Considering home education

[mummyru]

Hello everybody.

I am a mum of 27 month old girl. I would really like to home educate her in the furture and am trying to find out as much info as possible. I have a couple of concerns and doubts though. English is a second language for us so I am worried whether I will be able to give her a good level. The thing is our formal education starts at the age of 7 so I will be definitely home educating her until 7. Then i will see how i cope and if she enjoys it.

My another concerns is wheteher my DD will have any difficulties to joyn school if I home educate her until the age of 8-10. How do secondary schools look at home educated kids? Will she have any problems taking her 11 plus exam at secondary school if i home educate her at primary school age. Does she need to take all primary level exams to go to a private secondary school?

I have so many question sorry . Could anybody help me. I do not know anybody who HE their children and quite shy to ask as well. Everybody in the area I live talk about schools only

Which area do you live in? It would be good for you to meet people already home educating.

My another concerns is wheteher my DD will have any difficulties to joyn school if I home educate her until the age of 8-10. How do secondary schools look at home educated kids?

If it is a state school, there is no question about how they look at home ed - if you are in a area, the state school system has to provide a school place if you want one, as long as she is under compulsory school age.

Will she have any problems taking her 11 plus exam at secondary school if i home educate her at primary school age.

The 11+ is an exam taken by primary school pupils (usually Y6, AFAIK) in order to gain entrance to selective secondary schools (usually known as grammar schools). She will not take 11+ if she is in a secondary.

Does she need to take all primary level exams to go to a private secondary school?

Each private secondary has its own entrance requirements, so you would have to research them individually. However, there are no national exams at primary (SATs are for the government to track the school rather than the child), so home-educated children do not generally take any exams at primary age.

Hi mummyru!

I don't know much about selective secondary schools but I'm quite sure that home educating in the early primary years wouldn't prevent your daughter from being able to get a secondary place later on. When the time for that is getting closer, perhaps when your daughter is 8 or 9, you could ask on the mumsnet secondary board or ring the schools you are interested in to find out which entrance exams she would need etc.

Meanwhile, be brave and find your local home ed group! I am sure people will be very friendly and welcoming to you. With everyone around you talking about school, the next few years may be a bit difficult for you if you don't have like-minded people to talk to. What's more, there may be fun things which you and your dd could join in with right now. In my area, many HE get-togethers are suitable for toddlers. With a few exceptions, all events are open to all ages, though of course some events will be more appealing to a toddler than others!

I started taking my eldest daughter to a local HE group when she was 2 1/2 and wish I had done it even sooner. We both got a lot out of it.

Depending on where you are in the country of course, but generally grammar schools run their own admission tests, and anyone who's in the right area can apply.

I HE'd my kids (still have one at home) - two went at 11 to grammar schools, one went at 13 to a comp. None of them had any difficulty fitting in.

If your plan is to definitely HE until she's 7, go for it, and think about the future as she approaches 7. Home educating doesn't close any doors, imo.

Thanks for your responses.

I have already joined Berkshire yahoo HE club but looks like many activities run in areas which are quite far from us. I would really like to find something local and on a regular basis. I am not sure if it is realistic though. We go to different toddler classes now and am not sure where we will go when she is 5. All activities for 5 y.o. starts from 4 pm.
I also had a few negative comments about HE in the past. I try not to discuss about it anymore but do not know where to find any information.
We live in Windsor area, Berkshire.

I would like my daughter to apply for a scholarship in a private secondary school. I am worried that she will have difficulties. I have looked at one school website which says "The school will contact the current Head Teachers of applicants for entry to both Junior and Senior Department to request a reference". How would I go about this? Or should I enrol her at some school when she is about 9 just to have some reference to show?

Thanks in advance.

If you still want to do that then (and there is a lot of time to go), I would suggest talking to the heads of the schools you are interested in about two years before she would start. Then they can tell you what sort of evidence they would want. Also, you would want to get papers or other material to prepare her for any entrance exams.

I guess HE families can't be terribly thin on the ground near you, as there is the weekly sports session in Windsor, so it is probably just a question of finding people. Why not post on the Yahoo group asking if anyone lives nearby who would be willing to get together with you? You could invite individual families round to your house, or propose a get-together at a local park, swimming pool or soft play.

While you are at it, you might ask whether there are any other ways that people in Berkshire keep in touch online. I think they might have a Facebook group or Big Tent or something like that as well as the Yahoo group. I'm not in the area though, so best ask people who are!