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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

Where to start?

8 replies

bobsleighteam · 19/01/2017 18:05

My son's father passed away 6 months ago. Ds 15 is not coping very well, the main issue is school refusal. His attendance this school year has hit the heady hights of 29 percent.
I'm seriously considering home ed because at the moment he is receiving no education at all. I have no idea where to start. Seriously no idea. I need an idiots guide on how to proceed please.

OP posts:

Sagethyme · 19/01/2017 18:10

I can't help OP, but am bumping this
Has school refusal started since his fathers death? Is he getting any counselling to help him with his fillings and grief?
Are school being supportive?
for you both

Original poster

bobsleighteam · 19/01/2017 18:16

Thankyou, school attendance was 95 percent plus every year of his school life (he's year 10) until his dad's death.

He is having councelling but it's sporadic and seems to make the issue worse. He attended school part time for 2 weeks at the start of Jan then had a councelling session and has refused school every day since.
School have been great but the pressure from them for him to return full time has been steadily increasing since Nov.

OP posts:

Original poster

bobsleighteam · 19/01/2017 19:37

Shameless bump. Anyone?

OP posts:

TheMysteriousJackelope · 19/01/2017 19:47

Are there any home education groups in your area? I have acquaintances who group together and teach based on their individual strengths, so a former engineer teaches math and physics, someone with an English degree handles English etc.

Is there an LEA website for your area that might have requirements for home education on it?
Is the school curriculum on your LEA website? At least that would help you sort out what your DS needs to be learning. Or is there a national curriculum on line somewhere that you can use as a basis?

An acquaintance home schools her 14 year old using K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) as she is in the US. I think they do have a UK equivalent. I know Khan Academy is a good learning resource.

Original poster

bobsleighteam · 19/01/2017 19:57

Loads of info on where to start thankyou mysterious, that's exactly the type of pointers I was hoping for. I'll research now.

OP posts:

junebirthdaygirl · 19/01/2017 21:08

Can he get an online tutor? I don't know how you access one but know a family who got one for their ds. Worked fantastically as he took responsibility for his own learning. It's a difficult time for him. I hope you find a way.

Original poster

bobsleighteam · 19/01/2017 21:36

Thankyou I've been busily googling. It seems the process is fairly simple. I'd love to hear from anyone who's actually done it. Especially with a teenager.

OP posts:

Tinuviel · 20/01/2017 12:43

I home ed DD who is 15 but she has never been to school, so quite a different scenario. I also had 2 boys at home but they are now in college and doing well.

If you decide to deregister, it might be worth exploring options at the local FE colleges - DD goes to one on Tuesdays to do GCSEs in Maths, English and Double Award Science (which takes the pressure off me). We used evening classes for the boys (it was actually cheaper than paying exam fees to sit them privately) but DD dances every evening, so that wasn't really an option. DSs also sat some as private candidates and self-studied.

There are options out there to look at but it sounds like your DS just needs a bit of a break without the pressure. And GCSEs don't have to be done at 16 - if he needs time off, he can do them later.

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