I home educate my 3 children

[LilyTuesday]

As the subject title says! I have found myself answering lots of questions over the years, once people find out we home Ed our children… but they are probably being polite and not saying how they really feel about the idea of choosing to never send a child to school…. So AMA if you’ve ever been curious!

How do you think passing a couple of gcses a year will be viewed, compared to your standard candidate who passes 10 gcses in one sitting ? ( clue- unfavourably) and how do you justify thus ruining their life chances?

I think my question got missed!

We really do value teachers. I have never thought of myself as their teacher. More of a guide- to help find what works best for them. As a result, we have had many wonderful teachers, in real life small group sessions, tutoring one to one, online classes etc. Many of those teachers used to work in mainstream schools.

Thank you for all you do.

The above quote was meant to be for the teacher that has commented.

@fUNNYfACE36 employers don’t mind when the qualifications were obtained, as long as they have the relevant qualifications for the job, generally.

@HospitalHelp My question comes from a place of personal experience actually. Not all home educators believe in qualifications. Others don't suitably prepare them or make sure they can access them.

My own DSis was home educated from reception onwards. Now in her early 20s she has 4 GCSEs to her name. I went to school and university, so got formal qualifications. This allowed me to leave home. She's still there.

Hiya, yes so sorry!! I would recommend researching as much as possible - look at how education works in Finland, Norway, Sweden etc. Research learning through play, Reggio Emilia approach, outdoor education etc.
Facebook is your friend for finding the home Ed community! Type in home education and the name of your town/ city into the search bar. Some groups will let you join if you’re considering home Ed, other groups only accept those doing it. I’m in Essex and there is a huge home Ed community here. Lots of people arranging meet ups with their young children to start off their journey. 😊

Thank you

I don't know where to begin with this ridiculous comment!

This sounds true to me. I used my GCSE’s to go to uni, quite a number of years later . The date I obtained them has never been as issue.

Why is this ridiculous? Genuinely asking, not having a go!

tbh no one has ever checked that I took all my GCSEs simultaneously — I can’t imagine that this is a thing that employers care about at all?! (Universities yes maybe but it sounds like the OP is aware of this!)

@LilyTuesday It's wonderful to hear that you're giving your children the opportunity to sit a wide range of GCSEs. If more home educators ensure their children were able to do so I don't think there would be the same negativity.
Please dont take this the wrong way, but may I ask if there are any routine safeguarding checks in place for home educated children now? (Regardless of there being any concerns or not) There weren't when my Dsis was home educated sadly.

This is bonkers! As long as you have the grades no one cares when you got them!!
I have never been asked this in any recruitment process!

Feel free to message me as well, as I can offer more detailed advice. Books that have been my bible and links to useful websites .
legally, it’s easier to home Ed from the start. You just don’t apply for a school place. And you do not have to inform the Local authority. If they are aware, they will contact you.
removing a child from school is also quite easy. There are templates online for deregistration letters (for anyone considering removing a child already in school) it is the school that has to inform the LA, and you never have to actually see anyone from the LA. You just send them a report every year of the education you’re providing. That looks different for everyone, you don’t have to follow the curriculum. You don’t have to show evidence of their work. I would definitely recommend learning the legalisation - the home Ed community group admins are usually brilliant at helping navigate it all!
but as I said, home Ed from day one requires you to do absolutely nothing!

It's specifically an issue for university entrance. I agree it's not relevant for most employment

These days universities want to see grades gained concurrently in the same exam year as this is a different achievement from taking them piecemeal and prevents people from disguising when there have been resits

@LilyTuesday thank you. I would love some recommend reading but I'm currently on the app and I don't think you can message on that. I will try to get on the website at some point

I go against the grain really when it comes this… most home Ed give very little detail to the LA. They never accept home visits or evidence of work. Just a yearly report. Or for many, the LA is not even aware of them so they’ve not had anything at all. I personally think there should be more. Yes it would feel intrusive, but I would rather that than think of how many children are out there completely unknown and uneducated… neglect and abuse… There isn’t enough, no.

Viewed by who?

I don't think anyone is going to care whether a child took their GCSEs all in one year or not What a strange thing to worry about!

I would also follow the page ‘our classroom has no walls’ on Facebook. They are new to home Ed - teen son and 4 year old j believe. They’ve joined our community and it’s definitely interesting to follow their journey !

There are routine educational checks.

There aren't routine safeguarding checks for home ed families any more than there are for schooling families.

They do for university entrance. Sitting all of them at once is viewed as a more challenging academic achievement, and as a PP said, it means that resits cannot be masked. So the point being made here is that taking GCSEs in dribs and drabs excludes them from accessing some uni courses.

Also a home ed family here!
I agree with you that Essex has a brilliant home ed community, we loved it when we lived there! Lovely to read a mostly positive home ed based thread 🙂

Haha okay then. How do you explain all the home ed children who have either self taught or been taught by parents for their GCSEs? How do you explain how, prior to starting primary school, children are taught by their parents how to speak, read, count etc. How about all the successful teachers/professors/lecturers who don’t have a teaching degree?
You might have been taught some useful methods for teaching but in my experience these can be picked up easily in books and by watching YouTube videos.
Like I said, my degree taught me how to manage the learning of 30 children, not how to teach.