Continuing HE unexpectedly - having a wobble advice needed

[Emphaticmaybe]

Hi
I posted recently asking for advice on DD's planned return to school after 4 years of home- ed, (2 years flexi-schooling, 2 years full time home-ed.)

This is really not looking likely now- DD, in the cold light of day and after transition visits, is not convinced she can do secondary school. To be honest I think it may have been wishful thinking on our part that she would be able to do it as when we decided to HE we did it under the assumption that it would just be until secondary school. However all the things that DD found difficult about formal learning apply in spades to secondary school.

Anyway the upshot is here we are with the prospect of HE through key stage 3 and beyond and I've lost my confidence to do this. We have been fairly structured, ( morning teaching NC, afternoons whatever DD fancied), and it's been largely positive but a bit knackering for me, but I kept it up as I saw it as the best way to prepare her for a return to school. I just don't think I can keep this formal structure up for the next 3-5 years, ( I'd quite like to start an OU course myself and will need some serious time to myself to do this.)

Please talk to me about how you are facilitating your child's education with less structure but still allowing them to have the possibility of formal qualifications if they want to take that route. I don't want to be a slave to the NC but I don't want to close the possibilities of GCSEs, A'levels and university off either.

Please help me get my confidence back - thanks.

As an alternative, have you thought about online schooling - Interhigh is one which is good, but there are others. They are basically structured like a real school and are taught "live" to a class but you don't have all the potential difficulties of an ordinary school.

Quite a likely scenario is she'll go into the system at 16 to do A Levels, for which it would probably be a good idea to get a few exams in preparation. GCSEs are awkward because they aren't all exams, there's internal assessment as well for most subjects, so home educators tend to do IGCSEs. Some home educators blitz exams at 15, others do one or two at 12/13 and one or two more each of the following years up to going into FE at 16.

So if she's 11 now you could start investigating IGCSEs (or whatever) in a couple of years, that would still give you plenty of time before 6th form.

Loads of info about exams and home ed here edyourself.org/articles/exams.php

As to facilitating education, what does she like to spend time doing at the moment in the afternoons?

Hi,
I home ed DS (end of year 7). To be upfront, he will be going back to school for year 9 (by then I'm hoping he'll be ready for it, and that's a whole 'nother story). Despite the intention to go back to school we do not follow the National Curriculum. My theory is that a child who has the skills (can read well for comprehension, knows their way around encyclopaedias, can structure essays well, etc and knowledge of some of the subject will be able to fit in with GCSEs.

We are structured and use Sonlight, this year Eastern Hemisphere Core, Noeo Science, a mix of British textbook and US online maths, plus a little of what we fancy. I do read a lot, but I don't do a lot of planning. DS is dyslexic so I probably read more and have him write less than I might have otherwise done.

KS3 level material, in my opinion, isn't that challenging (except possibly maths) and given that you aren't looking to go back to school in a hurry, it is not necessary to be a slave to the system. Lots of HomeEders do IGCSEs, and in order to get in to a Sixth Form College five good grades seems to be all that is required. If this is a possibility, speaking to them on what their entrance requirements would be could be a worthwhile conversation.

Keeping on going is definitely a challenge. For us picking a curriculum that I wanted to do as much as he did was important, and somebody else doing the lion's share of the organising was also helpful. I endeavour not to be tied to any curriculum and on those one or two beautiful days of the year we've walked out and over the hills. My priority is that he knows how to learn, I'm definitely less bothered about what he learns. We can't hope to know it all but the process and the content should, at least some of the time, be enjoyable.

If you've been doing KS2 comfortably you are perfectly able to do KS3. Take the opportunity of enjoying each others company whether its through the books you read together, cycle rides or jigsaws. All learning is good.

Sorry I could ramble on for hours. Believe in yourself: you thought you got to the top of the mountain, but when you got there the summit was further up than you could initially see! Its okay to take a deep breath before starting the next part. Enjoy the ride!

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

chocoholic - I will definitely look at the Interhigh website it could be a possibility - thanks.

Fiona - thanks. I think that will end up being the reality; looking at picking up IGCSEs along the way untill A'levels at 16.

In response to your question about her afternoon interests she is massively into art, ( I'm a very poor artist, but luckily DH is a professional so has been able to support her where I've struggled with techniques.) She spends many afternoons on her own projects and DH and I think she shows a lot of promise. I think ultimately she will probably want to get on an art foundation course and we'll probably look at ways to facilitate that. I would just like to make sure she's got enough formal qualifications as a backup and to be fair she's pretty academic so she has the potential to do well in them.
Thanks for the link I'll check it out.

flying - thanks. I think I might lay off the NC for a while and just concentrate on her learning in whatever way she enjoys and then have a look a picking up GCSEs later. I think we both need a change. I think you're right - it did feel like we had reached the top of the mountain so to speak, and if we are going to carry on we are going to have to change our style. I just don't think rigid structure is sustainable for us.

I feel more confident just talking to others so thanks again - I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

Emphatic.

I used to teach at our local college and entry to Btec Nationals and Higher Nationals required 5 GCSE's including English and Maths. This is a good route into higher Education including Hons Degree. (If not wanting A levels)
Some of my students had the odd subject where they had only gained a "D" at GCSE and were still accepted. My subject wasn't Art, however a colleague told me that if a student hadn't obtained a GCSE in Art they could still be accepted if they had a portfolio of acceptable level work. In other words if your dd started a port folio with her talent there would be no problem. Obviously they may ask her to produce something to prove it was her work but I'm sure she would manage it. For creative studies they look for talent foremost.