"you make it sound so simple saracen!
i guess what is holding me back is the thought that taking him out would be hugely disruptive. for both of us!
if actually it is the place for him then going in and out could be stressful? what if we decide we do want him in school and there is no longer a place for him?
what if he LOVES being at home but i am shit at HE him?
to a lesser degree, but still playing on my mind, is what othjer people would think and say if i took him out and then "failed" at HE and had to put him back into the system.
that shouldn't be a consideration but it still worries me
i just don't know what to do! i guess a talk with dp about it tonight is in order"
It can be simple. It isn't always simple, especially while you are still in a school frame of mind. It's just leaving school, and maybe going back again later. What would be disruptive about that, compared to the school holidays?
You're right, there is a danger that someone else could take your son's place and he wouldn't get back in to that school. You could find out how likely that is: is his year at school full? Are there children waiting to get in? Do many people move in and out of the area? The LA is obliged to provide a school place if you request one, but it could be at a different school. How strongly do you prefer his current school to the alternatives?
If your son loves being at home, he will learn. Happy children always learn. There is very little you can do to prevent him learning. You don't have to be particularly good at home education, because it isn't something you have to do to him. It's very unlike school. Provide him with interesting things and answer his questions, and he will thrive. He may not learn the same things as at school in the same order and at the same age. But that's OK. He'll learn what he needs.
Of course what other people would think does matter, it isn't a trivial worry. However, it's not too hard to avoid that. Just don't tell people that schools are rubbish and you are planning to home educate your son forever and ever and that you are both going to have a lovely time and work through this particular maths book and he is going to learn all sorts of impressive things and go to Cambridge at 15. Just tell them he isn't happy and he's having a break from school for a while to do something different. Then if he goes back to school, no one will say you've failed. They'll say, "Oh, he's had his break from school and now he's back again as planned." If your son never does go back to school, well... within a year or two you will know you are giving him what he needs, and you'll be able to explain it somewhat to yourself and everyone else.