To think home schooling should be better monitored?

[Mollymoo78]

One of my FB friends from my toddler group days has announced on FB that she's home schooling her four year old. She was always very very attached to him and never had a moment away from him ie a night out. She breast fed him well into his fourth year and carried him in a sling when he got tired. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm genuinely wondering if her decision to home school has more to do with her being reluctant to let him go.

Her comments on FB are "well I have no precise plans as to what I'm going to do but they learn through play at this age anyway so it doesn't matter". I just felt quite uncomfortable reading that. It all sounds very vague. My dd has started school recently and loves it - the socialisation with her peers and older children, the physical activity, getting independence and rewards for her achievements. She's playing yes but she's also being taught to read and write. But what if this boy isn't given these things - who is going to be checking up on the education he's being given?

I don't mean to put a downer on homeschooling - I've no doubt it's the perfect option for those whose children don't gel with school but shouldn't you at least try school first? Am I wrong to question this in my mind?

Depends. I have a friend on fb who home schooling her two and they seem to be following a plan and covering topics etc. There seems to be a national network as once a week they meet up in a group with others. In your friends case...maybe wait and see. He is only 4.

Yes ginger I've read that, but since the LA can't obtain conclusive stats of how many are currently HE that tells us there is an issue in ascertaining how many are homeschooled.

You keep banging on about dentists and GPs, they are nothing to do with education. We need to know if these children are being educated appropriately. And no system flags up a warning that a child is disappearing and hasn;t been seen by a GP, dentist, educator...

It'd be interesting to see some of these HE lesson plans

Wow. Aren't you incredibly condescending? You're aware, of course, that some people that HE are actually teachers, right?

And the Badman inquiry is rubbish at best. Nothing more than a witch hunt.

Until then we still have qualified people doing it,

But yet according to you still failing to educate half the population.

It'd be interesting to see some of the HE lesson plans

^this is your problem right here. Such lack of imagination.

And to say there are no issues with safeguarding, yet the NSPCC saying there is, is frankly laughable.

I'm not sure why people are so against there being an infrastructure to better regulate and help the children who are being let down. Your gung ho approach and resistance is potentially putting children at risk. The unwillingness to consider these children is telling.

But ignore us who want to prevent things spoken about in this case study www.educationotherwise.net/attachments/article/350/NSPCC-SCR-BRIEFING-March-2014.pdf

instead carry on diverting to schools. Yes we know there are issues, but we also know we have things in place to at least attempt safeguarding. Whereas HE children can be isolated. Children like Child A, Child S, Child ST.

You are right OP. Some home schoolers educate well, some do a terrible job

Yep I agree. I came across the fallout when working for social services of home schooling done for all the wrong reasons by people ill equiped to do it. I'm not saying all or even the majority of homeschoolers are like this, but some of the borderline neglectful cases flew under the LEAs radar and the massive gaps in their education and the severe damage done to their life chances only came to light when the kids were referred to social services for something else.

I'd be completely in favour of more rigourous checks and standards for homeschooling.

That article is laughable. They have no idea how many children are HE (Why not?) yet are confidently asserting that their figures on NEETS for HE children are accurate. How can't they possibly know that figure if they dont even know who is HE??

We need to know if these children are being educated appropriately.

We?!?! You need to know precisely zero, zilch, and squat about whether my children are being educated appropriately.

but since the LA can't obtain conclusive stats of how many are currently HE that tells us there is an issue in ascertaining how many are homeschooled.

Yes, because of course the government is such a pillar of good organisation and policy.

You keep banging on about dentists and GPs, they are nothing to do with education. We need to know if these children are being educated appropriately. And no system flags up a warning that a child is disappearing and hasn;t been seen by a GP, dentist, educator...

Okay. TAG. Someone can take over the "song that never ends" that keeps banging on without bothering to listen to the answers that have been repeated by numerous posters.

I've finished my paperwork and need to get some sleep now.

I'm mindful that some come on here with no intention of opening their mind to anything, but rather just banging on in their insistence that they are correct and there is no other way. It's a shame. Learning something new isn't just for children, you know.

It's condescending to want to know if children are being educated properly

SOME are teachers being the key words.

It's funny how on this website people will fight tooth and nail about protecting children, but when it comes to something like this they don't give a fuck about those who are vulnerable and will resist something that could protect them.

But it's fine I suppose if you feel they're all okay. Because y'know, that's enough. All of us who want more protection for them are clearly just bad people who want to intrude on your need to educate.

