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.

I don't HS and would be happy to see it somewhat more regulated, but I've known a few HS families over the years. In all cases the children/ teens were clearly doing excellently - bright, articulate etc etc. I'd be much more worried by the number of inarticulate barely literate kids trundling through mainstream schools.

As others have said, there are many valid reasons to homeschool, but equally many reasons which are less so. A child was removed from my daughters class to homeschool - the reason given was that there wasn't a specific food on the school menu - which was ridiculous, the child could have had the vegetarian option, or a jacket potato, or brought a packed lunch. My daughter is coeliac as there aren't many options she can have, but I'm not going to remove her from school because of this. The child's mum had very limited written and spoken English- how on earth is she going to provide a rounded education at home. Another removed her child to avoid fines for termtime holidays - so again, about her rather than what's best for the child.

Yes, there are great schools and not so good schools, but there is at least a system of monitoring this, although not perfect. But every child is entitled to a broad and rounded education, and its hard to monitor this when homeschooling, which can then become a safeguarding concern and therefore open to scrutiny. It should be much more tightly regulated and monitored.

Excellent and valid points.

It's a tricky one to quantify as there's no real homogenous "home ed community". There are big online groups, but the people within those groups vary so widely that it's impossible to generalise. I considered making a list of the broad "categories" of people who home ed, but that list would have been a mile long.

There is definitely a rise in the anti vax, anti government type of home edder. The most prominent home ed communities are largely very anti-anything that looks like it might be school, but that isn't representative of the whole community (nor do they claim to be). There are lots of us in the background who lean more traditional or 50/50 in our methods.

For us, we love home ed, but came to it out of frustration at the school system. DD is bright but wasn't being pushed hard enough in late primary; she was used as a buffer for a particularly badly behaved boy with disastrous consequences (that, to their credit, the school handled well but the damage was done). The choice of secondary schools locally was absolutely dire and would have been a repeat of primary. If we had a grammar school anywhere nearby or could afford a small private, she'd be in school because I think she'd thrive in those environments, but home ed is the next best thing.

I think you can’t underestimate children learning from their peers, working out what they’re good at in relation to others, navigating friendships and disagreements. No amount of supervised play dates will cover this. I also wonder if home schooled children are at a disadvantage in job interviews being labelled different. This is before you get to the quality of teaching. A lot of parents who home schooled children are very certain about their decisions but there are problems out there.

Also the national average reading age of ADULTS in the UK (that's for state schools) is 9-11 years old. How are we accepting that after 13-14 years of compulsory education, our schools are only producing a national reading age of 9-11 yrs old?????

And yet people do do this.

The fact you couldn't do it doesn't mean others can't, some people do all you describe.

You're judging others from a position of little to no knowledge, what is needed is data.

I think there is a movement to go against the grain and believe that some random influencers know better than any doctor, scientist of education expert ! Yes, a lot of school is not the right setting if your child has severe SEN issues. However, the school system is can help the majority of children thrive! When my child started school a couple of years ago, I was delighted at how kind and caring and how the teachers really wanted our little ones to succeed. They made a point of saying we, as parents, had a responsibility too! What shocked me was the parents who clearly didn’t want their children to do homework (one fun home activity a week) or just moaned about anything the school asked them to do! Being illiterate, unless SEN is due to bad parenting! There is no excuse (if you’re illiterate yourself it’s time to start learning with your child)! There are libraries and you can pick up books so cheaply at charity shops! Phonics programmes are easily accessible online! No excuse, just last parenting!

I haven't personally met a single child that is homeschooled so can't talk from experience, but as a general statement there should be more oversight on who is allowed to homeschool and what they teach. From what I read,right now, the rules are very lax.

There is also a common misconception that teaching 1 is the same as teaching 30. I hope the PGCE gives the skillset for teaching 30. I didn't need that.

I've no doubt there are parents who do amazingly well home educating their kids.

But without blowing my own trumpet too much i'm highly intelligent (4 As at A-Level in the three sciences and Maths) and there's absolutely no way i'm qualified to home educate my 7 year old daughter.

Even doing her homework with her can be a struggle as we're both very strong willed and my 35 year old knowledge of the primary curriculum doesn't really cut it!

It's bloody hard and I take my hat off to my daughter's teacher who is doing an amazing job.

