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?

[AnneEyhtMeyer]

If you think that a child at school spends its time exclusively with children born in the same year then you are mistaken.

It does worry me that people are allowed to opt out their children from society without question.

[ClockMakerSue]

YABU. The ignorance surrounding HE is so frustrating. There are plenty of groups online you can join to find out more.

[WorraLiberty]

Thanks Needs I didn't realise that.

[Marilynsbigsister]

I think that the problem here is simply confined to 'the bad/crap home educators who actually aren't educating in any way.
'Because all the people here giving their knowledgable input ARE actually home educators. If they weren't they wouldn't be giving an opinion because the thread wouldn't even have attracted their attention.

Amongst home educators there are a phenomenal load of different styles and approaches but whatever that style is, the child benefits from education because that is the parents focus.

In the case I knew. And yes I admit I have only come across one 'bad' HE set up. The mother was a childminder with three charges. The two children were 'used' variously as child minding assistants or playmates. No age appropriate learning was arranged for them.

The children could not read at all aged 8 & 10. and were strikingly immature for their ages. (They were neighbours children who played with mine)
There was no check. I enquired with the ed welfare as to what checks could be done but was told they couldn't interfere with home educators . As long as there were no abuse issues.

These are the situations that need a formal system for checking. Maybe there are, this situation I am talking about was 13 yrs ago. Maybe milestone checks ? Say at 7 12 & 16 , so that the freedom not to be 'interfered with' is kept to an absolute minimum - which I know is really important for HE - whilst ensuring parents aren't just scamming it.

[happy2bhomely]

Worra I started HE in January. I invited a rep from the LEA round to my home after we spoke on the phone. She came and met me and my husband and all of my children. I showed her our work space, our books and my plans. I gave her a copy of my 'educational philosophy' which outlined what I was aiming to achieve and how. We are following the national curriculum because my children will attend secondary school.

She just ticked a box on her paperwork that said 'child seen'. She said that she just wanted to be able to say that she had seen the children alive and well and didn't really have much time for anything else.

She told me that she was grateful that I had contacted her, as the school had failed to notify them that I had legally deregistered the month before. She asked if she would be welcome to visit again in 12 months time. I said yes, of course. I asked her if I should keep all the work the children had done or just a sample, and she said neither. She just wanted to be able to tick her 'child seen' box.

I asked her to leave her email address so I could request some more information in future. She took mine and told me she would be in touch with a list of contact info of groups and clubs.

I never heard back.

[FoxesOnSocks]

"I'm sure there's some home ed families who are doing it for the wrong reasons but I don't know any and I am immersed in our local home ed community and have been for five years."

That'd be because those that are doing it for the wrong reasons are most likely not involved in the home ed community.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

I think a lot of HR's percieve the strings to be targets and curriculum and time tables and stuff like that

[gillybeanz]

Anne

Why do you think H.edders opt out of society.
For us, it was opting into society. we met so many people and visited so many places.
My dd became very active in the community and of course H.ed girls are able to access Brownies, DofE, the boys just the same. In terms of being a member of society there is hardly any difference, apart from H.ed are able to be more sociable than a schooled child if they wish.

[JenLindleyShitMom]

I believe it is about integrating into society. Being HE is not compatible with that, however many groups or activities some HE attend.

My children have 6 extra curricular activities between them, we attend local attractions, events, community projects, hobby classes, museums etc, we have a large extended family who we are in constant contact with, we have friends with children, we take holidays, we attend social events, we live in a busy town where we can't walk down the street without stopping 50 times to speak to someone we know.

None of that would disappear if they stopped going across the road to school.

[NickiFury]

In my opinion such families would be problematic even if their child was in school. Plenty of children in school who are being neglected and even killed with concerns having been raised over a long period of time by professionals but no action being taken.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

That'd be because those that are doing it for the wrong reasons are most likely not involved in the home ed community

I would question that thought process because a huge amount of people that do things for the wrong reasons have a lack of insight into what the wrong reasons are.

There is very little stronger than the conviction of a parent who thinks they are doing the right thing even when they are not

[PitchFork]

^Today 21:14 MindSweeper

YANBU

If an untrained person is responsible for educating someone they should have to be audited, this is simply because a bad education can have such a detrimental effect on that child's future.

It doesn't have to be anything scary, just informal checking up. Examples of work etc.^

^^ this

[NickiFury]

What do you think about children who cannot be accommodated in school and whose local authority breathes a huge sigh of relief when their desperate parents remove them to home educate because there is literally no other avenue to pursue? Every other child I know in HE has experienced this. The lack of awareness of this is infuriating to be honest.