I'm bowing out, because it's going round and round and despite numerous stats about the percentage of abuse cases reported by teachers, the stats of abuse reported by LA the stats of children who don;t get seen by people like dentists, the stats of children not known to be in any education at all, the stats of HE who go onto employment or education, case studies where HE directly allowed abuse to continue... it just cant influence the narcissistic spur that leads you to think HE kids don't need an infrastructure to protect them.

And don't talk to me about imagination when you are incapable of considering how very wrong HE can go for a child who's parents don't give a fuck and/or are emotionally, physically, or sexually abusive.

Ta-ra!

not read the thread sorry but Eunice spry, google her, a good example of why home ed needs monitoring. Yes, kids get abused by teachers in schools but no teacher has 24/7 access to a kid as this woman did.
I support home ed as an option when school doesn't work, but also support moves to improve our schools.

I home schooled for a year. Our local authority was supposed to do an inspection/visit within 3 months, and then an annual review showing what you'd be doing with the child. It didn't really happen, had one visit towards the end of the 12m, only because I contacted them regarding something else. I had obviously slipped through the system, not sure whether others did too, or whether I was unusual.

I totally agree that homeschooling should be monitored, but not for the reasons/concerns you have. If someone believes in unschooling, attachment parenting etc, I have no concern - some research is saying this is a good way for children to learn.

My concern is two fold

1. Abusers can opt to home school/no school in order to disguise abuse. No teachers to see bruises, no aides to tell tales to etc. From a child protection point of view, having a twice yearly check when someone sights the child, asks them about what they are learning etc, is some measure of protection against someone who wants to keep the child hidden for sinister reasons. Hopefully, this is a tiny minority of home schoolers, but still poses a risk.
2. Children with special needs might also gravitate towards home schooling, as the regular school system lets them down. These children (and educators) need to be supported. It's done so badly at the moment, but I would love to see these children given resources, help, support in the home educational system, as they should in regular schools. Problem is they often don't get what they need in either, but it would be a terrible situation to have children and parents struggling to deal with SN isolated from access to the few support networks there are.

gingerivy actually, whether there are people with the appropriate skills such as maths/science degrees is my main issue.

I find it hard to believe that every home ed community has educators available, on most days, who have degrees in maths and who can attach maths to clever mathy high school students. I'm happy to be corrected if most home ed students have this readily available.

With online resources clever mathy types could easily teach themselves maths. HE children, particularly those who have been HE for some time become adept at finding great resources that best suit their learning style.

Brasty I'd be very interested in the reference for the study you've mentioned that apparently shows HEdded children do worse at maths? Every study I've read shows HE kids do better across the board academically, and as for the social/emotional side, they vary between showing results equal to schooled children and better than schooled children. Going back to academics for a bit, Worra you were asking if any study compared academic results in standard exams between HE and schooled children? There's an American study that compared SATS results between the two groups and the average results for HE children were around 30 percentile points higher than the schooled average. Can't ref atm as it's on the PC.

Am amazed people who are talking about lesson plans and not being able to HE with a baby around and shock horror children being out in the real world shopping at 10:30 on a school day feel they can comment so negatively on a subject they obviously know little about.

Actually the LA absolutely is responsible for safeguarding the children who live in their area, whether they attend a state school, private school, academy or are home educated. It is far far harder for them to discharge their statutory duties when they have no power to enter a home to check that a child is being adequately cared for unless they have reasonable belief that there is a problem.

And children attending dodgy unregistered schools (including those that may be radicalising children as well as failing to keep them safe in other ways) tend to be technically home educated, meaning that they and their educational establishment fly below the radar of the agencies that should be protecting them

There are serious case reviews involving home education. I feel concerned about people who do not attend home education groups. I am concerned about people who opt to home educate teens after school refusal.

I would worry that a HE child could a

(Sorry baby posted with her foot)

I'd worry a HE could fall under the radar if being neglected or abused. I know that some abuse isn't picked up at school but a HE child would have less opportunity to speak up or be noticed.

This is an example of what unschooling can do. TED Talks are amazing here another from Sir Ken Robinson: do you schools kill creativity?

I think you're being a bit U in this case, although probably with the best intentions, however I agree that home schooling needs to be more closely monitored. Not necessarily for educational reasons, but more in my opinion because "home education" is a factor in a number of serious case reviews, and in some families is just a way of keeping themselves and their children "under the radar"

LikeDylan Yes that wasn't concern when I read this lady's FB post. Of course there are good and bad home educators and good and bad schools but at least the schools are inspected as to the quality of education and how they identify and deal with children with special needs. Of course there are some for whom home ed is best but to rule out school without even trying it I honestly find difficult to understand.

Sorry I meant was my not wasn't! (Auto text)

Monitored by whom? If you decide your child is not going to be entering the care of an academy chain or LA, to whom do you think you are accountable?