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?

[ourserendipitoushome]

WorraLiberty

No, because there is no way too, because you don't have to register, nor are you monitored.

[AtiaoftheJulii]

Do home educated kids still take the same sort of exams as schooled kids? I mean GCSEs and A.S levels/A levels?

Some do, some don't. Some go to school or college and do them, some do them as private candidates. Anyone can sit GCSEs or A levels as a private candidate, these exams aren't exclusively for 16 or 18 year olds in schools.

(Also, I'm curious as to what sort of other exams you imagine them taking!)

But you know, this kid is 4. My eldest was 4 when we decided to home educate. People asked how she would do exams - I had no idea, but none of other parents of 4 year olds seemed to know anything about GCSEs at the time either, so I wasn't sure why I should be any different, and figured I'd work it out before the time came!

And if so, how do the results compare to the national average of schooled children?

How on earth would anyone measure that? Oddly there's no National Council of Home Educators keeping track of such things

[ourserendipitoushome]

WorraLiberty

I would say though, what does it matter?

If a kid goes on to be a contributing member of society, what does it matter what they did in their exams whether they were school educated or home educated?

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

worra HE kids have the option to take exams and the same exams as schooled kids.

Some do some don't, IME most of the ones I come across do they also do them sooner and tend to get better results.

As far as I'm aware no formal studies have been done however several info gathering sessions in various HE groups seams to suggest that a high proportion of kids educated by parents who are active in he groups do take them and tend to get higher results.

And that is most certainly reflected in my contact with HE families (I donate some of my time to a HE org), I personally do not like HE but that is only for my own children but on the whole most of the chikdren income into contact with are bright interested fun and have better social lives than the average schooled child.

The main downfall of HE in my opinion is often contact with other HE'rs is needed and there are a not insignificant amount of spiteful and vindictive but very active in groups HE'rs who like to treat other HE'rs unpleasantly

As a side note,If it interests you (because it always comes up during these convos) as a result of a significant amount of FOI requests a HE'er was able to work out that children who are home educated have a far higher ratio of referals to safeguarding teams than schooled children but a much lower rate of action taken.

[Scroobius]

Surely it's too early to tell in the OP case as the child is 4 and his mother is entirely correct in that he doesn't actually need schooling yet if he's not going to have to sit the dreaded SATs tests. In general though HS is excellent for children with parents who actually bother to teach their children. I do worry about some children I have had experience of who were taken out of school to be carers or just because parents had an issue with school actually expecting their child to turn up. I still worry about those children and not about whether they can form the present perfect tense.

[EnquiringMingeWantsToKnow]

I agree Obsidian. A lot of "Home educated" children are in fact studying full time (up to 14 hours a day) in illegal religious schools which may not even cover reading and writing English.
www.theguardian.com/education/2016/may/16/ofsted-finds-100-suspected-illegal-schools-in-england

I'm not hugely concerned about the relative quality of education - although the story of the PP's brother is worrying - but the way that children can slip under the radar completely can't be right.

[TheGoodEnoughWife]

IME home ed children sit less GCSEs than schooled children. That is fine with me though as I don't think children need 10-14 GCSEs.

Any review or monitoring leads to what do you measure against? Schools? Plenty of schools are failing to educate children and I would argue they are failing to keep some children safe.

[poppylop]

HE children can take the same qualifications as children in school can. The only difference is we have to foot the bill ourselves. There are now places available at colleges from 14yrs of age for many subjects and quite a few take up those opportunities. HE children tend to do better in exams than their schooled peers. In my personal opinion this is because they can study them at their own pace and only take what they need to get where they want to be, rather than being forced fed 9+ subjects all at once.

[GoldFishFingerz]

The home schoolers I know get better gcse grades, have a great social life with other homeschoolers and get to research interesting things in much more depth. Academically lots of countries don't teach children to read till they are 7 anyway. The children learn to read extremely fast because they are ready.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

Also, I'm curious as to what sort of other exams you imagine them taking!

If I fancied it I could produce HE kids with university level qualifications, several off the top of my head done when still kids, ones with GCSE's and other equivalents ones with the same functional skills certificates as many kids in special schools take, I can think of a few who as soon as they were legally old enough compleated requirements needed to obtain pilot licences.

There are almost no exams availible to schooled children that are not also available to ones who HE and a fair few that would be difficult for a schooled child to access but possible for a HE one.

