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

[PennyRa]

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

Better for the Sen children who are stuck in mainstream which can't meet need with no Sen school available

It’s something that can be absolutely idyllic. For some children it’s a necessity so they thrive. What we have seen in more recent times is a trend by which vulnerable families decide they are now home educating rather than dealing with the pressure of the authorities and attending school. It’s not good for these children. It’s just escalates the process of them becoming socially excluded.

Wow. You're basically showing us all why home educating is often not a good idea. You don't understand basic logic, how to hold a coherent debate, and you can't construct a full sentence.

Please send your child to school.

@KitchenFleur - I am glad you have found a way of educating your son that is working and you have met other parents so that you can offer support and understanding to each other …I am so sad about the way our education system isn’t more accessible.

If done properly home school can be a fantastic experience.

If done properly school can be a fantastic experience

Of course we shouldn't support home education.

All children are better off in school. Every last one. Mental health in schooled children/teenagers has never been better, the DofE can't keep up with the numbers of new teachers wanting to sign up and most schools are wholly unsubscribe in terms of pupils.

Morale in schools is at an all time high, why anyone would consider anything else is beyond me.

“Those who talk about all the socialisation. With most kids in school all day, who are the kids socializing with?”

Grandparents, other HE families, children in swimming/sports clubs, librarians, shopkeepers, their friends after school hours, family members of all ages, etc.

School is an unnatural forced form of socialising - when else do you get huge numbers of people the same age forced day in day out to ‘socialise’

with home education there are so many groups of mixed ages that the opportunity for socialising is more natural and varied and less intimidating so actually is better preparation for adult life.

Also a lot of children with ASD don’t want to socialise and that’s ok too - why force something that makes them shutdown and experience distress

Those who talk about all the socialisation. With most kids in school all day, who are the kids socializing with?

There’s home schooling networks where home schooling families can organise meet-ups, either social ones or joint classes of one sort or another. One of the home schooling mums I know has said that she’s met loads of other homeschooling families this way.

So her homeschooled kids are basically socialising with other homeschooled kids.
It sounds like more effort than having them socialise at school, but it’s possible.

Actually no I don't think most people support home schooling

But I also think there's a lot of wrong on both sides of the table about this.

The socialisation is a crap argument. I sent DS to school because I worried about this. He never made a friend there either. He was just bullied. If you are slightly odd there's a good chance you will be slightly odd either at school or home, just you'll be happier in your own space. You can't educate out oddness, School cannot and does not actually teach socialisation.

Many children are happy learning at home. Covid has told us this is a fact. We should support this.

Too many home schooled children don't do enough formalised learning. Or at least that's what many people not home schooling believe. I'm not sure their wrong actually. As far as im concerned The state should still be insisting that home schooling children take at least GCSE maths English and science and funding it. It is challenging to find places prepared to take external candidates and costly, I can see why some people don't bother.

We are seeing much success with online education systems. I have absolutely no idea why govenment don't fund an online school for those who would benefit from it. I suspect you would suddenly see a considerable reduction in those "home schooling" independently if you did this.

Asides from SN a large number of children are home educated for religious or philosophical reasons. I worry these is actually very problematic and limiting for the child who might otherwise reject unhealthy values when exposed in a more open schooling environment. Whilst home schooling is not and should not be a safeguarding risk, too many children who are at risk get lost under the guise of being home schooled. The homeschooling community is and has been too slow to recognise this. A register was always inevitable. Sadly where the community has fought any kind of oversight, (to my mind it is absolutely correct that physical evidence of learning should be provided to the LEA and a yearly home visit done) it is likely that a overly draconian regime and testing system will result. They was time for a negotiated solution but it was lost by a very militant branch of the Home schooling population sticking their hands in their ears about real would safeguarding risk.

Homeschooling can be an incredible thing, but it needs proper support and oversight

No it’s not “like a fantasy wish list” or “laughable”.

Any CSA who is unable to attend school for “reason of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise” is legally entitled to provision under s.19 of the Education Act 1996. Medical needs tuition must begin once it becomes clear the pupil will miss 15 days - the days don’t need to have already been missed or consecutive. If the LA refuse or delay parents can force the LA to provide provision, via judicial review if necessary. DS1 received medical needs tuition and I have supported lots of parents to also secure medical needs tuition, so it most certainly is possible.

EOTAS via an EHCP is also available both for DC with a primary need of ASD and those with a primary need of SEMH. DS1 has complex SEMH needs and has had an EOTAS package for years now. I have helped others secure similar, including those with autism. Yes, it may take tribunal, but it isn’t laughable or a fantasy.

Like I said, unfortunately DC whose parents know what the LA should be providing and can advocate for their DC get better support.

