HE groups in Leyton/Leytonstone/

[BandVteam]

Hi, I wanted to check if there are any HE groups in the area of Leyton/Leytonstone, or any HE parents who want to meet up. I have a DD 2 years old and have started considering the HE option, but feeling insecure to make such a decision. My first preferences were for Waldorf/Steiner school, but it looks like we can't quite afford it plus there are none close by, so have started moving on the idea of HE. Would love to meet up with other parents in the area and discuss, see, get to talk and make a firm decision.

Have you joined the Home Education in London Facebook page? That is the best way to find local people in my experience. We are in tower hamlets and just starting a local HE group -we have a yahoo group called homeeducationtowerhamlets if you want to join.

Hi, I'm in Leyton/Walthamstow and have just started home edding my son (4) and daughter (2). We've not made much contact with other families yet but have found the northlondonhomeed yahoo group brilliant for getting an idea of the sort of things people are doing though it's obviously got more things in North London than in our area.

My children are not home ed (yet) but I have investigated it. There is a group based in Hackney called Adventures in Education. I think they meet at the Adventure Playground on the banks of the Lea in Springfield Park.

Thank you Ladies, I will check the facebook and the yahoo groups. Capitalistscum, if you would like, we can may be meet up some time.....

BandV, might be nice to meet up sometime but I should probably tell you that I'm a gentleman rather than a lady (I'll change my username in a minute to reflect this as I don't want to seem like I'm pretending to be something I'm not!). My main priority at the moment is trying to find a group where my DS can start making some friends - I'll try to let you know if I find somewhere that seems good and maybe we can meet up there.

Adventures with education is only for children over 5 so not great for finding out about HE. Capitalistscrum, I suggest you might join the tower hamlets group too as we might be your nearest group- we are starting a regular Wednesday meet up from next week. My son Is also 4.

Hi chocolatecrispies, I've been in contact with AWE and they told me they take children from "school age" onwards but they have a fairly loose definition of what exactly school age is as "many parents feel even by the age of 3 local provision stops or is hindered by the expectation that the child will start school or a full time nursery". They've been fairly positive about me bringing my kids along anyway and I hope to go next week but I agree that they might not be suitable for BandV with a 2 yr old.

I joined the Tower Hamlets group yesterday but probably can't make the Wednesday meetup as we have swimming lessons on Wednesdays .

Interesting as AWE definitely told me that the only under-5s who were welcome were younger siblings - almost put me off HE completely...

That really is interesting as I was quoting directly from an email they sent me. Perhaps it depends which AWE member you speak to? Anyway, we're going to try to go along to the next session and see how it goes from there. I'll report back here...

We have started going to a very nice drama group in Leytonstone - my DD absolutely loves it and it is something different and develops her confidence and imagination. It is great for 18months up to 5 years.

That sounds interesting, can you give any more details about when and where, etc? Is it specifically for HE kids or can anyone go?

The group is for everyone - suitable for kids age 18months - 5 years. It is in Leytonstone, every wednesday from 10am to 11am. It is called acting bugs and we totally enjoy it. It is in the St Johns church.

Thanks for the info BandV - sorry I didn't reply earlier but I only just noticed that you'd posted it. Does Bobby from Me Too still run the class? It's pretty cool if she does.

I finally got round to going to AWE this week and we had a really great time. They made a huge effort to make us feel welcome and there were loads of different things for the kids to do even though they're both under 5. There were a few other under 5s there too so we'll definitely be going back as it seems like a really fun and friendly group. Maybe see you or chocolatecrispies there sometime?