[WorraLiberty]

Again, thanks for the replies.

ourserendipitoushome I wouldn't say it matters really, just that if these things are monitored and say for example there was a wide gap between the two, there might be more help/money provided to close it (probably wishful thinking).

I guess it's just the school governor in me. We're all about the monitoring and impact etc

But I understand now from this thread, there really doesn't seem to be a way of keeping track.

[Pisssssedofff]

Ask yourself honestly, what do you remember learning in primary school, or bloody secondary for that matter now you're in your thirties or forties. Not much in my case... The basics you can easily pick up online etc once you can read, having 1 to 1 support from an adult who loves you would be an amazing experience. If it wasn't the fact that I want a break from my DCs id do it in a heart beat I see far more advantages than disadvantages

[brasty]

The research I read said HE children were above average in English, and below average in Maths.
The testing of all children in schools now should male sure no child slips through the net without having basic skills. But with HE children that can still happen.
Nobody is worried about those children doing well. Monitoring would be to pick up those children not doing well. Including parents who say they HE because of their own issues.

[gillybeanz]

A local girl who is H.ed has just done really well in her Maths GCSE she would have been y8 when she took it, would just have gone into y9.
Her mum told me she would do another this year and leave the rest for a year or so.
For some children it's far better than any school could offer as schools don't meet all children's needs.
Sometimes school isn't a good fit at a particular time in the child's life and they thrive through H.ed.

[WorraLiberty]

The home schoolers I know get better gcse grades

Better than who?

The borough average, the country average or the national average?

Or do you mean their schooled peers?

Sorry for all the questions, I've just always wanted to know this stuff.

[AnneEyhtMeyer]

Cancelly:

The reason why I would limit it to primary is because I do not believe school is just about formal education. I believe it is about integrating into society. Being HE is not compatible with that, however many groups or activities some HE attend.

GoodEnoughWife:

The fact that you start with the government conspiracy theories highlights why HE should be monitored. I actually know that of I were presented with exams to HE DD I would pass easily. Looking at some posts by HEs on MN proves that others wouldn't.

[Gwenhwyfar]

"in many countries children don't start school until 6"

In most of those countries children are at the equivalent of nursery schools from much younger though.

[ourserendipitoushome]

brasty

But it doesn't.

I lived under a monitoring/registration system in Australia, and it doesn't pick it up.

The only way to make sure it does, is to make sure every home educator conforms to a National Curriculum at home with testing that happens outside of the home (so now to skew) results.

And let's face it, the education system can't even guarantee that.

[ourserendipitoushome]

Oops that should be so not to skew results.

[FoxesOnSocks]

Yes but not all parents are good parents. And not all parents are up to the task of home educating. Even though some try to.

This really.

I know that homeschoolers get very defensive (and some rudely so as seen here) because they meet this so frequently; but you can't pretend in your defence that homeschooling is utterly marvellous for all. For some being unmonitored is a terrible thing; a few fatal.

I know two families who homeschool, one appears to be doing a good job, the other quite obviously simply isn't.

[brasty]

i am shocked that you say you did not learn much in school. I learned how to interpret literature, maths, lots of scientific concepts, how to present my views, how to write an essay, how to play various sports, basic French, an idea of history and current affairs of the time, local history, and much more.

[SabrinaTheTeenageBitch]

I actually agree and I do home school. It's surprisingly easy to arrange. I keep term by term plans, copies of all work produced etc etc should local authority request them (they haven't thus far) and when I did provide them at a meeting related to my DD's education (pushing for a special needs placement, have no intention of home schooling indefinitely) they couldn't have given the slightest fuck.

[AnotherPrickInTheWall]

YANBU, I know several people who do it. All but one are completely bonkers. I think as a short term measure it's ok ( considered it myself when DD was unhappy at a particular school)
One person I know left Germany to come here because it is illegal to home school there. She has some serious issues.
Another HS parent is full on about conspiracy theories and attachment parenting; so full of herself. I see the kids suffer through lack of contact with the real world, but she tells me the authorities seldom contact her.
Teachers are so highly trained and dedicated nowadays; why does any person unqualified in that field think they can do a better job of teaching their own children.

[gillybeanz]

brasty

There lies the problem.
What is doing well? How can you assess doing well and what criteria would you use. H.ed isn't school and most I met didn't follow the NC or any curriculum come to that.

[CaptainSubtext]

Good point Minge I think our LEA is perhaps a little more persistent than average because this town has quite a reputation for children being radicalised :(