I think it’s very easy to judge from a distance. I think most people that home school want their children to succeed and the school environment wasn’t right. I wonder if the government looked at the education system and made changes if it would be more suitable for children with Sen. I know a child who is homeschooled who took GCSE’s this year and will do a few more over the next few. Also has a career plan definitely not struggling with the basics.

I think there is something to what you say about the importance of reading, writing and English.

I was bright but poorly educated but a good reader and learnt the importance of writing with purpose, planning my essays and good basic maths.

I also learnt how to fit in with multiple groups and can read people. I didn't go to uni but I'm in the same role as people who did. The basic skills are so important.

I think school needs a massive shift to catch those that aren't academic. So many children, especially the boys in my school, were lost until they finished school and could train for a trade. Many are now chefs, mechanics, electricians and have their own businesses. I often think how awful it must have been for them to go through 5 years of academic classes, feeling thick as shit and misbehaving as a result of that stress, only to find they do have self-worth and value, they just aren't suited to do academic work.

ETA - We have a significant shortage of trades workers in the UK so it baffles me that we are trying to build millions of houses without the foresight to plug that gap.

Just out of interest, what led you to move her into school at 9?

Primary easier to homeschool than secondary I think? Do you think you would have struggled to teach a secondary curriculum?

I have a neighbour who is home schooling her son because she is anti establishment. She says it's so he can be anything he wants to be. Ummmm.....no, not without qualifications it doesn't.

She tries to fiddle everything to get one over on companies, the government etc. It's part of her mindset.

She is harming the boy in every respect as far as I can see. He is a friendly and outgoing child and desperate to mix with other kids too. It's sad.

This is a really good point. The majority of my PGCE seemed to be about classroom management (crowd control would have been a better name). Essential for teaching multiple classes of 30 teens; certainly not necessary for one-to-one scenarios.

The group I belonged to had a few teenagers. The local college welcomed them with open arms onto BTEC and A level courses without any GCSEs as the Head said the did so well. I knew one with no qualifications who talked his way onto a degree course. Last I heard he was doing very well in his career.

I’m not denying some people do it and do it well. I admire them. That said, I don’t believe everyone who is home educating their child is capable or has fully grasped quite how much there is to it.

We’re moving so have been looking around schools. In one school a child was pulled out because the local hotel is housing immigrants and they’re playing on the “green” I think the Mum feared some sort of attack, which I can sympathise with. But that’s not a good reason to withdraw your child altogether.

Dh and I are highly educated in different areas and are fully committed and prioritise the education of our children, however I could not hope to replicate the specialism, experience and expertise of several teachers all of whom add so much depth to my child’s learning.

I couldn’t hope to replicate the variety of children to socialise and laugh with, to play and be part of an inclusive community.

It is irreplaceable - and given the number of school holidays hardly a hardship for half of the year. My children have loved their school, team sports and friends. They love to come home too. So yes I agree op the HS child is being deprived of this experience.

Great, another thread demonising homeschooling written by someone with no experience of homeschooling.

DD was homeschooled from 9-16, has 8 GCSE’s at top grades and is now in school for 6th form and predicted three A stars at A level. So not illiterate! We met many people in our homeschool years, from all walks of life, class, culture etc and none were illiterate. Most did very well in their GCSEs.

The idea that the parents are the ones doing all the teaching is so outdated. Most homeschool children now either attend online tutoring, go to a homeschool hub for tutoring or have tutors come to their home. Some are taught by their parents but in my experience that was the minority.

And by the way there are plenty of children who leave school virtually illiterate.

@Nestingbirds same. I’m in a profession which requires a degree, post grad and 2 years of training to qualify. I’m well educated. But I know what I don’t know and that’s the point, the more you know. The more you understand what you don’t and value the expertise of others.

Your qualifications are not the point, it's about skills. Most of her teachers will hold significantly lower grades, but have the necessary skills.

Any individual may or may not have the capacity to develop the skills required to home educate well, irrespective of formal qualifications.

That is untrue. The overwhelming majority leave school with a degree of literacy. You are just lashing out now. School can be a wonderful place, and it certainly should not be used to deprive a child of an education because the parents can’t get up in the mornings, and are checked out.

I came on this to say exactly this and glad it's only 4 posts in.

Whilst in the past, school environments were hostile, at least you had strong disciplinarians who had come out of the Second World War and would stand no nonsense. It gave children and teachers a sense of a security fence around them. Now the cat has been let out of the bag and everything is focussed on autonomous learning and children's rights, you see on the news every night little thugs destroying property and the police saying they fear for their lives. What is the best way forward?