Can I home ed for one term?

[Autumnowls]

My son is in primary, about to go into Year 6. He is dreading the last term of Year 6 as the school do a lot of 'leaver' activities, final assemblies, come to school in your new senior school uniform day. He is hyper sensitive with aspergers and gets very upset when others are crying/upset. By the last term he will have his senior school place confirmed. I was wondering if I can home ed for the last term? He is really keen to leave at Easter and wants to do some computer coding and teach himself things (quite self motivated) on the computer.

Do I need to do anything in terms of my local authority to notify them I am going to home ed from April to July (he will go to senior school September)?

I’m not sure it’s the best way to support him in coping with life’s challenges, of which there will be great many in the years ahead in secondary school.

He will miss his Sats, which by Easter he will have worked hard for. And he will miss induction days at the secondary school. But if you have discussed all of that with him and he’s still keen to leave, them why not?

You don’t have to let your LA know but it would be courteous to tell his school so that they know not to include him in any extra support for Sats or give him a part in the production, if they have one.

Yes, you can.

A week or whatever notice you want to give, just say you are withdrawing to home ed. School has to off roll the child. Then crack on :)

Induction days are generally held for home ed students or SEN students alongside the school ones - speak to the secondary school. My aspie boy did around 6 so was super confident going into yr 7. Missing SATS isnt a problem - they will probably have an assessment day and he can do a LASS assessment instead.

Surely it would be better for him to stay at school and for you and his teachers to support him with the transitional activities than remove him completely?

I don't see how him missing these activities will help him. Surely all its going to do is to reinforce his idea that these things are something to be anxious about?

I think it's a good idea TBH. Term 3 of Y6 is pretty awful for anybody who doesn't like pressure/ change/ emotionally charged situations.

I am a specialist teacher (HFA) and would absolutely do this for a child of my own if they were in mainstream unsupported. You can arrange some transition visits to the senior school independently.

Yes of course you can arrange induction days separately.

What I meant was that they won’t be going to induction days with their ex-classmates.

You absolutely can do that, and some kids are much better off without the stress of the end of Y6. You might even consider removing him earlier if it turns out that SATs prep is dominating the Y6 curriculum to such an extent that he's learning little and having no fun; that can happen in some schools.

You know him best and if you feel this is the right way to meet his needs then go for it! This can be a fantastic life lesson. He will see that he doesn't have to do things exactly the same way as everyone else, that creative solutions can work, and that managing his stressors can help him tolerate other (unavoidable) situations better. That could be very empowering. As he gets older, he needs opportunities to develop his repertoire of tools to deal with problems. Opting out of some situations can be a great strategy.

As psychologist Peter Gray says, "If we move our minds out of the quagmire of competition (indeed, we can’t win tennis matches by quitting) and think of life’s broader goals—the goals of surviving, avoiding injury, finding happiness, and living in accordance with our personal values among people whom we respect and who respect us—then we see that freedom to quit is essential to all of these goals. I am talking here about the freedom to walk away from people and situations that are harmful to our wellbeing."

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201304/the-most-basic-freedom-is-freedom-quit

The school is legally required to tell the LA you have removed him to home educate, so you don't have to do that. I would suggest that you make sure they know that you still want the secondary place. They shouldn't assume that you don't, but they might and it would be easiest to avoid any problems. You also might want to contact the secondary school in good time to make sure your son isn't overlooked with transition days.

Some secondary schools use the child's SATs results if they use a streaming system.