Yes, I’m probably very ignorant about this. I’ve no idea what qualifications the home teacher has to have to educate children. Is it similar to teachers?

Nope.

Without exception, the home educating families I know are utter weirdos.

No. You need no qualifications to home educate. None at all.

I think it's a sad necessity due to inadequate provision for children who don't fit that mold.

When it's ALTERNATIVE education with what others have described as group sessions with a specialist, organised outings, supported by home, independent learning etc I think it's a brilliant option. Because it's more like a private school where things are set up to suit each and every child individually.

When it's nothing but HE and the odd excursion solely as a family then I start to question it. If there is severe SEN as this is the only way to give them an education, ok, it's sad but necessary and the parent should be given as much support with private tutors etc as possible.

But for those who just don't want to be part of the "rat race" and want to keep their DC out of it- I question the appropriateness.

I considered it as my children both have SEND and I joined some lovely groups to really get an understanding.

I'd say it was 5050 on those who are clearly homeschooling well, however that looked for them and those who were failing their children. The really sad ones were rhe ones who have their children begging to go to school and being refused as parents don't want it.

Ultimately I realised I don't have the skills or patience to give them a good education so it wasn't for me.

I’m sorry, but whilst this might be available and doable in your area, this is not the norm.

I know several people absolutely broken by the EHCP process, they know the system inside out, to the point where many end up advising other parents in a far more thorough and professional way than the LA does.
Too many LA’s do everything they can to weasel out of the support and funding they are legally supposed to be providing.

HE children may socialise for longer, but it's basically with a self-selected group of children, all with like-minded parents. School exposes children to all sorts of other children and families, which of course can be good and bad.

I'm saddened the the vote is tending towards mass ignorance.
🤣
If you think the problem is everyone else...its definitely you.

As a home educating parent I find it so depressing and sad to read these opinions. Both my children are happy, well rounded kids with exposure to a multitude of subjects/interests/activities, loads of socialising, loads of access to the local community and further afield and the majority of families I know live similar lives. They are exposed to "real life" all day every day, we don't live a fake life, they're not wrapped in cotton wool, they experience conflict and bullies the same as anyone else.

The zealotry and fierce resistance to any oversight present in parts of the homeschooling community does it no favours. There has been some balanced posts about it here but the homeschooling families I’ve met have been very much homeschooling is incredible, schooling is evil.

From the day my oldest son was born I was absolutely sold on the idea of home education, convinced I would love it and that we would have a fantastic time and have plenty of friends and so on. Unfortunately for me it turned out to be a bit of a fantasy. I home educated him for 3 years (reception to year 2) and eventually found it so frustrating that I put him in school this year and his younger brother went straight into school in reception. Reasons for my frustration:

1. Everyone in the Home Ed world said socialisation wouldn’t be an issue and there were plenty of things to go to. I’m sure for some this is true but for us it was not true. We tried extremely hard - we went to Forest Schools, sports clubs, weekly meet ups, picnics, all sorts of things. We’d meet lovely families and then never see them again or they’d live too far away or the groups would close. I hated being so responsible for creating my sons social life and he is much happier and less lonely now he’s in school.
2. I could never see my friends because I always had the kids with me and I felt I should be doing school stuff with them so my own friendships fell by the wayside. Since the boys have gone to school I’ve been much more active socially and much happier.
3. Doing school eventually became a complete battle with my son. He often refused to do the work I set for him whereas in school he magically does it. I much prefer just being his mum rather than his teacher. I could have pursued unschooling but that style didn’t sit well with me personally.

We had some fantastic times - I loved the fact that I was the one who taught him to read and now he’s a bookworm. We went on some brilliant outings and visited great museums, it was fun to learn alongside him (and I really did learn loads myself!) I was quite pleased that he didn’t have the disruption of going in and out of school during covid lockdowns. But generally we are all far happier now the boys are in school.

I think home ed can be beneficial (even life saving) in some situations where school has become intolerable for a child for various reasons. Generally however I would urge people considering it to really consider the impacts it will have on the whole family & not be swept up in the beautiful fantasy that I had of how rosy it would all be.

And how as a parent can teach a kid english, maths, geography, history, science, foreign language etc ? is not possible, they may be able teach the basics but nowhere near school levels

Also this, in bucketfulls..

HE children may socialise for longer, but it's basically with a self-selected group of children, all with like-minded parents. School exposes children to all sorts of other children and families, which of course can be good and bad.

@Firen education is by legal default the responsibility of the parents. Parents can choose to opt in to the service of school to educate their children or they can do it themselves. They can employ tutors to do it, or access online or distance courses, but you don’t have to. Education at home doesn’t have to look anything like school, which for the most part is a good thing. A lot of the school experience is built around crowd control and needing kids to learn things at the same time as each other. Outside of school learning can be more bespoke and individual