to ask if you would consider home education?

[SundayBea]

Have read a lot of articles recently on how the numbers in home education have 'exploded' and it's on the rise by 80% a year apparently. I know of three families I think quite highly of, two of whom are ex-teachers whose children have never been to school and their children seem to be having an exceptional upbringing and education with so many fantastic experiences and opportunities. Also know of two other families who have withdrawn their children from school because of problems with their respective schools and I'm less certain of how successful it is going to be for them. Also know of several colleagues and DH's cousin who have DC under 5 who are debating not registering them when the time comes. Is this a big thing now or is it just coincidence I know of so many families like this? I was just wondering what the general consensus was.. when I mentioned socialisation one of my ex-teacher friends showed me the Facebook group she is in for her local home education community and I was amazed at the plethora of groups, classes, meet ups and outings with hundreds of members.. just for her local county! Have been debating with DP what to do about schooling at private school is unfortunately out of the question on our current salaries.. I'm now feeling like I've discovered a whole new option I hadn't considered? Sorry if this is rambling, only getting a 5 minute lunch break today!

Fidel - I agree 2 hours is plenty, but I still don't think its the same. mins45 of group work designing a game is still 45 mins of group work, 45 mins of running around is still 45mins running around, same for 15mins writing a story, 15mins reading etc!! I don't think they do the same intensity of work each day as my daughter does, but I also don't argue that the intensity of work she does is especially necessary either. HE and school are different. I don't think HE's are doing the same as school, just in 2 hours but a completely different (and often lovely, less intense, relaxed way.)

Ah ISWYM. Well there are 100 different ways of doing HE, of course. So it's not just comparing apples with oranges, it's trying to compare 101 different fruits.

There's a poster in DD's school's staff room that breaks down how much of the school day is actual "teaching time". It's something like 1hr 15m........

I learnt brilliantly being taught at the front by experts

Lucky you. (I'm just at some of the teachers I know being described as experts though!). You're a success story. You got the right education and you were the right sort of learner. Brilliant. Proves nothing, though.

LEAs recognise that some children are withdrawn from school because of abuse. I guess they are simply checking that DC being HE are not HE to hide abuse.

Ha! That's not true at all. LEAS, though varying, have had a suspicious, negative and ill-informed approach to HE. They have thought they had powers that they didn't (for example many were under the impression that HE was illegal unless they gave their permission) and they have passed on that mis-information where it is convenient for them. As they specialise in a completely different form of education, it is understandable that they tend to be uninformed about other ways to educate, meaning that they tend to judge negatively without understanding and evaluate according to benchmarks that are inappropriate for the style of education (for example learning according to a different timetable). Also understandably, they are not going to be informed on how to do anything well except school education. If they think that this can only really be provided in a school, you can perhaps understand that they are not the most objective, informed or helpful organisation to have trying to interrupt your lessons every six months.

Add to that the catalogue of errors by my local LEA which includes lying about what has been said and a desire to get the children back into school by criticising the education that has been provided at home, regardless of what it's like, and perhaps you can see that they don't give a damn about abuse, really. That's not what they're there to evaluate.

HeadofHives

I would feel very angry if I'd only been entered for 2 GCSEs. It would make things harder if I'd have wanted to go on and train to some careers which have more as a requirement

But the point that Nadia was making is that universities are now recognising that there are other indicators of ability (rather than GCSEs and A Levels). She readily admits that her girls would never be accepted for a medical degree without recognised qualifications - but they don't want to be doctors. The entry into careers/professions/university was a specific question posed to Nadia by Ruth Langsford - and was certainly a question I was interested in.

Having said that, my late DH only had ONE 'O' Level and without taking any extra formal qualifications, managed to achieve a B.A Hons through the Open University, then a M.Sc. via a conventional university and finally a teaching qualification. Clearly the lack of GCSEs/A Levels didn't hold him back.

How dare she say her girls won't want to be doctors- they are both under 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DARE SHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it is getting harder, not easier to get into university with non traditional qualifications.

I don't think that supplying evidence is enough- they need to be seen. What someone says and what they do can be two different things.
I know that some parents share expertise, but they are missing a lot if they don't use the expertise and resources of the LEA-all for free.

expertise and resources of the LEA-all for free. Only but a few LEAs offer very limited resources and their expertise is mainly scholastic. In all the years and visits, I have never received any expertise or information (I asked), I provide them with lists of resources to pass on! The HE officers in my county don't even know where we can sit exams. When I first started HE, I used to have access to the county council school suplies 'store', now even that has been taken away from us.

Our county council is relatively non-confrontational, which means that most of us are happy to receive a visit rather than having to write huge reports. However, where a LA acts unlawfully and forcibly, I appreciate the home educators being wary.

I also provided lists and lists of resources to my LA, including links to HE groups and contacts, which they promptly lost. So much for support and expertise .

I'm considering HE my DS at the moment. He has several additional needs and the pressure of school is difficult for him to cope with. Three things put me off:

The first is that we can't get him to do homework so don't anticpate we would be able to get him to do school work at home.

