To homeschool my highly intelligent child when I’m not very intelligent?

[FFSAnotherProblemToSolve]

Thinking taking DC (Yr8) out of secondary school and homeschooling. They are not happy to go to school, struggling to fit in despite being well liked, have a recently diagnosed medical condition which flares up at school due to stress, attendance this year has been below 60% due to side effects from medical condition.

Much happier at home and medical condition stable. Has friends but not interested in socialising outside of school as says they’re immature. Older adult siblings at home.

DC is very advanced and complains of being bored at school as well.

I have no doubt they could take GCSEs next year independently via online learning and progress onto A Levels well before age 16.

Homework is always done to a high level with no chasing from me, even when off school, consistently gets top marks in class tests despite low attendance. They have also done some GCSE test papers for fun and got A equivalent passes.

Plan is to include going to the gym 3/4 times a week and an evening activity with peers like Cadets or martial arts although this will be under duress probably.

I will be working part time remotely so at home.

Never did I ever think I’d be leaning to this and certainly wouldn’t have with my older DC.

Concerned DC may not as well as he would with a qualified teacher on hand though as I only have GCSEs so wouldn’t be much help (although I don’t think DC will need it).

What could go wrong?

My dd is yr10. There is a lot of learning to do. So unless you’re going to pay for online school, you’d need a robust plan. I’ve said yanbu btw.

@Wasntright I completely get that and I'm not suggesting for a second that someone should be forced to go to school in order to spend time with people their age. It was a genuine question as to whether there is a plan to support DC in gaining certain necessary life skills outside academics.

You don’t need to be able to teach. I have home ed my son through gcses and always say my job is to facilitate and motivate. We have used online courses and resources. There is a cost involved but I work full time and DS works well online (rather than from text books which is another option) so this has worked well for us. You will have to pay for exams and find a centre but your old school may let them sit there if you ask (which is what we have done).

Google ‘home ed wiki’ and you will find loads of info. Also groups on Facebook. In particular ‘Home education for all uk’.

With a conscientious child who really wants to learn, you can absolutely do this. There are so many resources available online plus a lot of home education meet ups, tutor groups etc. for meeting other children.
As he's in the school system now though, I do think it would be worth trying to get some support from your LA first as they do have a duty to provide adequate provision and tutoring and exam entries are going to get expensive.
We've never been in school so I don't know what they are but there will definitely be Facebook support groups for this. You could try contacting Education Otherwise first, they might know. Securing funding for EOTAS might be another option too. Going down that avenue would make it easier for you.
I wouldn't pay too much attention to the replies from people who don't home educate, there is a lot of ignorance about what it actually looks like. And many museums do now run specific home Ed workshops.

I voted YABU because school is more than exams. Will he ever get to uni or a job on this path?

You know museums do home educator days and run workshops for home educated children just like they do for schooled children?

And home ed groups regularly run trips - there's a huge variety from museums, theme parks, zoos, aquariums, pantos. You don't need to attend a school to go on trips.

I homeschool my children and have done for about two years. 16,14 and 11.
I had the same concerns as you but it has been the best decision we've made.
I'd definitely recommend joining a homeschool group in your area and connect with them.
You can always get a tutor for the subjects a bit out of your ability but you'll find you'll learn too which I've found interesting.
They are a great support and everyone does it differently giving you more scope and ideas.
As for socialising, it's a very common question.
Once your into the groove of it you'll find you're child will be more social then when at school.
School keeps you in your age group where HS opens up wider friendships.
It did for us anyway.

My son is going to college in September and has plans to go to uni. He missed most of year 8 and 9 in school and has been home ed for years 10 and 11. Colleges are perfectly happy to accept home ed students who meet the entry requirements. Why wouldn’t they?

You don't need to be mega bright but you definitely need to be informed about how to stretch and challenge and how to socialize. Good luck!

I've home educated my youngest child for five years. It was the right decision for her. It is hard work for parents, but the internet is a treasure trove for home educators. There are facebook groups for support, and lots of online schools and online classes. Home educated children can sit igcse as external candidates. Some colleges offer 14-16 provision for home educated children. Loads of resources on tes.com, and youtube have many lessons. We like BBC Teach and bitesize on the BBC website. My daughter is a different child home educated. Much happier and able to pursue her hobbies as the academic work gets done quicker.

Have you thought about another school, maybe private school? Or doing part-time schooling?

I don’t know so much about home education but I’d want to look at how you can provide science experiments/practicals etc. Maybe also DT? I would be slightly concerned that the study could be very academic/book/online learning without the experience of practical stuff. I know of a local art organisation who provide art classes and some pottery so hopefully there are places to go.

Ps I heard many years ago the in New Zealand they would send out science kits to kids who lived too rurally for school so maybe something like that.

Sounds like your plan is to expect your teenager to just teach themself everything. Stupid, nit well thought out.
If you can't afford a tutor then it's a none starter.

Can your Year 8 child use the gym? Where we live they're minimum ages of 16 or 18.

I would say maybe you can take them out of school short term so they can regain their health?

But long term school is important. Even if not enjoyed.
Being in social situations and navigating and learning that is so important.
Plus once gcses and a levels, it is probably too much work for one person to do a good job of teaching their kid.

But if the health condition is so serious they may not survive or be able to work much as an adult, then I don't know.

It really depends on what it is.

Maybe there's a school for kids with special needs.

I didn't enioy secondary school but I'm glad I went. And I'm glad my parents didn't try to teach me.
And I missed quite a lot of school for health stuff.
Its just just the subject content. It's the skills of navigating things in life around other people. And deadlines. And learning about yourself.

If you can afford coaching and are willing to put the effort in to privately enter them for exams, you can absolutely do it. Getting access to a lab is the hardest bit.

Although some theories of home schooling essentially the child educates themself so a very smart parent isn't necessary.

Nowhere near enough

I think we have to recognise that university is not necessarily the end goal after compulsory education. In fact, it might not suit someone who isn’t keen on socialising with peers.

In the meantime, Id do lots of research on the various options for home ed, including KS4 and 6th form, in case that’s needed. Tutors, all of the home ed groups, online learning are all useful, but I agree that some introduction of social activities should be encouraged and gradually increased.

I agree about university not being the end goal for everyone, but even if it is there’s so many online options now depending on what career path the person wants to follow.

Oh I know it's great for lots of people, I meant it sounds like the things he needs to learn are the things he will learn at school, as he is so good academically.

Our dc are home ed to a much higher standard than dh or I achieved.

I would say it could work, but you will very likely need to be more present to help them structure their day. Unless they are doing some sort of online course, you will need to take the role school took of making sure things get done within a certain timeframe.

Happy to discuss some of what we did with dc if you pm me.

Are you OK with the costs of online tuition?

I have a masters and my husband has two PHDs and there’s no way I’d take the risk to be honest.

My son is autistic and finds school stressful he’d love to be homeschooled but it’s still
a no. I think you’d have to be a natural teacher. Neither of us are, well I like to think I’d be a good teacher but I’m not one. .