A wave of illiterate “home schooled” children

[RedSkyatNight25]

Prepared to get torn apart, and I know many homeschool because the school environment isn’t right for their children (SEN, sensory issues - whatever else) and their needs aren’t met by school with a chronic lack of SEN placements and too much demand etc. I’m not naive to that. I also know some parents with adequate resource will ensure their children have a rounded education whilst being homeschooled.

But there seems to be a movement to homeschooling by people who are simply anti establishment with a point to prove. Their grammar and communication on social media tells me they’re not equipped to homeschool a child. Not least I think the socialisation and soft skills school provides are hugely important too. I suspect most of these parents either haven’t considered the benefits of school or hugely underestimated it, especially past primary are parents really equipped to teach ALL the subjects with sufficient skill if they lack the knowledge themselves? Are they not underestimating the skills and expertise of qualified teachers?

AIBU to think it’s really concerning? These are the next generation of our workforce and infrastructure. I personally think we are hugely privileged to live in a country with free education - I know it’s not perfect but I’m not convinced homeschooling is better for a vast majority.

Many home edders sit Igsces, which dont have as many practical elements to them, but hold the same weight as gcses. I cant comment on them any further though, as my child isn't doing science gcses.

There are also exam centres and groups that facilitate this as well I believe if you so want to sit the raditional sciences or other practical gcses.

I think I make a mistake, generally of assuming everyone using Mumsnet is within a certain demographic but anyone can use Mumsnet in reality and sometimes a poster is a teenage boy and their mates all having a good laugh around the computer in pretty much the same way me and my mates used to send made up letters to Jackie magazine.

Homeschooled for years - there is a raft of resources out there (some of which actually schools use like Schools spark maths)

Theres also a good deal of other families to socialise with.

We were far far far more isolated at school where by child was bullied and ostracised.

The biggest problem with home schooling, in my view, is that it can be used to mask abuse. It needs regulating. There should be regular inspections and there should be no automatic right to do it. It should be permitted, under specific and very narrow circumstances, with close supervision by the Local Authority.

My home educated child has had a saturday/holiday job since the week he turned 14 - a job that he is looking into setting up his own business doing as he gets older.

I don't teach it, I facilitate learning it, and syllabuses in it for exam levels, and safety around it. We have plenty of places we can access to do experiments but when it comes to assessed work for exams it's a bit more restrictive because of costs, unless you can barter your way through.
Many take an alternative heavily theoretical IGCSE paper as an alternative.

Most (not all) of mine do the practical papers and we've used everything from science centers with independent supervisor, to a private school lab and supervising technician, and a university lab with an independent academic as supervisor. It's one of the most expensive ones to engage in.

The older ones at school couldn't take separate sciences, only a double science available, and no practical experiments even by the the teacher, just watch videos, because of safety in an environment where pupil violence was an all day every day event. (same with all practical lessons that needed the use of a craft knife, cooking knife, or soldering iron - videos only)
They stripped out the lab benches, to further increase pupil numbers and then removed lots from the curriculum because chemistry knowledge 'could be used for terrorism' purposes too and a very multi cultural intake.
A rare few could take a double science Btec, but had to travel elsewhere for any practical bits, and no A levels available, regardless of possible aptitude as double science BTEC supposedly just as good for all practical purposes. 🙄
Not a hope in hell of doing something like astronomy or marine science, or further maths etc.

I have never been offensive about home ed. I am supportive of home ed and would do it for my kids if the need arose. Don't tar everyone with the same brush.

Agree. Ive heard a lot of mums saying they will hs for reception. Albeit a lot of these people are trained teachers. I'm not really sure what the rationale is but think they have been put off by what they've seen in jobs.

Oh god, I home educated my eldest, for a number of reasons, until he was 10 and went to school. The shit I saw with some of the other home educators. We did live in an area where more “alternative” people lived though.

Ds is 23 now and still in touch with some of the kids he knew back then. A lot of them don’t thank their parents for it at all.

I’ve got two younger children who went to school from reception. The thought of having to be around other home educating parents again was one of the main factors in it (and I see nothing wrong with schools anyway, that wasn’t why we home educated).

The main problem I saw time and time again is that home educating parents will not admit to their being any drawbacks and negative to it at all. There are drawbacks and negatives to everything in life, but they are all so bloody defensive and closed minded. I get why, when you home ed you are constantly barraged by eveyone, but it gets grating.

I was very open about the negatives when I was doing it.

I mean, the only time my ds was bullied was when he was home educated, by a couple of boys at a home ed group we were part of. Bullying isn’t just for school children.

Genuine question - how do home-educators teaching gcse chemistry for example, get the practical work done and assessed?

We haven't properly started planning for the core science GCSEs yet but DD will likely take the IGCSEs due to the lack of practicals. She's currently studying the GCSE Sociology and IGCSE Environmental Management courses so will have two "soft" sciences going into it, possibly Marine Biology too if we can squeeze it in.

There's also a new natural history GCSE coming out that looks good.
www.ocr.org.uk/news/new-gcse-to-bring-nature-climate-conservation-to-classrooms/?hsCtaTracking=f620a157-52ed-46fe-9016-5af4cba429a9%7C2b89d743-a8ed-4209-867d-3be3da2162d0

Ooh I will keep an eye out for that, thank you, that looks right up DD's street.

Oh we are SO excited for this!

how do home-educators teaching gcse chemistry for example, get the practical work done and assessed?

