To think that most people actually do understand, and therefore support, home education...

[PennyRa]

And it's just a loud minority that are ignorant?

It can be done @FuckMyLife2022 but it will be much more difficult financially, etc, of course.

And yet again, if you met a handful of badly behaved kids who all went to school you would not say "ah, well that's because they're at school".

Well yes. A group of children jumped at my dog and chased him into the road a few weeks ago. He's too scared to walk past that school now. I don't say "the children at that school are cruel to dogs" because that would be ridiculous.

Agree in this scenario - being a carer and a single parent is fucking hard.

A friend of mine is married. With high earning husband. She’s a SAHM/Home Edder to their Autistic child. They’ve bought in a LOT of specialists and resources for their child that you (and I, when me and middle DD were at breaking point) could afford as single parent carers on benefits. Yet she was baffled as to why I just didn’t do the same things she had for her child.

Sorry, didn’t explain well. Those parents all value education, are giving time and attention to their children, have to sign up and pay for the multi sports afternoon so have the inclination to go that extra mile for their children. I just think there’s a common thread between the families I saw. For a child in a school they have to navigate socialising with children from vastly different home lives, parents with very different views on education for example. from very different economic backgrounds.

I’ve no desire to live underneath the poverty line on benefits. I private rent for a start, LHA wouldn’t cover even half of my (reasonable in comparison to similar private rents on the market now) rent, if I were to be evicted I’d not be able to find a new private rent on benefits. My other children would suffer immensely with such a huge income drop.

And that was my figures 4 years ago, before all this shit.

So don't do it, no one has ever said that you should.

I think teachers in particular are usually anti homeschooling. Some I know take it as a personal affront that a parent can do their job. Homeschooling can be a lifesaver for some SEN kids but for others, their social and coping skills can suffer. School is not a good fit for many children and if they are lucky enough to have parents who are able and willing to homeschool, they will have better educational outcomes.

I think this is getting to be less and less the case to be honest. Lots of former teachers in the HE community.

You tend to find most HE children have been in school at some stage, and have siblings that attend school. As with WFH, suits some, not others. My youngest is HE, eldest sailed through school, now working full time.
My youngest is 17 now and studying A levels, home learning suits him better, he is self taught, perfectly capable of managing his own education and did very well in IGCSE' s.
I don't need approval from others 're his education, this works for him.
The LA.kept in touch and were helpful.
I find it strange that people are so misguided 're isolation. HE kids are always out and about, my son is a keen runner, cyclist, swimmer and also lifts weights. He is in peak condition physically, follows a strict healthy diet and cooks our evening meal. He also works part time and he has set up an online business, that's thanks to the discipline of HE.
He is very friendly, sociable and helps neighbours with odd jobs. We have a brilliant relationship, him and my eldest son are good friends, he has his own friends.
We felt the indifference from other parents, and the expectation for him to fail when he left main stream school, that only spurred him on more.

Sorry, didn’t explain well. Those parents all value education, are giving time and attention to their children, have to sign up and pay for the multi sports afternoon so have the inclination to go that extra mile for their children. I just think there’s a common thread between the families I saw. For a child in a school they have to navigate socialising with children from vastly different home lives, parents with very different views on education for example. from very different economic backgrounds.

Thanks for replying to me

Personally, living in London, that is not my experience. I was a single parent on benefits. Other parents were from different cultures and didn't like the UK education system. We had a Traveller family. Others were from abroad and in the UK for work but didn't want to put their children in school here. Also a high proportion of children with additional needs. Quite a few teacher parents actually who couldn't bear to put their own children into The System they had worked in. My best friend was a woman who had moved specifically to the UK to HE her autistic child because it wasn't legal in her country of origin - dual nationality though. So pretty varied.

See, YOU understand it’s not an option for me. Several of my friends didn’t and they made me feel like Hell for it, at a time when I already felt I was failing left right and centre. Thankyou for acknowledging that.

I'm not referring to your specific situation. I'm sure many parents do a great job but there will be a hell of a lot who don't. Many would simply not be up to the job and it's the kids who will suffer long term.

