Bullied children get alternative education

[ontherainbow]

I am part of a group that want to help vulnerable children have an alternative education. Currently I teach 2 children along with my own 2 children at home and am wondering how many other parents out there would consider doing the same?

Our group are thinking about funding teachers/parents that take on children with SEN (without Statements at the moment) or are vulnerable because of bullying issues or anxiety disorders etc.

Would love to hear people's responses to this and yes it is possible to do! (teachers/parents can have no more than 4 children and would be paid as a tutor. Parents will still be fully responsible for their children's education).

It's a wonderful idea. As you may well know there is only one organisation in England that caters for severely bullied children, the charity Red Balloon Learner Centres.

DD2 has just left a RB school and is due to start at a new mainstream state school in September. I had to fight like beggary for months to get funding from the LA so she could attend RB - LA's are largely hostile to the concept and to the organisation but can at best only offer a PRU as an alternative when a child is so badly bullied they cannot cope in mainstream. It's a bloody disgrace! RB's view is that severely bullied DC are special needs - a view I wholeheartedly agree with - can you imagine the uproar if all LAs could offer blind or Autistic children a PRU?

As a result of this RB's founder, the lovely Dr Carrie Herbert, submitted a lengthy report to the government recently, in response to their consultation prior to Green Paper on SEN. I hope that her experience is taken on board.

I hope too that you fulfill your dream and that your children and those you teach suffer no longer. I'd strongly recommend that you contact Carrie - there's strength in numbers and she may well be able to offer you valuable advice. She's warm, welcoming and fiesty... I can't speak highly enough about her.