Anyone else considering long term home ed?

[Beebityboo]

Even with the low risk to children generally (although my 5yo is vulnerable with an over reactive immune system and I also am disabled so don't want to take my chances) I can imagine that school is going to be quite unsettling and generally not a very happy place to be for the foreseeable future. My youngest has complex needs and still needs a lot of comforting and support at school and she just won't cope in the conditions her school have laid out going forwards.

Originally I had planned to send all of them back in September but am now contemplating deregistering them and homeschooling longer term (I have some experience of this as I had to remove my eldest last year due to severe bullying, but it was a temporary arrangement)

Am I mad to be considering this? We're also supposed to be moving to new county this summer so would likely need to make a decision then about whether to apply for schools or not (even if schools are taking in new admissions at that point).

I'm trying to weigh up the pros and cons of this decision. I don't think school is going to be anything like what it was for quite a while, probably next year at the earliest .

it will affect their mental health entering a school system that wont resemble anything like they're used to

When they 1st entered the school system it wasn't anything like they was used too yet they adapted to it and accepted it. Kids are very resilient to change. Not everything will be totally different to before there will be some familiar faces and surroundings.

@Qasd I don't have links but I was home schooled myself in a formal way (probably more formal than some schools, and to some extent old fashioned - yes, I did study Latin!). That's nowadays referred to as "Classical Curriculum" I think, so you could Google that, but it may be more formal or old fashioned than what you're looking for.

I'm happy for you to PM me if you'd like, bit obviously I'm looking at it from the perspective of a home schoolee rather than a home schooler at present. Though I'm starting to look into it for the future now I'm pregnant! So I suppose that's a recommendation of the system, in a way.

*but obviously

Im not sure.
Will depend on what sept looks like and whether we have antibodies (vulnerable category).
Dd (8yo) bright but pda/odd/adhd so hard getting much work done.

I think school may well only be part time anyway as they cant just add back all the classes.
With a difficult child i expect she is often not paying attention in school. And yr4 the grammar etc starting to get harder.
With teachers saying they will get told off for not SD that is also an issue here.

Either way it would be nice if bbc bitesize and oak academy continued for the year to support any shielding families and kids often off for 2w with cold/fever/coughs.
realistically they cant be testing or having bubbles off all the time from sept as everyone will be off frequently.

While a few likely will, I don't expect a spike of home educators from this. As others said, this isn't really anything like typical home education. If anything, I'm noticing a significant increase in home educator interest in colleges that provide classes for Y9, GCSEs and BTECs with all the concerns that private candidates this year (who paid) could end up with no qualifications and next year there are questions whether and how much of an option that will be.

For structured home education, the UK is very much lacking in part because in my experience and the research I've seen, most British home educators are those who've had issues with schools and want something different (rather than philosophical or ideological home educators) and also because there are already established US forums and resources like Well-Trained Mind that are much easier to use than trying to make something ourselves.

No, my children benefit hugely from being in school. They love it and really miss all their friends.

Yes. Lockdown has shown me, mass-schooling doesn’t produce the best outcome for quite a lot of children.
Will be going to groups though!

Yes. I'm considering it for my y1 child. On balance, I think he would be better served by home education. I'm not sure how feasible it is yet but I'm building a plan.

No OP I don’t think you’re mad in the slightest! You’re putting your family’s needs first.
I homeschool 3 primary age DC and have done for nearly two years. We initially sent our eldest two to school but then deregistered then after they both became jaded with the way that schools mainly just teach to the test today.
What is currently happening during the pandemic isn’t home Ed as we know it. What schools are providing is distance learning. Totally unrecognisable to what we do week to week.
We go to many groups, activities etc and it takes the pressure off me somewhat. For example, all 3 go to a home Ed gymnastics class for their ‘PE’. They attend forest school where many of the geography and science curriculum is taught.
Their grandparents teach them baking and woodwork.
The list goes on.
I highly recommend home Ed obviously. It has given us a huge amount of freedom as a family (DH works from home a lot so we can go off anywhere at the drop of hat) and my children’s academic ability has soared.
Many home educated children go on to sit their GCSEs early. And many use 14-16 college courses to assist this.
PM me if you want any help.

I know I will get a lot of push back from my in laws etc who will see it as a massive over reaction but I just feel, at least until September 2021, that it is what's best for us as a family.
Do you think we will be hassled by the council? We were quite a bit when we withdrew DD last year.

Home schooling - no! We would kill each other. I cang get dS to even sort his grammar without a fuss and a row. But we are looking into online schooling. Its pricey, but is 10k less than the nearest private school which is too far to travel to anyway, even if we could afford it . but looks good so far ( we need to do lots more research). Might be worth a look?

Which school are you looking at PJseveryday?

I am considering it as children’s behaviour/anxiety issues have improved so much and we are quite enjoying it some days. Other days I just want some peace sooooooo much. So I am torn

goodness, no!

I never thought much about it but kudos to whoever choses this road. I could not.

I know I will get a lot of push back from my in laws

what has it got to do with the in-laws?

Regarding the council - I thought you only need permission when you have a child at special school. Otherwise it is totally your call.

You don't need permission but they do inspect to make sure you are providing an education. I understand it but I found it hugely stressful and intrusive. Although we will be moving to a completely new area so hopefully a nicer council!

If I attempted to home school my children I'd go mad. I have neither the patience nor the desire.

Yes it has crossed my mind with my 6 year old. It would not be permanent ever though because she is very much a people person and I am very much not so I probably couldn't meet all her needs.

As it happens corona virus means I have to go back to work full time when schools reopen so I couldn't do it anyway 😭

@FourTeaFallOut At the moment My online schooling looks good for us. They had a few lessons showing on Fb and the set up looks good. The students can see the teacher, I dont think she could see them, ans there was a chat screen so they could ask questions. This would be ideal as our son is so very easily distracted. With no other students he should, in theory, get on better. Hes a very clever boy but zero motivation and is prone no silly nonsense.

Interhigh was the other one we looked at. I also feel he would be better anyway. I dont think it's a rigid as a real school, so if he was better at one subject, he would move up a year in that subject. It's all just research just now, but it might solve a lot is issues we have with his schooling anyway.

I have considered it. Dd5 has flourished at home, and is a joy to teach, I could definitely do this long term, but I would worry about if I was doing it "right" as she gets older. I also worry that, although not too much of an issue now, I know she'll get to the point where she starts asking to go back and really missing her friends. She's already become very close to some other children, and is itching to see them (although she'll have to wait for now as she's not returning in June) luckily her little sister is great company, so she hasn't been bored at all, but I worry with age, she'd start to resent not being at school, as she does love it.

Absolutely not.

Yes, we might have to do something similar for my eldest if September comes around and there's little change in circumstances.

School is a really good fit for him but I don't know how much access we'll have to it as I'm shielding. Something like interhigh might offer the format and style of learning that he thrives on.

Funniest post I’ve read all day! I assumed you were being ironic but no. In all seriousness though, I know a couple of people who home school full time. They are so committed to it and put so many hours in planning, reading and organising. Not for the faint hearted! What most of us have been doing in lockdown is a mere sliver of what they do every day.

In another life I would. I met someone who was home schooled. They always finished the year by Easter leaving them an epic amount of time off for sport, travel etc.

No, it wouldn't work for us. But everyone's circumstances are different.