[ourserendipitoushome]

WorraLiberty

Adhering to a one style of education fits all.

If home educators accept money for education, then at some point, someone will want to have a say in what kind of education there should be.

And how that education should be conducted, tested and monitored.

The vast majority of people I know (my eldest is 22, and I have always home educated all 5 of my kids, in two countries, several towns- so I know a load of HE families), do very well well on their own, without funding, without monitoring, without involvement, because they choose to home educate, because they are genuinely good parents, who either a. have decided on an alternate path or b. have been failed by the system.

Having lived under a monitoring/registration system in Australia, I can honestly say it doesn't work.

And too be honest the most effective solution to stamp out abuse and neglect is to enforce a Named Person Scheme as they are currently doing in Scotland, so that both school educated and home educated children are completely monitored by the State, to make sure NO ONE slips through.

Personally, I wouldn't want that to happen, but let's face it, sending a kid to school, does not guarantee education or safety either.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

nikki'I agree almost every single serious case review ive seen in years and years involved a victim who had significant contact with services and the one I recall (fairly recent) of a HE child who was refered to as hidden actually was about a HE child who had already had several referals to their local safeguarding team where thise had not been responded to the same as every single other SCR for a HE kid

[WorraLiberty]

happy2bhomely that's awful. It's like the LA have simply washed their hands of you and your DC, except to box tick.

[MindSweeper]

I think an issue is people generally have the best of intentions but sometimes they aren't really in line with what the child needs to thrive.

I could try to educate my child myself, I like to think I'm educated and intelligent, but when it comes to it I may actually failing to provide the education they need to go further.

[ourserendipitoushome]

AnneEyhtMeyer

It worries me, that adults continue to hold uneducated views, despite being told information to the contrary.

There are plenty of kids who go to school that get abused, or whose parents isolate them.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

That can also be an issue in schools as well mind

One size does not fit all

[ImperialBlether]

Taking away the social aspect of school and the fact it's necessary (in my opinion) for someone outside of the family to look at the child to check there's no abuse (and I know that check doesn't always work but if for example a child is hungry or dirty, it's immediately noticeable) I wonder why the average person believes they can educate their child in a huge range of subjects from art to science to literature to maths when they don't really have a wide knowledge of those subjects anyway.

In a high school you'd never get an English teacher to be asked to teach Physics, or a Maths teacher to teach art. The reason you want a specialist is so that your child is a) taught accurately and b) stretched or helped to achieve.

With the best will in the world I know I couldn't teach my children science. That's okay - I'd get someone else to do that if I were home educating, but some people DO think they can teach a subject when actually they know fuck all about it. Think of the average person having a discussion about politics - how often do you think, "They don't know what they're on about?" and yet they could be teaching the child.

And not every child has the ability to learn themselves, nor should they. So if there's no check and let's see... Baby P's mother decides to home educate... should we let her? If not, where's the line to be drawn?

[RepentAtLeisure]

My DC had a visit from the council education officer twice a term. For two years we did unschooling because he was so freaked out by anything 'school'-like that he shut down at the sight of a book. Once that pressure was off him, he began to find his own interests and a love of reading, and is now at college getting some formal qualifications. It's what he needed at the time. If the education officer had insisted on seeing formal work I think we would have been right back to threats of suicide. Sometimes kids need a bit of leeway.

[NickiFury]

I actually have involvement with our local authority, annual visits and check etc. A few days ago I received a letter regarding my child; entreating me to carefully consider and put forward choices of secondary schools for him - he has a statement - for when he left primary.

Great. Only my child is home educated but if he was still in the system he would have left primary two years ago and now be going into year 9.

That is how much my local authority know about my child even though I have been fully engaged with them and keeping them informed from the outset.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

happy

Chances are you would have heard back if the person that came to see you had concerns, it's not unusual for samples of work to be requested, photos of the children during education that sort of thing

[MindSweeper]

Of course needs, however it's much more likely to be addressed if other parties are involved which is what I advocate for.

[ourserendipitoushome]

FoxesOnSocks

As a long time home educator, who believes strongly in freedom.

Freedom to choose to send your kids to school, freedom to choose to raise your kids according to your own values, freedom to choose to not send your kids to school, I would say, that the vast majority of the home ed community rely on people to be vigilant.

I would much rather a doctor, health professional neighbour speak to me, if they felt there was something that needed to be discussed than not.

If communities do what they are supposed to do, and watch over one another, then kids won't as often slip through cracks.

If you thought there was someone who thought they were category 1, but really weren't surely the onus is on you to perhaps either speak to them, or report them to the relevant authority?