Refusing to homeschool

[SonicTheSorryRabbit]

Curious about this...

How many parents have simply decided that they're not doing homeschooling? Either because they're wfh and can't balance that with homeschooling or because it's too much for their kids and making them miserable?

If you're not homeschooling, (i) are you getting a hard time from the school?; and (ii) what are your kids doing instead?

YABU - we're homeschooling.

YANBU - we never started/we've given up.

We are in the process of identifying kids in this category and getting them into school under the vulnerable category.

Yabu. But my dc are y5 & y7 so just get on with it with zero input from me.

Friends in your definition of homeschooling. I'm not doing the stuff school are sending for yr1 DC, but we're writiing a book together, doing basic maths, reading. It's just less stress than feeling like I have to keep up with everything school is sending home. We are all particularly fragile here atm though, for various reasons

*depends on your definition...

I'm incredibly lucky and work part-time so the days I'm at home with the children I can wrestle them through their school work. I think there will be a huge gap when the children are back between those who could home school and those who couldn't. The pressure on working parents must be immense trying to navigate their own work, school work and day to day childcare. However I don't agree with non-working parents who refuse to home-school. Yes it is hard but it's not forever!

@Dogsaresomucheasier. Surely a refusal to engage with homeschooling wouldn't by itself make a child vulnerable? What if the child is otherwise safe, cared for but just sat at home watching TV or playing in the garden because the parents are too busy to enforce homeschooling?

I had assumed that everyone was doing it (or at least trying to)...but I was whatsapping a friend who says she's given up for her Y1 boy since she has work deadlines to meet and can't do both.

Surely a refusal to engage with homeschooling wouldn't by itself make a child vulnerable?

Four DC at four different schools and all four schools have "difficulty (or refusal to) engage with online working" as one of their definitions of a vulnerable child.

@FoxyTheFox. So parents can get a school place for their DC simply by refusing to do any homeschooling?

No personal judgment from me at all because I know how hard it is but as a professional, I should tell you that failure to engage with remote learning is not an option. Learning remains statutory even at home so anybody not engaging will find there are consequences.
We just had a full staff meeting about exactly this issue.

@ReginaPhalangee. Interesting...what can you the school do about it if parents refuse to homeschool? Can you take them to court?

Oh wow. Failure to home school can result in consequences! What are they @ReginaPhalangee?

I am homeschooling my 2 DS's, alone, whilst working full time and by gosh it's tough. I'd hate to think that there would be consequences for others in this position who simply can't do both. I'm not sure how long we can last for.

I am and I did last year too. Children need their minds stimulated. Hell everyone needs their minds stimulated. Can't spend weeks on end stuck Infront of the telly doing nothing. It's easier this time, schools setting the work, parents just have to see it's done. No need to search twinkl for ideas anymore

Interesting...what can you the school do about it if parents refuse to homeschool? Can you take them to court?

Potentially, yes. There are referral options. Of course nobody wants to have to go down this route at all and we want our families to engage, so we are throwing as much support out as we possibly can.

Y5 dd is spending most of her day on live lessons and I’m not having to do much with her at all the school set up is amazing. I also have a Y1 dd who attends all the live lessons & does the bare minimum so she’s more challenging. I’m not stressing this time. I’m doing what I can around work & keeping them as engaged as I can.

I’m so close to giving up. 2 bright dc and a school that’s providing live learning. It’s so hard.

Whatever the reason that some people don't do the school work, valid or otherwise, the result is the same - children who engage with it will be much better off than those who don't. Good news that some schools are working on identifying those children who are genuinely at risk of being so far behind because their home circumstances make it impossible.

I don't think anybody wants it to come to that and schools would far rather support everybody by getting children back into school who aren't engaging at home.

@ReginaPhalangee. But what if I say to you, "Sorry, I'm working. I can't supervise DC and work at the same time. I'll put them in their bedrooms (we don't have a separate space for them to work in as I'm doing confidential work calls in the living room) with the work/in front of their laptops, but one DC is only 5 and so wanders off. I am not available to supervise their schoolwork. It either gets done or not"?

So parents can get a school place for their DC simply by refusing to do any homeschooling?

Escalation process is that school will phone home and speak to the parent(s) and child to discuss what the issues are and why they're doing no/little/substandard work. If its something that can be resolved then they'll work to resolve it, if it can't be resolved then the child will be offered a place in school and school will recommend that the place is used.

Yes and No. One child is doing everything. So yay me. The other has SEN and its an ongoing saga really but no, not doing much.

@ReginaPhalangee

Interesting...what can you the school do about it if parents refuse to homeschool? Can you take them to court?

Potentially, yes. There are referral options. Of course nobody wants to have to go down this route at all and we want our families to engage, so we are throwing as much support out as we possibly can.

That's interesting. Could potentially set family courts against employment tribunals.

If parents are sanctioned because they have had to prioritise their job over homeschooling there could in future be an argument that if they do the reverse, and receive an employment sanction (disciplinary, dismissal etc) , then that sanction could be unfair and / or discriminatory (I'm assuming that most people are affected are women = sex discrimination).

Ridiculous to threaten that there would be 'consequences' for the parents who struggle. Surely the only consequence is for those children to get back into school.

But what if I say to you, "Sorry, I'm working. I can't supervise DC and work at the same time. I'll put them in their bedrooms (we don't have a separate space for them to work in as I'm doing confidential work calls in the living room) with the work/in front of their laptops, but one DC is only 5 and so wanders off. I am not available to supervise their schoolwork. It either gets done or not"?

I am absolutely with you and as a LP myself I could not be more empathetic. The govt has made it very clear that it's not an option - it's compulsory. I know this doesn't help anyone!

The govt has made it very clear that it's not an option - it's compulsory.

I know and not arguing with you . But there's no alternative, really, except sending the children back to school. What does "compulsory" really mean here? Parents need to pay the bills - that has to be the priority.

Who are these parents who work for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week?

If you can't support your children's learning during the typical 9-3 M-F, do it at other times. Both of my children require significant one to one support with learning, so we take any and all opportunity to do it - they were each doing work at the weekend and in the evenings at times as a result.