Registering to Home School My Child Advice Please

[RyanLondon]

Hello Everyone,

I would like to take my daughter (8 years old) out of school after this summer, and to home school her. I would like to know, what do I have to do? Do I email my local authority, or do I email or call the head teacher? What do I have to do? Should I go and see him in person? I also have a bit of an unusual situation which I want to tell you about so that you have some background information, as I don't know if it will have any effect on the authority allowing me to home school my child. Thats another important question, do they have to allow me to home school my child or is the power more in my hands?

I have one one child. Somehow, she has many of my characters, I wish she didn't. I went to normal school, and I was miserable. I even went to university and did a degree and masters, but it was all because everyone else was doing it. I personally didn't get bullied at school because I knew how to defend myself and could stand up for myself (even though I wasn't big), and I always had a reasonable amount of friends. But I hated school and I was miserable there. The reality was I hardly ever went to school. I was walking the streets from age of 13-16. I had a system in place on how not to attend, and to make it seem that I was attending. Its shocking that I got through school and A-Levels and Degree. I don't want my daughter to go down my road.

Fast forward 20-30 years, my daughter on the whole hates school, has hardly any friends at school, walks in the playground everyday by herself etc. We have tried many things. She is normal in every way, apart from the fact that she is a loner with quite a strong personality like me and she learns differently. She is a bit creative like me and enjoys that sort of stuff. But at the same time she is top of her class in English and Maths etc.

I am someone who needs constant stimulation, and I understood myself and my characteristics very late in life. It would have saved me a lot of heartache and lost years if I had some guidance and if I could focus my energies towards positive things. For me it started at the age of 30, when I became self employed, where I was able to enjoy myself and excel. However, again I wasn't just doing to make money, it was about being independent and enjoying myself. Along the way if money came along great. So I never ever sought to grow in normal business ways. Although I always made some money.

This brings me to my current situation. Ever since I was a teenager, and now I am 40 plus, I have loved the travelling life. Although I have the balls and chains like most people, house, mortgage, bills, business etc, I never liked it. I have always done it because I felt it was the norm and its what I needed to do to provide for myself and my family. I am planning on travelling around the either temporarily or semi-permantly (we'll see how it goes), in about 6-9 months, so we'll live in a country for as long as we can e.g 6 months, and then move to another country etc. If anyone has heard of the term "working nomads" or "digital nomads" you'll understand exactly what I am doing. As long as we have an income and we can give our daughter good education and a well rounded start in life, then I am happy. I am hippy at heart with a touch of capitalist. I have worked out my finances, and we should be okay. I have put a backup system in place in case my income drops or does not work out. We don't live an extraMe and my wife plan to home school her most likely loosely around UK curriculum, and we will employ professionals as and when we need.

Now, what I want to know, the fact that I plan not be in the UK, does it have any bearing on my daughters home schooling application and the chances of it being rejected? My wife is a teacher, part time. She was never full time. However, she is a specialist teacher, and doesn't know about this kind of stuff. Should I tell the headteacher my plans, or do you see it having a negative effect on my approval?

I have told my doctor about a year ago about my plans as I have known him many years - just as a doctor. Many people who know me that this has been a lifelong ambition of mine.

So I essentially want to know how do I get the ball rolling to register her for home schooling? And do I need to tell them about my plans and will it have any effect?

I would also welcome any general advice about home schooling etc.

Lastly, very sorry this is a long winded post. Thanks guys.

[Saracen]

"I always assumed that you have to apply for citizenship, and its not automatic in most countries. I want to continue being a British Citizen, and I will most likely be visiting the UK at least once a year, maybe several times a year"

Well, you'll still be subject to local laws regardless of your citizenship or where you pay taxes. Obviously a tourist visiting the country for just a couple of weeks isn't going to find his kids forced into school, but if you stay in the longer term then there does come a point when you fall under the umbrella of local school attendance or home education laws, and you'll have to comply with them or decide whether to risk flouting them. Some countries have more lax regulations which apply to foreign nationals,. but you can't assume that will be the case. Globetrotting home educating families have to take local homeschooling laws into account when deciding where to go.

I'm a foreigner living in England, and English education law certainly applies to me and my children!

[RyanLondon]

@superwormissuperstrong, thanks. If you don't life a conventional life, I find the system can then become quite hard on you. However, for those that do, and I have nothing against those that do, then most things just fit exactly the way you want it to. The only problem is the unconventional population is growing by the day. Its quite a large number now and it will only increase.

