Tips for someone new to home ed.

[strongswans]

Due to needing to relocate, I will be needing to HE my ds 11 in year 7 for a while due to lack of appropriate school places. If this is successful I hope to carry on anyway. Can anyone give me some good pointers to begin with? Where to find good resources etc... good places to find others in the area who HE. Thank you!

Hi Swans, welcome!

It can be really useful to get in touch with other local HE families. Most areas will have a Facebook presence. Some areas have additional ways of communicating, but I'd start by searching Facebook for the name of your town or county or nearest big town followed by "home education". Or you could google the same phrases. If you have trouble then feel free to ask here. If you can't find a group in your immediate area, find one in a neighbouring area and ask them. Somebody will know what's happening in the next town or county.

A great way to start is with a complete break from formal academic work while you settle in and figure out between you how you want to do things. There's no hurry. It takes some time to discover the best way for your own family. Just when you think you have it all sussed, you'll realise your child has grown and changed and you need to adapt. Experiment. Don't stick with anything which makes you or your son unhappy.

Because of the above, a common regret is buying too much stuff at the outset. If you spend loads of money and then decide the materials don't suit, you might feel you have to slog your way through them anyway, which would be miserable. To start off, use free resources online or from the library. See if you can get subscriptions on free trial or for just a month or two. Ask local families whether they have things you can borrow in order to check them out.

Familiarise yourself with the basics of the law. If and when the LA gets in touch to ask about your home ed provision, you can ask us what your options are. Some LAs imply that HE families must do certain things such as having home visits or supplying samples of work, but there is no legal basis for this and they will back off if challenged. However, you should never ignore a communication from your LA as they may take this as reason to escalate matters. A response of some sort is always advisable. The law differs slightly in each country of the UK: which country are you in?

Good luck and have fun!!