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?

Sorry ourserendipitoushome I missed your last post.

I think "I suspect there is no utopia and failure and success happen wherever there are people."

Definitely hits the nail on the head, from whatever angle anyone looks at this.

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?

They think they are educating their child, there's no telling them otherwise. This thread was about monitoring Home schooling If it were then the fact her children aren't getting much of an education would be picked up. Obviously monitoring is impossible as not all Home schooling follow the same method.

I am sensing you think I'm putting down on home schooling. I'm not, not all children suit traditional schooling (my back ground involved me heavily in this area). What I'm trying to say is just as traditional school doesn't always work homeschooling doesn't either. There's always the 'homeschoolers' do better statement. This is a blinkered and defensive statement.

There's no way of backing it up, only way would be fact if the best educated people in the country were all homeschooled.

So yes sadly there are children in traditional schooling who don't get educated and there are children who are homeschooled who aren't educated too.

To whoever think they should question my thought process behind saying that a person who home educates for the wrong reason won't be involed in a homeschooling community - People who homeschool for the wrong reasons, such as withdrawing from society, are not going to be involved in a community mostly because it's society and that's what they are avoiding. Though I would feel that a child in that situation lack of education is the least of their problems.

The socialisation arguments do annoy me. My son couldn't cope with the enforced socialisation that his school provided, it made him ill. Being shoved out into a noisy playground with a hundred other kids, many of whom bullied and goaded him. Being able to control his socialisation, leaving when he has had enough, is far better for him.

I don't think anyone's saying that in special circumstances, it's not the right thing to withdraw a child from school.

ourserendipitoushome

For one, that's hardly the point, and for two, if school is now anything like it was ten years ago when I went to high school it's more people dicking about rather than the quality of education.

Good post needs. I knew all this but didn't have the headspace to go looking for evidence to back it up.

That site has details of children murdered in the UK who were HE and murdered. There are sections.

Right. So school now is fine and the ideal but ten years ago it wasn't?

I have also just thought can see this as a topic on The wright stuff..Will watch this space

So out of interest

people are happy with children being taught by folk who don't know where a vagina is, where an apostrophe goes and god knows how many other things?

And the 'well my kids see this and that, they are seen by x and x', but the point is, abused children wont be. They'll be invisible.

No-one is saying ban HE. I'm 100% sure so many people do an amazing job, what I'm saying is it needs monitoring. There needs to be safeguards.

Right. So school now is fine and the ideal but ten years ago it wasn't?

You must have misread my post if that's what you got from it.

I got that brasty I just think the actual formal serious case review is more than likely to be a far more reliable source

JenLindleyShitMom

I studied History English and French for my A levels, followed by Archaeology degree. DP did Biology, Chemistry and Geography followed by Agriculture.

One of our daughters has proved to be an utter whizz at maths and physics. She's applying for Uni places now, she's predicted a perfect set of A*s. There's no way that either DP or I could have educated her. And if we'd home educated, we would never have spotted her facility for maths.

There are cases like this where no one in authority was aware of what was going on with these HE children.

hsinvisiblechildren.org/2015/04/06/victoria-evans-alloma-gilbert-and-christopher-spry/

hsinvisiblechildren.org/2015/04/06/austin-luke-and-cecilia-riggi/

hsinvisiblechildren.org/2015/03/30/khyra-ishaq/

two, if school is now anything like it was ten years ago when I went to high school it's more people dicking about rather than the quality of education.

Can you expand?

people are happy with children being taught by folk who don't know where a vagina is, where an apostrophe goes and god knows how many other things?

Should people be happy to send their kids to school where they apparently have only 0.5 chance of learning these things?

AlpacaLypse I agree. I think the more you know the more you know where your knowledge is lacking.

I am sure some HE kids socialise a lot. I am not against HE.

Well that's the thing really isn't it?

School education really does seem to be a lottery. Parents/DC are often really lucky or unlucky to live in certain catchment areas and sadly, more often than not, no matter how much time and effort some parents put into researching/visiting/deciding which schools to apply for, it simply boils down to catchment/distance to the school of 'choice'.

But equally, I'd say with HE kids, the 'lottery' comes from whether they're born to parents who are capable/able to provide them with a decent standard of education.

I suppose (and I've only just thought of this) everyone's idea of a 'decent standard' of education will be different.

As there doesn't seem to be any record/statistics of success or failure regarding HE kids compared to schooled kids, I guess it's difficult to tell either way.

what I'm saying is it needs monitoring. There needs to be safeguards.

Really? Invisible? Do they not have GPs, dentists? Are they not registered at a surgery?

I'm sure people could bring up loads of info on children that were abused and/or killed that DID attend school just as easily.

And if we'd home educated, we would never have spotted her facility for maths

You'd have to be spectacularly unobservant to spend pretty much all your time with her and not have noticed. Honestly, I think you would have.

Foxes I agree. I also think that HE is also not suitable for everybody that tries it.

One of my closest friends has just finished HE one of her children. She was struggling in school with little help so has spent a year being HE, in one aspect it has worked for her because she is now performing within the boundries of what would be considered to be good for a schooled child BUT her personality means that it has failed with other 'life' type things.
Mum was sensible enough to identify this and she's going back to school as soon as one of the ines near by can sort a place for her.

Luckily she will go back not failing academically and soon enough for what was lacking whilst she was HE to not be an issue.

YABU? Perhaps she is still breastfeeding and therefore wants to home school.
Children in Scandinavia don't start school until they're 6/7 and do just fine.....and even then, it's very relaxed and led via the children and no homework etc.

I have friends who have home schooled before and if done well, it can be brilliant. Fine to admit you wouldn't do it but don't be judgey about those who are.

brasty I don't immediately recognise the middle names in your links, but in the first and third cases, I'm sure authorities were already involved.

brasty I'm going from memory here as I'm in the middle of doing stuff so cant go and read all of those SCR's but off the top of my head the one I remember clearly had several referals to childrens social care prior to removal from school alongside a fair few after.

More missed opourtunities.

In the third case the school had raised concerns with Social Services that the children had been withdrawn and were being HE, given a history of neglect. SS did not follow this up. But up until that point, the school had been monitoring what was happening.

Going back to Only a couple of home edders I know don't allow visits from the lea, from what I can see its mainly the parent's anxiety and fear of the establishment - I didn't allow visits from the LA because there is no legal necessity for them, and I wasn't going to encourage them to overstep their remit. No fear or anxiety, and it's not what I've seen in others either.