Seriously considering HE my year 7 DD

[Eggwhisk]

I have thought about this on and off for the past few years but this morning seeing my daughter so distressed at going to school it has really got me thinking. DD is 11 and in year 7 at a local middle school, for the past 3 years or so she has suffered from anxiety and is currently seeing CAMHS for this.

She has struggled, I'd say since we moved areas 4 years ago and she didn't quite fit into the small village school we moved her too. I hoped that starting afresh last year at middle school would help her, and it seemed to at first, she made new friends and she joined school clubs. Since she went back at the beginning of September though, things have got a lot worse. Her anxiety did seem to be improving over the summer but we have taken some huge steps backwards. The amount of homework that she is getting is unreal and the pressure that she feels she is under is immense. I worry so much that if we continue down this road she will become completely broken It cant be right can it, that we see our children so unhappy and force them onto a school bus at 7:30 am for a day of misery?

Anyway I'm rambling now but I just feel that this situation cannot continue. I will obviously need to discuss it with my husband and her father and see how it will affect our family as a whole. But right now I can only think that it will be a good thing.

Thanks for reading, any advice anyone can give will be most appreciated.

No messages in my others folder so I've pm'd you Omm

Also there is a Yahoo group which appears to be moderately active: groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/worcestershirehome-ed/info

but looks rather quieter in 2015 than in 2014 so maybe people are drifting off toward Facebook.

In my area there is both a FB and Yahoo list which are used for slightly different purposes and not everybody is on both. Joining both is good for people who are eager to check out every opportunity, but not everyone has the time and inclination to stay on both.

Thanks Saracen, I've requested to join that group too, so I shall wait and see if I hear anything. Today I have spoken to my parents and dd's dad (we're separated and he lives a couple of hours away) and everyone is in agreement that it will be good for her and they have all offered support and help. Everyone just wants her to be happy again

When she came home today we did a pros and cons list for both school and home ed...there weren't many cons for home school, the only things we could think of that she would miss her friends and that she might also miss school. She knows it's a reversible decision though and she can go back to school whenever she likes.

I feel that the decision is made now but I would really like to get in touch with some local home edders before I de register her. I was thinking of maybe her leaving at half term in a few weeks. I keep swing from a huge high where I'm excited and positive it's the right choice to having a sinking feeling and panicking its all going to go wrong

Well I've done it, I've sent the de-registration letter to the school by recorded delivery so it will get there Monday! I have been accepted into the local yahoo group (still waiting on Facebook groups) and a few very nice people have messaged me and we are going along to a HE group on Monday afternoon I'm feeling very positive, I just hope I don't have any issues with the school to deal with. It was a nice school and for other children it works out fine, it just wasn't for my daughter

Woo hoo! Let her de-school now and de-stress (a month for every year she has been in school) and enjoy!

Thanks Katherine

How exciting!!!

Enjoy your recovery period :)

And don't worry - if the school get back to you, you can just say "thank you. It's a lovely school and I'll say that to anyone who asks. It just wasn't the right fit for us. All the best" and that's the end of that!

Glad you've reached a decision, Katharine - often this is the hardest part.

Good to hear you have family support too.

I hope you and DD enjoy your time together and that she begins to feel a lot better soon.

I'm glad to hear this. Well done to you both, and have a marvellous time home educating .

We had a good first day today, school know and the teacher my husband spoke to couldn't have been nicer or more supportive so that's a great load off my mind. We went to a HE group and met some lovely families and dd enjoyed the craft activity that was organised. Tomorrow we shall have a more chilled out day, we're meeting my parents for a cuppa and we might do the maize maze if it hasn't been chopped down already

Excellent start! I'm glad it's been a good day for you .

Fantastic!