On the subject of equality and inequality, schools are great at this. This term my dd has been to the museum, the cathedral and two travelling theatre companies have been in to perform. Not to mention weekly swimming, yoga and sports.
I wouldn't have been able to afford this. If there's a broad range of people from different economic backgrounds who all homeschool then surely they won't all be able to offer the same experiences, in terms of cultural capital.
I would like to know what happens if home educators can't afford these opportunities all of a sudden. There's no pupil premium if you home educate, as far as I'm aware. So do the poor kids just miss out?

there are ways round it

The LA have a statutory duty to provide education to CSA pupils, whether that’s in a school or otherwise. If there’s no suitable school there is EOTAS. LAs often aren’t forthcoming with support but there are ways of enforcing your DC’s rights via judicial review and SENDIST. I’m not saying don’t EHE, but if parents don’t want to EHE there are ways to force uncooperative LAs to meet their statutory obligations.

This is so true. I’m not home edding but I have friends who are. The children live on a farm, get insane amounts of outdoors time and exercise, go to church and sports/drama classes (when they’re not riding their ponies) etc and have private tutors for the trickier subjects. They have plenty of friends from their activities. They travel overseas fairly often too. The main quality I notice about those children is their confidence hasn’t been crushed.

But people who tried to do some learning in lockdown when all the groups were shut think they know something about home ed 🤣

Home ed can be way better than school when it’s done properly, and I believe that to do it properly takes a lotta money (although nowhere near as much as private school). That said, I have also met home ed families who pulled their child out of school because the school wasn’t meeting their needs, or they had bullying issues. Often those parents don’t have a clue how to home ed well, and isolate their child and don’t teach properly, and those parents give home ed a bad name (as do the religious extremists who used home ed as an excuse to run madrassas in the UK).

I think most parents are, like me, vaguely supportive of parents having the legal right to leave the school system (particularly if if it’s causing problems for their child, or bullying/SEN is involved), but also have concerns about the way some parents can use home ed as an excuse not to educate properly.

For those who are passionately against home ed, it’s worth reflecting on the fact that if home ed became illegal, parents would have no legal way to remove their child from some very violent bullying situations (unless the parents can afford private school or are willing to move house to get into a different school). And for those who give anecdotes like “I met a home ed child and they were weird, therefore all home ed is awful” be aware that one could equally say “I met a girl who was raped/stabbed at school and therefore all schools are awful.”

Nice to communicate with someone on mumsnet in a polite way. The experience of home schooling I’ve had with watching that group and knowing others that HE is a much narrower experience. My children have benefitted (in my opinion) by attending school with children with less than them or quite different upbringings. My worry with HE families is they’ve all got a certain standard of living meaning it’s not the wide mix they’d like to think.

will agree to disagree though 😊

@JustKeepBuilding I don't think you get the point. Your reply although informative is very patronising. There are few parents more in tune with the legal system and their kids rights to education, than those who have SEN kids with no school place and are fighting the system.
The process you just described could take months or years.
The written law is very far from the reality in most LAs. Yes you can drag them through judicials and appeals and probably win every one, but who's educating your child in the meantime?

I don't think this is quite the case to be honest, there are lots of HE families I know who don't earn loads - they aren't on the breadline, but they certainly aren't well off and they do watch the pennies, stick to free activities, don't pay for tutors etc.

It’s not patronising. Many parents actually don’t realise how they can enforce their DC’s rights or know what what should be provided but don’t know how to challenge the LA. So decide to deregister or are pressured to off roll their DC and EHE for years and years. Yes, SENDIST takes longer, but JR although not immediate is a quicker resolution.

I don't think this is quite the case to be honest, there are lots of HE families I know who don't earn loads - they aren't on the breadline, but they certainly aren't well off and they do watch the pennies, stick to free activities, don't pay for tutors etc.

What age group are we talking about here? I would think that GCSEs and A levels would be difficult without a tutor for some subjects.

I have had a child who was homeschool for 'nursery' and the first 2 formal years of school join my class. The difference is stark. I won't even discuss the educational gaps in learning. The lack of social skills, poor ability to listen to and follow instructions, lack of organizational skills is massive.