Tutoring, disabilities, and time out of school

[MaryBethF]

I've just read an article on BBC News about the stresses that disabled children experience in school. (Here's the link - www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-29459303 )

I wonder how many parents take their children out of school or change schools because of the impact of bullying or a bad fit between their child and school.

Does anyone have stories to share on this?

IME nearly all children who come out of school to be home educated will have done so either because of bullying or because the school doesn't suit the child. Once parents have sent kids to school, they don't often take them out unless there have been fairly major and longstanding problems of one sort or another. If parents had been very keen on home education as a first choice, they wouldn't have tried school in the first place.

I do rarely meet parents who have taken their child out of school and say, "School was OK for her but I thought home education might be even better."

The home ed charity Education Otherwise surveyed its members a few years ago and found that unresolved bullying was the number one reason why parents had withdrawn children from school. That's across all children, not specifically those with disabilities.

Less is known about the reasons why some parents don't send their kids to school in the first place. Some are convinced that school won't suit their kids and don't feel the need to try school to establish that that's definitely true. Others might have preferred HE for ideological reasons anyway. And for some parents there are several reasons, so there's no simple answer to why they are doing it.

I removed my DD from a school several years ago for the reasons you describe and wish I had done it sooner. She has never been happier or achieved so well academically.