Home school advice.. working full time

[lulublu1981]

Has anyone taken their child out of school and home schooled. My child has been a nightmare to get to school so many social issues emotional and she is seeing cahms next week. She has breakdowns. I can not physically make her go to school she is just too anxious. She has some health issues so is already under pediatrician consultants. I'm at a loss. School have tried all they can putting her in learning zone which worked fine for a while.
I just can't cope I am just after some advice . I have her sat catching up on work online at the moment and need to keep her education up to date. It's so important for me and her to have an education.
I work full time . I work long hours so not always guaranteed to be watching what she is doing but I am hoping to plan the days im off and to get some tutors etc.
Any advice please from a desperate single mum x

You can't do both while working full time. People did it during lockdown because it was temporary and there was no other option and employers were a bit more flexible about it. But in the long term that's no a fair solution for your child or employer.

Can you look for an alternative school space? Or pay for private tutoring?

How old is she? Are you WFH permanently?

If you are mainly at home, with a teen, and sign upto appropriate courses with an online provider, it sounds possible.

If you spend 3 days a week in the office, have a 5 year old and are planning on doing g it all your self, I suspect it is likely to fail somewhere (mental or physical)

From the info in your post, it's impossible to say.

Thanks for replies. I work about 2/3 days a week. She is 14 . I have spoken to a few tutors. I know its hard work but I don't have a choice she won't go to school and I have to think of her mental health. this has been going on for many years now her mental health is horrific. She literally sat with the head teacher last time as she can't cope. I have looked into community schools too hoping to sort something. It's not ideal but this is much more possible right now than the challenges we have had x

How about online school? Would she work in front of the computer and engage with the teacher / other students?

Is she being bullied? Or does she need meds due to anxiety? Does she have friends?

I would only do this as a last resort - at her age she does need social interaction of some form. Unfortunately I’ve discovered to my detriment that online interaction can be very dangerous and harmful to young children

Yes she would thos is a great idea xx

Yes it is a last resort . She won't go anywhere. She just been assessed as thinking of her being on the spectrum. I will make sure she has some social interaction. I'm working on it all x

How old is she? My kids did online school for a while from a number of different places. They were in primary though. The best thing to do is to look for your local home ed groups, look on Facebook, as it will show you what's happening in your local area, and also give your child a chance to join up with some of the activities. Many kids are out of school for similar reasons. Outschool provide some good resources, Myonlineschool isn't too bad, it offers structured lessons in one place and you can give one month's notice I believe if you don't like it. Although you'd have to double check that's still the case. There's a number of different resources to work towards GCSE maths / English and science in big groups where your daughter doesn't need to interact. I can send you links, although the ones I know of are good, but not particularly cheap.

Just messaged you op. Best of luck with it all.

It is doable, l am a working lone parent, my son suffered panic and anxiety re school and l deregistered him aged 13.
It was the best thing l did, we had exhausted all other avenues.
I carried on working, he settled into a new routine.
He is now 16 and has just passed IGCSE' s all.A* and.A, we didn' t use any tutors, there is an enormous amount of infomation available online, free tutorials on youtube etc, my son said they explained it much better than his teachers, the GCP revision books are also very helpful, got ours from Amazon. The information is out there, my son has been very resourceful, and it paid off. You can also print off exam papers from previous years to find out what your weaknesses are and how to go about improving them. He sat his exams last Autumn as a private candidate at a local independant college, they have been extremely helpful.
Maybe look into deschooling, this plays a really important part when switching over to home education, don' t just expect to bring the classroom into the home, it doesn' t work like that, and partly why so many struggled with HS during covid.
Don' t listen to fear mongering re your daughter being isolated, most HS children have siblings, friends and lead very busy lives, its ridiculous how ignorant most adults are re HS.
My son also works part time, he no longer has issues re MH, school just wasn' t for him and that's ok.
Goodluck.

You can do this OP. I strongly suggest you look into EOTAS (education otherwise than at school) rather than electively home educating.

This is what we have for our daughter. She learns at home and her education is funded by a personal budget via an EHCP.

I work full time, mostly from home. Yes it’s a lot to manage but a damn sight better than the stress and awfulness we had before when trying to get her to go to school. And her mental health breakdown was NOT worth that.

Look up the ‘Not Fine In School’ Facebook group. You will find all the support, help and signposting you need.

Don’t deregister and EHE unless you actually want to. If DD cannot attend school the LA have a statutory duty to provide alternative arrangements under s.19, the Education Act 1996.

In addition to this, you should apply for an EHCP. The advantage of an EHCP is it can include other provision such as MH therapies and the needs assessment can include assessments to help ensure all her needs are known and DD has appropriate provision to meet those needs.

I work for an online school.
Have you thought about that?

Would this work?

www.oneschoolglobal.com/

Agree with others DONT deregister. That means the local authority no longer have a responsibility to educate. It can be that she is educated at home but they provide tutors (will probably only be a few hours but it all helps.)

Not fine in school is a very good site. Do go and ask there.

Good luck OP - it does feel like the whole system is against you whne your child can't access school I think.

Is there a pupil referral unit for teens with mental health problems near you? My dd was offered a place at 14 at one, transport was included

Online school?
Interhigh is one

Just a thought OP, as she is 14 she could possibly enrol at college 2 years early? They do their GCSEs with them and its obviously a more mature and relaxed environment. We've had lots of issues with DD1 and are mulling it over for September.

Interhigh well thought of by some home edding friends but quite expensive.

@MumbleCrumbs

Just a thought OP, as she is 14 she could possibly enrol at college 2 years early? They do their GCSEs with them and its obviously a more mature and relaxed environment. We've had lots of issues with DD1 and are mulling it over for September.

Thank you. I have looked at this the nearest is liverpool and it has been a thought. I have spoken to camhs today and they also agree maybe a smaller setting is better and I have a meeting with the school next week so maybe be able to get her sorted .xx