[RyanLondon]

Hi Saracen,

Thanks for the very helpful info. I am going to do some reading ;)

However, my initial plan was not stay in any one country for more than a year. I may be a bit lacking in knowledge in this area, but I always assumed that you have to apply for citizenship, and its not automatic in most countries. I want to continue being a British Citizen, and I will most likely be visiting the UK at least once a year, maybe several times a year because I have ties here in terms of home etc plus other things which I won't go into.

However, I know I do need to speak to UK Government office about my plans, just in case I don't caught out or in trouble in some way. I know (not personally), but I do know many individuals who now do this, and quite a few families as well, where they travel and work at the same time. Nowadays, for many people as long as you they have internet, they can work or earn a little bit of money.

I will also most likely continue paying tax in the UK even though I am not living here. Seems very unfair, but I have a feeling thats how its going to be.

[Saracen]

If you decide to spend a prolonged period in any one country you will need to find out whether you count as residents in terms of being subject to educational laws, and if so how to comply with those laws.

The Home School Legal Defense Association is a right-wing American Christian organisation the aims of which I don't support. However, their website does have decent basic information about laws relating to home education in most countries. It is a good starting point if you want a rough idea of the situation in a country to which you are thinking of moving, and you may find links to relevant local HE organisations which can fill you in some more. www.hslda.org/hs/international/

[Saracen]

Here is the government guidance to LAs on how to deal with home educating families. The document is from 2007 but is still current. It's very readable and is a fairly accurate summary of the law: www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education

[superwormissuperstrong]

Nothing wrong with your plan and you don't have to give details of your plans.
I suspect we will also have to home school our kids because our lifestyle doesn't fit the 'norm' and we will be kicked out of the school system anyway. A large proportion of our income comes from work abroad and so we currently take the kids with us when we do this work. Its not intensive 9-5 work so completely compatible with taking children.
The part i seem to remember is just that you need to be giving them an 'education' but that doesn't have to be a national curriculum education - its down to you to determine the appropriate education for them.

[RyanLondon]

@Saracen, yes you assumed correct. I currently live in London, UK. I am a UK national. Thank you thats a big worry off my shoulder.

@CubbyLover78, thank you.Yes I found many websites, and there are tons of material online. I have also spoken to many home schooling parents about their experience and options. It was overwhelming very much like you, mind glowingly positive. However, most of these people I talked to, I mainly met them through interaction at work. So it was often something like a 20 minutes conversation. I have spoken to at least 8 or so parents now.

My daughter is a bit like me. Doesn't respond greatly to classroom learning, and she is better in small groups, or on a one to one basis. The truth is I have myself have a lot to learn, and it will be a learning curve for me. I also want to enjoy the time because I am only planning on having the one child.

I'll see how it goes. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

[chubbylover78]

I took my son out of school in 2012 to homeschool him. There are websites that will give you loads of information and a basic deregistration letter which you can copy out. Send this to the head teacher at her school and then your job is done. The school should let your local authority know and they will probably write to you offering a home visit to see how she's doing. You don't Have to take them up on the offer and you can meet them on mutual ground of you wish or write to then telling them what she's been doing. After she's been deregistered you can do a period of de-schooling, it's usually one month for every year the child has been in school but it could be longer or less it depends on the child. We de-schooled for a few months and did absolutely no school based work or activities. It was the best time ever as I got to know my son all over again and he settled better into learning in his own way rather than the mindless production line that happens in schools.
We have says where he works non stop and days where he does what he wants when he wants. We holiday when we like as we don't follow local school holidays, no uniforms to but, school trips to pay for etc etc.
At the moments he's away with his grandparents and we're going away again in June.
He was diagnosed with ADS a year ago but has gotten so much better because there are no regime's to follow which is better for the whole family.
Enjoy your daughter's childhood with her and travel. She will learn more about life and how to live it when she's not in a stuffy classroom being told what to do.
Good luck to both of you and go for it!
She can always go back to school if she wants to in the future but our children are not children for very long.

[Saracen]

Am I right in assuming from your username that you live in England? If so then you don't require anyone's permission. All you must do is send a correctly-worded deregistration letter to the school. You do not have to justify your decision or outline your educational plans.

Then you simply educate your daughter in whatever way seems best to you. You have great latitude in this. There are no required methods or subjects.

I will go bump a thread with links to sample letters.