The second is that we want him to learn that he can get through things that are difficult by sticking at them, something that he's not good at.

The third is that we want to encourage some independence from us. That he forms good relationships outside of our family.

If push comes to shove we will take him out and HE him, so thank you for this thread, it's fascinating and reassuring to see it working so well for many families.

Merde I can understand those reservations but tbh you're looking at it from the standpoint of where he is now, and how poorly he's coping. I've found that stress and anxiety play a massive part in the way children with additional needs function (or don't) in school, and once that pressure is reduced by being in a stress-free environment, they can cope far better with life, including 'work'.

Your second point about sticking to things that are difficult, I would say again you can't do that when you're overwhelmed by stress but it's something that is likely to come to him when he is calmer.

As for independence, there are so many opportunities outside of school that your son can take part in, both in HE circles and mainstream things like cubs, sports etc. Once he's got over his school experience and is ready to try new things, there will be ways to encourage his independence. Also personal self-development, using public transport and going shopping - you can support him to gain those skills at quiet times rather than relying on busy weekends and school-run time. There are ways.

sadwidow at ten you need to keep your options open. Yes some people manage to do well without traditional qualifications, but as Bertrand says it's getting much harder. Why should the parents be in a position to be able to limit a child's options?

I came from an area where it was rather an indulgence to stay on at school, particularly if you were female. As people said then, well you can do other things...

I have a DD who will be unlikely to gain the five GCSEs. Far from being loads of options I can see there are few; the odds are very much against her. I can see that it is going to be very difficult. Why on earth would you want to Make things more difficult for your children? Years ago it was much easier to get on with just a couple of O levels but things have moved on.

Can I just point out good as the OU is you can't do everything there, so it's not acceptable to say oh you can do something with the OU. It lowers the options.

And I don't think it's acceptable to say oh they can do GCSEs later, it's so much harder to do that whilst you are perhaps having to bring a wage in etc.

The more competitive unis don't need to look outside traditional qualifications.

The more competitive unis don't need to look outside traditional qualifications.

But they still do.

The CEO (my dp's boss) home schools their kids. He is exceptionally bright and entrepreneurial. He lives out in Silicon Valley 50% of the time. His theory involves working smarter for less hours and very targeted learning. They have 3 dcs and they involve a mixture of private tutors during the week. Both parents have phds in Eng related subjects and they do a huge amount of extra curricular including visits to China and India. I have no doubts his kids will breeze into Harvard or Oxbridge given their parents track record of.

they are missing a lot if they don't use the expertise and resources of the LEA-all for free.

Persist in this blissful delusion if you want, but I can assure you that no HE parent I've known has ever benefited from the 'expertise and resources of the LEA'. It is rather a hilarious notion. The 'expertise' comes down to a few poorly chosen websites and the odd handout. If a HE parent was relying on these (which they are not), it would be a poor show. 'Being seen' is tantamount to a little chat laced with coaxing questions like 'Wouldn't you like to go back to school?'. Difficult to imagine what an education officer is going to pick up from that, really. Except possibly an embarrassed response from a child under pressure - a response that can later be twisted to mean whatever they want it to mean.

Believe me, it's not helpful!

I considered it for dc1 for a short-time due to v unusual situation and inadequate sch options. But otherwise flat no. I am uni educated. fairly well-read, but i am not a trained teacher backed up by colleagues, resources etc. think it's high risk and potentially odd-making. Tho new online schools can help.

cookie I have nothing against home ed, but I am against not giving children the opportunity to take the usual qualifications. I am not saying it's impossible to gain entry in to Oxbridge. But I think it makes it more difficult to do so.

You end up taking the option whether it be a course or job that other people are less keen on.

Anybody who thinks the LA has "resources" for families who HE want to share what they think these resourses actually are?

What resources?

My point was that teachers based in schools have invaluable resources from shared material/books to colleagues.

As do many home educators and families

Oh please! It is no way the same!

I'm a huge believer in school and the necessarily imperfect institutional experience (a critical formative experience in the modern world) but I think most real learning - the kind you take ownership of - beyond primary school is best done outside the traditional classroom. Specialist tour guides, theatre, cinema, preparing and putting on plays/presentations, making films, building models, playing instruments and singing, team sports... Etc etc

moving did you realise that a huge amount of teachers or ex teachers HE themselves?

Loads of them. Parents very much tend to share resources and parents can be qualified in many ways just like none HE parents

I know someone who used the resources and expertise of the LEA. Her inspector was very useful and gave her a lot of advice and resources for her son with dyslexia. She did of course welcome him in rather than treat him as the enemy.
I think it should be just another choice and therefore able to share resources.
You must be very unfortunate in your LEA lostinthemiddlemarch my friend had an inspector who was enthusiastic about HE and thought she was doing a good job. He didn't have to ask the children what they thought, it was quite obvious when they just chatted over tea and cake.