Home schooling year 11

[J73R]

Hello. I’m considering home schooling my year 11 daughter. She’s missed so much of year 10 due to problems with horrible kids at school and it’s a struggle to get her to go. School have done all they can but it’s just not working. She was so determined to finish this year with positivity but already it’s been knocked. She’s sensitive and sad and I don’t know what other options I have. Does anyone have experience in home schooling they can help me with. I think it’s the only choice I have I have left.

I wouldn't unless you have absolutely no other choice. It's going to be almost impossible for you to ensure that she covers her GCSE curriculum and certainly without English and Maths she'll find it almost impossible to progess to college or anything else. Year 11 is crucial at school.

What can school offer in the way of help dealing with horrible kids? Is it in lessons or break/lunch?

Would you try to pay for her to sit some GCSEs privately this year, or wait til next year and do some at college?

I mean people do do this. But it’s not ideal,

if you tell school she is home schooling and they take her off roll then if you want her to sit GCSEs you will need to pay for her to sit them as a private candidate. This is expensive and you may well find the nearest exam centre that will take private candidates is a long way away - it was an hours drive for us.

My DD’s private a level exam was 400 pounds.

My daughter was home educated for her last 2 school years as she is AuADHD and could not cope in school.She self studied and did some online recorded courses. We paid for her to sit her exams at a local private school as an external candidate and she did very well in all her GCSES, and is now doing well in her second year of college. It can be quite expensive though, although there are a lot of resources online, and you have to book and pay for exams yourself, which is not cheap. It was totally worth it for us for my daughter's mental health.

I have a bit of experience in this as in I have worked with a number of YP who have been homeschooled, for various reasons.

IMHO it works well if it is a conscious choice and carefully planned; it also can be expensive indeed, especially for exam years. It's one thing to teach your DC the basics of reading and maths and pursue their other interests when they are 6yo; it's quite something else to teach them GCSE-level work.

I am a teacher and MFL is my subject; I would feel confident in other subjects too (English for sure, history, maths maybe) but no way could I support a YP through GCSE physics, for example.

So firstly, what is your DD's take? Does she want to do this? Has every other option been explored?

Secondly, what is your plan? Online school (a friend uses this and it is very good but also very ££)? Do you work – will you give up your job or can you or someone else be there to offer support? Could you use tutors?

A lot of HE YP IME take GCSEs (sorry so many acronyms!) a few at a time over some years, but often starting in year 9; this is obvs not an option but still it may be an idea to stagger the GCSE exams over a couple of years. She can start her post-16 education aged 17 as you have three years of funding.

And yes, look at where she could sit exams. Would school be willing to be an exam centre for her (possible, perhaps)? If not then there are exam centres across the country but yes, depending on where you are you may have to drive and the exams are not cheap.

If you do do this I suggest strongly you prioritise maths, English lang, English lit maybe and combined science (IGCSE may be the way here as there are no practicals I think) to give her a decent basis going forward. All the best to her.

Sending love and support as I know how difficult this is ❤️
My dd was struck down with a breakdown due to severe anxiety and couldn’t attend y11.
She was so bright but so sensitive and lost;
I thought she would never then achieve her potential and I felt truly heartbroken for her. The school environment was making her ill.
But, happy to say I was thankfully wrong.
If your dd is happier, she will flourish out of school .
My dd had tutors sent from a pupil referral unit (PRU) for Maths, English and Science.
The rest of the GCSE’s she self studied.
She took all her GCSE’s at home with invigilators .
It wasn’t easy for anyone but she passed them all. And got better .
Fast forward several years later and my DD is now a respected professional in her field .
School isn’t one size fits all - do what’s best for her .
Good Luck 🥰

Rather than EHE, have you looked at alternative provision?