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Home ed

Considering home ed. what are the rules?

49 replies

AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 21:46

DS in year 6. I work during the day. Can I home ed? Are the hours strict? Or can I home ed when I get back from work? Can he use internet programmes during day when I work etc?

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ChalkHearts · 16/02/2016 21:50

There are no rules. You can do whatever you want.

Who will look after him while you work?

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TeaT1me · 16/02/2016 21:52

There are no rules as long as you are providing an education. Why are you thinking of home ed though and what do you plan for him to do during the day? It wont be much fun being on his own all day?

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Seeyounearertime · 16/02/2016 21:54

We were thinking of autonomous learning for our DD but one of us wouldn't work to do it.
I don't know what you'd do with working to be honest?

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AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 21:58

DS would relax, read, make crafts, play Lego, visit his GPs, tidy his room, do some set written work etc. Avoid the stress of SATS, mainly.

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TeaT1me · 16/02/2016 21:59

I think that could get quite lonely as an 11 year old on their own to be honest.

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TeaT1me · 16/02/2016 22:00

Although I am considering homeschooling for yr 6 when I get there hence commenting on these threads!

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ChalkHearts · 16/02/2016 22:03

But who will look after him?

Will he be home alone all day?

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AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 22:07

He's year 6 so can look after himself. I will get GPs to oversee and I work ten mins from home.

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ICanTuckMyBoobsInMyPockets · 16/02/2016 22:09

Home ed or not, I wouldn't leave a 10/11 year old on their own all day every day.

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wannabestressfree · 16/02/2016 22:09

Doesn't sound the best thought out plan Hmm

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AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 22:13

He enjoys his own company and is sensible so I didn't see that being an issue. Maybe I didn't consider that 5 days a week might be too much alone time.

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Piratespoo · 16/02/2016 22:14

You want to leave a 10 year old home alone all day long , five days a week and be responsible for his own education? That isn't home ed, it's neglect.

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ChalkHearts · 16/02/2016 22:17

This is a totally mad plan.

It is too long to leave him by himself.

Better to help him cope with exam stress. Which is a useful skill in life.

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AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 22:19

No not be responsible for his ed. I will do that when I'm home. He can do a bit when I'm out. I work until 3.

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AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 22:21

I was thinking he could have approx 9-12 alone, and then GPs until just after 3 then I ed for a couple of hour around teatime.

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Piratespoo · 16/02/2016 22:22

Do you really think a 10 year old should be left for all that time? Really?

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LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 16/02/2016 22:23

That's not home ed. Thats neglect, IMO. And I suspect your LEA would take a dim view of it too.

What do you hope to accomplish by home edding?

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ChalkHearts · 16/02/2016 22:24

www.gov.uk/law-on-leaving-your-child-home-alone

It's not the education which is a problem. It's the leaving him alone all day every day which is a problem. A serious problem.

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Piratespoo · 16/02/2016 22:24

Are you not worried about his education? Are you planning on putting him back into school later, and then he will have to catch up with everything he has missed. Home ed isn't just take him out of school and leave him to play all day. It's called home EDUCATION for a reason. If you want to do it, it will need more commitment with time and effort than you seem to think.

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jeremyisahunt · 16/02/2016 22:24

Why do you want to remove him from school?

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AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 22:30

Oh I wasn't aware there was a law on leaving an 11 year old for 3 hours. I'd best look in to that as I left him for two hours today and he was gutted when I returned so early!
Well I guess it's not for us then. I thought I could condense what he would learn in a state school day easily in to 2-3 hours of formal learning at home and the rest in life experience.

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Saracen · 17/02/2016 00:09

I don't think your plan is nearly as daft as others do. I was rather concerned when I thought you were proposing to leave your son alone for five entire days a week. But three hours a day, I think could be OK depending on the child. I certainly don't think it automatically constitutes neglect. Nor does the law: there is no legal minimum age for a child to be left alone.

Few experienced home educators would fault your idea on educational grounds. You are right that you can educate your son when you are not at work. And of course he will also be learning when he is playing alone and when he is with his grandparents. It looks quite different from the school model. But it often works. It is not such a rare approach.

It's all a question of whether he will be safe and happy unsupervised for three hours a day. Many hours spent alone can be lonely for a child, perhaps more lonely than for an adult as he doesn't have the same options of going out and socialising with other people. It isn't that he needs to BE with other people. It's that he needs access to other people when he wants to be with them, if you see what I mean. The fact that you presumably are only thinking of doing this for six months or so may mean it is not so hard on your son.

Personally I think the NSPCC guidelines are somewhat alarmist. I wouldn't have thought anyone on a home ed forum would be too inclined to pay them too much credence bearing in mind some of the misleading things they have said about home education! I have left a child this age alone for prolonged periods on a regular basis. I was, and am, confident that it was fine in that particular case.

If you do decide that your son needs less time left alone, there are other options you could explore. Childminder, maybe? Not necessarily for his every waking hour but just for one or two mornings a week to give him some company and a chance to get out of the house. Also, speaking of waking hours, you could reduce the number of his waking hours which he spends alone if you and he are happy for him to stay up later in the evening and wake up later in the morning. These days my teen sometimes doesn't even know if I've been out for a couple of hours in the morning! One of my friends (single working parent) often goes out leaving her tweens to sleep in for a few hours, and the childminder only arrives to collect them after they've got themselves up and had breakfast.

So yes, I think you need to give it some more thought but I wouldn't rule your plan out. You can also tinker with it as you go along. See how your son feels about it after a few weeks and whether you need to make adjustments.

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QueenStreaky · 17/02/2016 07:13

Would grandparents be willing to take your son to HE meets? That is something to consider so he won't be isolated and can make friends within the HE community.

You can HE whichever way you see fit, there are no timetables or required hours or curriculum - most of us make it up as we go along and work around the child's needs and the way they learn. It might help to read the current legal guidelines here.

Also I'd do a Facebook search of Home Education (or Home School) and your area, so you can find the local groups and make contact with others in the same circumstances.

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AtSea1979 · 17/02/2016 07:38

Yes a child minder was also my other option and from the sounds of it would be a better option. DS generally wakes up early, hence me being up this early at half term. I was thinking of doing it from Easter until end of year 6 to avoid the SATS then try high school for a bit. So not isolated for very long.

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QueenStreaky · 17/02/2016 07:57

Does he have a place at the high school? If not you might want to check if he'd still be eligible if he's no longer on the role of a catchment primary. Just to be on the safe side, or you might find you're forced into HE for longer than you want.

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