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Home ed

Find advice from other parents on our Homeschool forum. You may also find our round up of the best online learning resources useful.

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Original poster

Considering home ed. what are the rules?

49 replies

AtSea1979 · 16/02/2016 21:46

DS in year 6. I work during the day. Can I home ed? Are the hours strict? Or can I home ed when I get back from work? Can he use internet programmes during day when I work etc?

OP posts:

Piratespoo · 17/02/2016 08:25

Why do you want to avoid the SATS?

jaroslav · 17/02/2016 08:26

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aprilanne · 17/02/2016 08:36

in scotland there are no formal rules .on say books and things but they do like to visit once a year to see what the plan is and leaving a primary school child is not on you would be up at the childrens panel for neglect .the home ed at night is fine but not the rest .i home educated my youngest from aged 10 .but i have always been sahm .

HSMMaCM · 17/02/2016 08:53

You can home ed any time you like. I considered it for DD because she's much more receptive to new ideas in the evening than she is in the morning. The time alone is more of a concern.

OhShutUpThomas · 17/02/2016 08:57

He's not going to get much life experience sitting by himself every day.

Why wouldn't you want him out learning all day, mixing with his peers and gaining life experience that way? At school?
You can always do as much extra tutoring as you like afterwards.

QueenStreaky · 17/02/2016 09:03

Have you discussed HE with your son? What are his thoughts on leaving school and missing SATS?

SianiMoomin · 17/02/2016 15:02

I'm an EHE officer for a Local authority. I wouldn't have a problem with you educating him after work/in evenings, etc. I'd be very uneasy about him being left alone every day while you were at work and would probably have no choice but to pass the information on to social care for them to assess the situation and whether they were worried or not.

Saracen · 17/02/2016 22:58

Really, SianiMoomin? Where I live there are many eleven year olds who come in from school and are home alone for a few hours every afternoon until their parents return from work. Unless the child has a bad track record or is especially vulnerable for some reason, I can't imagine SS would take any interest.

SianiMoomin · 18/02/2016 17:35

Absolutely, I'd leave that decision to them and if SS weren't interested then it would be fine. Safeguarding is a part of my job, of course, any doubts and I have to pass concerns along. Not because I necessarily thought he would be in danger but because I'd want confirmation from professionals that it would be ok. I suppose it would also depend how long/how often they were left alone.

Floggingmolly · 18/02/2016 17:39

Where's the life experience in staying home from school (alone) to relax and do crafts and play with Lego? . That's what weekends are for.

HelsBels3000 · 18/02/2016 17:45

Why wouldn't you want him to do his SATS? Treat them like any other assessments, do them, carry on with school. I don't understand all the need for such pressure around them. Final year of primary school away from all his friends and social interaction sounds a bit rubbish to me.

Primaryteach87 · 18/02/2016 17:48

You can work and home ed. it doesn't have to be at normal school times. Having said that, leaving an 11yr old at home all day as a normal thing, every day sounds terribly lonely and boring. So I would be concerned about that.

Coldwatebay · 18/02/2016 17:55

It sounds very unkind. HE is fine if the parent is 100% committed to being with the child during the day. Taking him away from school to isolate him is just unkind.

lostinmiddlemarch · 18/02/2016 18:42

Most home edders take advantage of the shorter lesson times by making sure their children do lots of extra curricular stuff in the mornings. So basically, the parcel of time when your DS would be mooching around on his own and being baby sat by GP, is the time that's used for life experiences and socialisation for most home edders (and this is vital to the home education package really, otherwise it's very easy to make a list of important life experiences that your child will not be getting). I'm agree that school is not necessarily the best use of time for a time to a child, but I don't think you can substitute it with relaxing, reading and crafts on your own, not at eleven. Home ed is not that easy.

lostinmiddlemarch · 18/02/2016 18:43

Sorry, I didn't mean to say that all extra curricular stuff happens in the morning, just that the time saved from lessons goes into extra curricular stuff and life experiences, not sitting at home alone.

Original poster

AtSea1979 · 18/02/2016 19:34

I take on board all your thoughts.
My son already has a lot of life experiences and I actually think there's an area for learning that he needs which involves more independence and alone time. But perhaps 3 hours each day would be too much, though I happen to think he's more at risk walking home from school alone than being home. I will give it more thought. I was waiting until parents evening next month before I made my final decision. Once decided on home ed, I will look in to the childcare options for 11 year olds.

OP posts:

EElisavetaOfBelsornia · 18/02/2016 19:45

Just wondering if an au pair is an option for you OP? Company, the chance to learn a language, someone to take him to HE meets, or museums, etc.

Floggingmolly · 18/02/2016 20:00

There is an area for learning that he needs which involves....and more alone time
Has he expressed a desire to be alone more often (to the point where you'd remove him from SCHOOL to achieve this isolation solitary time)??
It all sounds very unhealthy and strange.

Coldwatebay · 18/02/2016 20:12

OP you say he's more at risk walking home from school. I think the worry isn't so much about him being alone. It's about him being isolated

TeaT1me · 18/02/2016 20:13

When would he see other children? Part of the joy of HE is freedom to play with friends, he groups etc. But if he's not doing that that doesn't sound much fun.

Saracen · 18/02/2016 20:30

"I actually think there's an area for learning that he needs which involves more independence and alone time."

I think that is often the case, and it tends to go unrecognised in our modern rush rush society, with kids being hustled from one activity to another in the name of enrichment. Even home educators, most of whom have the option of a more relaxed lifestyle, can get caught up in the pressure to DO, whereas sometimes our kids need more time to BE, to reflect, to be a little bored and solve that boredom in novel ways. It's very individual. My niece is a nonstop on-the-go person, always has been, and was never more miserable than when chronic illness forced periods of idleness upon her during late adolescence. But my younger daughter is a potterer who likes to play by herself and daydream much of the time, and does not like being hurried.

It sounds like you have taken on board the idea that your son MIGHT not thrive on three hours a day alone and you are looking into alternative arrangements in case he doesn't. But equally, it is not a foregone conclusion that three hours a day alone will make him unhappy. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out a good solution for him. It may take some time and experimentation to find the best recipe.

lostinmiddlemarch · 18/02/2016 23:22

I think it's more the cumulative impact of three hours a day with gp plus three hours a day alone plus no free segments of the day left for learning and getting out and about. Apart from anything, it sounds boring and sedentary. And eleven year olds do need an adult around to bounce ideas off and sort of scaffold them through working alone. That is meant to happen with homework, projects etc. It just sounds very lonely and very much as if the stress of SATS outweighs the good things about being with peers to the point that even this strange life would be preferable. It's not like the normal home ed versus school decision I've seen. I don't think being home alone and then with gp is particularly risky, but struggle to see how life is so difficult that it could be considered optimum for an eleven year old; if life is that difficult I would think more parental support during the day was indicated.

MamaC4 · 19/02/2016 16:34

I don't home school (yet) but i think its going to be a long time on his own and you need to ensure he isn't socially isolated. yes he can go to his grandparents but its not getting him mixing with other kids his age.

Can you not cut your working hours or condense so that you finish later 2/3 days but have more days off?

I work three and a half days but when i am hoping to drop to 3 days and then DH and i will split the days. Its a lovely idea to home school but its takes commitment and time to do your child's education justice and also keep the LA off your back.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 19/02/2016 16:50

The other thing is have you asked the grandparents? 3 hours a day, 5 days a week - that's a big committment from them.

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