I home educate - my DS has never been to school - AMA

[OvertheUnicornRainbow]

My DS is almost 13, always been home-educated and is thriving. Ask me anything

@TheTwilightZone - not sure she knows or cares about the law, unfortunately.

Everyone's looking silly then OP, hey? Except those who agree with your position.

I do know how to do CPR to be fair, but I'd certainly prefer a qualified nurse to do it on my child than for me to have a go and hope I got it right.

@atankofskunks

Unfortunately so many of the HE parents I meet are of the mindset that they know better, that no one from the establishment understands and their children need protecting from the establishment who are ‘bad’, hence refusing visits. Of course they should be held accountable. Those that feel they shouldn’t have the responsibility of those children who are ‘home ed’ who slip through safeguarding nets and end up in horrendous situations. This is bigger than them and their child.

Anyone who questions this outlook or their teaching ability is considered ‘ignorant’.

And as you say, perhaps people with this outlook are not best placed to be educating children.

Fucking hell i read to page 8 of atankofskunks haranguing op, got bored so skipped to the end and here she still is, going on and on trying to convince op that only state school will do and being really rude about it! There's more than one way to educate a child. Why are you so hellbent on going on at op, skunk?

Unfortunately so many of the HE parents I meet are of the mindset that they know better

Just like many of the EWO's then eh 😉

@AlexaShutUp - that is where an EWO would step in. But the point as you say is suitably qualified and trained. As @Shineynew has told us - she has no training. It doesn't have to be like that but unfortunately in most of the country it is like that.

Sorry @ChewChewIsMySpiritAnimal where I have I been rude? Please feel free to report any of my posts if you feel that is the case.

@OvertheUnicornRainbow

Let’s quit with the personal insults -
We are grown ups here, let’s stop with telling people they are looking ‘silly’ for having a different point of view. It’s not necessary.

I worry about your teaching of philosophy and ethics if you don't appreciate that
I just know exactly how you talk to your kid and your husband just from this thread.

Why are you so hellbent on going on at op, skunk?

Nothing better to do probably. Circling the thread like a shark, ready to go in for the kill.

@TheTwilightZone

Like the trained teachers, eh

@AlexaShutUp - and unfortunately rather than pushing for proper training she is arrogant enough to feel she needs none. Shocking, really. For an EWO to be able to work properly and find the kids that need to be advocated for the LA needs to be trusted by the home-ed community. This isn't going to happen with the likes of @Shineynew at the helm!

@atankofskunks - a mixture - also use lots of online resources like the Maths Enhancement programme and Ed place. Assessments from tutors, online, work books - same for marking schemes. Use some programmes that mark for you - but you have to watch them as they are not always accurate. There's loads of information about the NC as well as just an outline.

The law is the law - people can disagree but they will be wrong!

@Greenmarmalade - thanks

@AlexaShutUp - she was home ed initially but then wanted to try school. I must admit it was more difficult heing both with the age gap - we thought it could be a good fit for her. Luckily our local school is great and she settled in well. She does get a bit jealous of her brother sometimes but in the main is very happy at school. I do seem to have to still do a fair bit of work with her at home, though.

@atankofskunks - no it's only you and @Shineynew looking a bit silly. Everyone else is joining in with a sensible, reasoned discussion.

@ChewChewIsMySpiritAnimal - I know I'm getting pretty sick and tired of her goadiness. If she doesn't want to learn about home-ed why post on this thread? It's getting very tiresome, now.

Thanks for answering re your dd, OP. It's good that she settled in well.

With regard to the HE families who aren't doing a great job, I'm wondering how they would come on the radar of the EWO unless there were other problems that caused concerns to be flagged up? To be clear, I'm not talking about families who are abusive or neglectful in any way, more about those who have good intentions with regard to their children's education but - for whatever reason - don't manage to provide a good, rounded learning experience. Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I don't believe that there is any mechanism for flagging up these kids, and therefore, there is nobody to intervene on their behalf? Or have I missed something?

@Shineynew - not hard to know better than someone with no training in the relevant subject, tbf. Not saying you look silly for a different point of view but because you are an EWO that doesn't know the basics of home-ed and equates a home-ed parent with no teaching qualification as the same as a nurse with no nursing degree! Silly is pretty mild for that I'd say!

I shall leave you to it OP. I have asked lots of valid questions of you but I don't need to be insulted by you. To be honest, I hope you're right. Me being wrong is by far the best option for your son and HE children in general. Sadly I fear that without real regulation, children will continue to be failed by society and face a very uncertain future with limited qualifications and no solid education. Here's hoping that at some point the government see sense and that the unregulated and unmonitored practice can be subject to proper checks and measures.

CallarMorvern

I assume you are in NI with the nod to industrial strike action. I completely agree with the majority of your post, the cut back have been devastating in schools.

However, you note strike action resulting in no lunchtime or after school support as having an impact on education. IMO it is a disgrace that this has been normalised where people feel it is wrong for teachers to work through lunch breaks or to hold unpaid after school support sessions.

@Shineynew - being a trained teacher has nothing to do with home-education - read up on the law!! That is fact not a matter of opinion!

@atankofskunks - thank the lord! Bye!

I've only read the first few pages but people on there keep going on at the OP for not encouraging their child to do 8-9 GCSEs and only doing 5-6.

I have 10 GCSEs. The most useful ones to me were Maths and English Language. My law GCSE has also come in handy from time to time. I can't think of a single other one that has served a purpose in real life except to get me into 6th form, Uni and a job. All of which asked for 5 GCSEs grade A-C including English and Maths. I never needed 10 GCSEs.

What I could have done with learning though was how to manage a household budget, how to run a home, how to do basic car maintenance, how to cook a few decent meals.and how to study independently.

I'm sure that many Home Educated kids get taught many of these things and they are far more useful in the real world.

Good luck to you OP.

@AlexaShutUp - if a child has been removed from school they will be known to the LA. If never been in school they won't - although for various reasons they do become unknown - often because of illegal data sharing, but that's beside the point. The LA can ask for information from a family to show they are providing a suitable education if they have cause to believe they're not. In order to do this it makes sense for the home-ed community to trust you and for you to give genuine support. You then are more likely to be able to find the families that need support. Currently there is almost complete mistrust. This is due to LAs overstepping the law and misrepresenting it. Doorstopping families, making unreasonable demands, unsettling Dc. And much more!

Thanks @56Marshmallow

You'd research it and find out what you need to know. So I don't need to know everything. I studied 10 subjects to GCSE obviously including Maths, English, Science. You can buy a curriculum if you want or use an on-line one. You can use classes or private tutors. I expect he'll go to college for A levels and maybe some GCSEs.

So much wrong here. The GCSEs you studied 20 years ago will be nothing like the ones dc are facing today.

If your ds goes to college for GCSEs, he will be behind kids the same age who sat GCSESall at the same time.

How do you feel you are qualified to teach your kids, with no teaching degree and ancient knowledge of their subjects?? 'Science' is not one subject; it's three.

You make a lot of grammatical mistakes, which makes me think you are not qualified to teach English.