end of knowing what to do. DS has not been at school all week, though I know I have to send him back on Monday.

I'm posting here, to maybe get a balanced opinion on home ed. We are skint at the minute, I have a toddler at home & a dc in primary.

Can I do this? Is there alternatives? Some one on my other thread mentioned online schools, any one use these?

[Saracen]

You can certainly provide all necessary educational resources while completely skint.

You and your son may possibly feel a bit "out of it" socially in the longer run if you can't afford to get out to meet up with other people at all (bus fares etc). But if your son is utterly miserable at school then he'll not mind that much, in the short term anyhow. Deal with the current crisis and then look around to see what you can do to keep him happy socially. There's no urgent need for him to be seeing other kids; in fact he might rather have a break from them just now!

Is work an issue for you - do you have a job out of the home and might need to give that up? That is the usual financial obstacle to HE, though people often find ways around it.

[dorasee]

Is moving schools not an option?
It's a horrible feeling, bullying and it makes such a difference how schools handle it.

[Saracen]

Forgot to say: there are lots of miscellaneous free online resources you can use. However, the proper all-in online schools are expensive so if you are very skint you had better rule those out. (Some US states provide access free online schools, so you may have heard about those, but there is nothing free here.)

Your son doesn't have to go to school Monday. If he is at a mainstream school in England or Wales, you can deregister him instead. There is no waiting period. Just send the letter in or take it in to the school on Monday. Sample letters are here: www.educationotherwise.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=69

If moving schools is something you'd consider, it still could be a good idea to home ed for a short time. That way you are on the right side of the law for the next few weeks while you are sorting out the transfer, and your son doesn't have to go back to his current school in the meantime. He could also have a break from school for a few weeks or a few months to recover from his bad experiences and feel ready to make a new start. Many kids who've had a rough time at school benefit from a little time off before moving on to another school.

[Margaritte]

Thank you for all the replies. This is just a quick post, will post properly later.
DS is still out of school, and I'm very worried about what trouble I can get into for this. I'm not sure what the right thing to do is.
I'm a sahm & my dh works full time shift work. I just feel very pressured as DS has been off all last week & today too. Can I get into trouble for this?

[SunnyBaudelaire]

yes you can. I would suggest making an appointment with an EWO at the council.

[ommmward]

... or else get your deregistration letter written and into school tomorrow that deregisters him from school with immediate effect.

Alternatively, get a GP to sign him off with stress, and that will take the pressure off until after Christmas.

:)