Many do IGCSE sciences, which don’t have assessed practicals. However, some do GCSE and there are some exam centres/labs that offer the practical element. Private candidates can also do the A level science practical endorsements.

I have 2 DC with EOTAS/EOTIS rather than EHE. They have lab time as part of their packages.

For non-assessed practicals, you would be surprised at what can be done outside of a lab. For example, there is an MN’er whose DC has EOTAS/EOTIS who has done experiments requiring a bunsen burner at home. A braver woman than I am!

Sometimes it's the only choice parents have when their child has so much school trauma they are suicidal or bacuse the LA refused to meet the child's needs (SEN)

If you are thinking along the lines of working being a choice, and to an extent I agree, but it is incredibly difficult for some people to move jobs or decide not to work at all. Then EHE isn’t the only choice either. It is a valid choice, of course, but it is a choice. If DC can’t attend school, parents could pursue support through s19 provision and an EHCP. No, not easy, just like for some choosing not to work or moving job isn’t easy, but there is a route to force the LA to. Parents might decide not to pursue that, which is, of course, their prerogative, but that is a choice.

The only real life example I know of is a girl in my daughter's secondary school who was about 14. She had a mental age below actual age and was really struggling socially, she also had a low IQ and wasn't going to get any GCSEs even grades 1 or 2.
Her parents took her out to do basic reading, everyday maths like money and basic skills for independent living.
The girl had friends in the area so wouldn't miss out socially. For her it seemed a good choice she was much happier at home.

We are trying to get s19 but it is incredibly hard, stressful and we have met barrier after barrier.
In the meantime my child is registered at school but having not LA provided education at all.

If the LA has refused to provide provision, is delaying or is ignoring you, have you sent a pre-action letter? Unfortunately, LAs often only take notice when parents enforce provision. As I said, yes it is difficult, just like not working/moving job is for some, but it is still a choice to EHE rather than pursue s19 provision/an EHCP.

Have you also requested an EHCNA?

YANBU. We know someone who home educates; they have 4 children. Developmentally the 3 year old is more like an 18 month old, the two middle children can’t write or read well, the eldest (9) can only write in block capitals and struggles to read handwritten words which aren’t in block caps. The Mum herself has said to me she’s not sure what to do about more in depth science and maths as it’s not her forté, and neither of the parents seem to appreciate that without top GCSE and A Level results they’re ruling their children out of the best universities and good professional jobs by extension.

They’re nice people and the children are loved and well cared for, but in addition to not being well educated they’re also not being well socialised and miss out on many normal childhood events like school plays, birthday parties, and all the enrichment that comes with school. A real shame but not much that can be done to intervene.

I didn’t know that! No one is investigating reasons behind the absence?

I think home eduction was a sort of last resort decision, it’s certainly more common now and for lots of non issue concerns, and therefore not many will benefit from it in the long run.
whats The percentage of home educated kids completing higher education at Russell group universities ? Career paths?

Awful, to be writing in capitals at aged 9. What a handicap that is.

Sorry.

How can you read all of the comments from experienced home educators on this thread and still be asking these questions and making statements like this?

Most home ed kids have pretty conventional lives, join non-home-ed sports, drama, music clubs, etc, do GCSE's, and crack on with their lives, the same as school kids.

Mine are in college now doing A Levels. A friend's DC was home educated through A Levels and is now at Oxford. Nearly all the older home ed kids we know have gone on to Uni.

If you're thinking about radical unschoolers, then bear in mind that they do NOT represent the larger home ed community!

You can’t say MOST home ed children are like anything as there is no data. We know some, the ones on here, are doing lots of extra curricular stuff, but there are others doing nothing. Not the ones on MN probably. It’s not a complete representation.

Fair point. I will amend to say 'most that we've met or encountered over the 18 years we've been home educating.'

That include a fair cross section of hundreds of families - we live in a city where home ed is exceptionally popular.

I appreciate I'm an MN outlier.
Many years ago, my then husband could only read and write in capitals, and I was totally illiterate.
Both of us products of the school education system, him solidly at the same schools throughout. I started late, was moved a lot and left early to take care of a dying parent.
Both of us came from families with low literacy and numeracy or illiteracy.
His family called me a snob for wanting better.
Schools had very low expectations for his prior Dc's (my stepDc's) and our mutual children.
The cycle of generational educational failure has been downright encouraged by the system that when I was young I thought would want, help and encourage my children and step children to do better, and tell me how I could manage to help at home. Instead I was just fobbed off, despite being keen to attend meetings, ant take advice etc.

He never advanced and died perfectly content with using only capitals and calling the TV and Argos magazines "the books." His family continues to see education as boring.
I taught myself literacy in my 20's when I realized my lot would be failed for as long as I was dependent on schools to do it all for my Dc's.
I've self-educated since then, and my older ones have repaired their poor school education alongside the younger ones with Home ed, when finally things got so bad for one Dc it was the only option.
One of them, is one of two who went on to be school teachers.
Yes it's great to have everything together early, and not having it makes for a harder path, (which actually teaches you lots too) but if there's no fundamental SN's preventing learning, what age you are doing what at, doesn't mean that has to be the rest of anyone's life.

@Elleherd I meant that it was sad that those children have been denied a chance. I can quite see school isn't for everyone. Some of them are hothouses, some are zoos. A very narrow curriculum and obesession with results is all wrong. Little children buckling under the pressure. Bigger children developing all sorts of health issues.

People can learn at any age. Children develop. The male brain hasn't fused until the age of 25 or so. All this is forgotten.
I do think on balance, children should at least be given a shot at school.