Home Schooling

[Leslea]

I am considering home schooling my 13 year old because he is very anxious in school. He has spent the last year of school in the pastoral hub. Although he has been given lots of support and plenty of school work to do I don't think it has improved how he feels. He has been through a lot of personal issues, including with his dad, over the last couple of years and this has affected him. I have read that I do not need my ex husbands permission but have read that he could take it through the court if he wishes. If I do this the I want it to go smoothly. Also I worry about the social side of home schooling because he doesn't have a lot of confidence and I want to try and build this and his social skills.ny advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Have you looked at online schooling? We've been doing this with ds2 and it has really helped. Your ex wouldn't be able to object because your child would still be attending a registered school. Sometimes the local authority will pay - if they won't, it's not that expensive - 3-4k a year.

Look at cadets for social outlets and our ds also plays computer games with others online. Sports, art groups, volunteering, music etc. can provide social outlets.

The downside of home schooling is that sometimes kids don't respond to parents teaching them and they can ignore you or argue with you.

Be prepared to pay for a maths and English tutor to at least ensure good grades in these two subjects as universities and colleges won't take them if grades are low.

You have to ensure you make them stick to a routine otherwise they'll lie in bed and not bother showering and getting ready etc. Don't trust them to do studying in their bedroom. You have to have a desk, computer, books etc. downstairs to ensure they're supervised.

It may not be suitable for this year, but in some areas, colleges run part-time programmes for home educated kids that include academics, vocational, and life skills. I've seen them as early as Y9. This alongside rosiethehen's recommendations of online schooling and activities could help with your concerns about socializing and things going smoothly (having someone else for English and Maths after years was very nice).

I fully agree with rosiethehen's remark on routine and not studying in their room. Have him help figure out what he needs to do and when he;s going to do it and then help him enforce that. At that age, I'd talk with them about their goals and then go 'okay, we need to cover X, Y, Z, here's my plan' and let them have some input in it. I did this even more over lockdown when my 13 year old came home - the amount of 'you need to cover X, but I can find something else for it if you prefer' increased a lot over the months.

I am in the same position. DD loves school and has thrived but DS has always struggled. I am at my wits end trying to help him learn to read. It seems like the school are brushing off my concerns as his reading continues to not get any better. He hates going in to school in the morning, always lots of tears. Makes me feel like such a bad mum

I just don't know what to do. Do I homeschool both? Or just DS? Or should I leave this to the professionals. Such a worry.

Hi all, sorry I haven't replied already. I'm new to this and couldn't find my thread until someone else posted on here. Thanks for the info so far. Its been a great help. The school are very very supportive so no problem there. They said about an Early Help Record to see if that could help so I maybe see what comes out of that. It's so hard tom know what to do for the bested with friends and family trying to tell me what to do, I should be sending him to school, he should be going out, etc etc etc. I wish they would put themselves in my position for one day and see what it is like having to force your child to do something and seeing them so upset.

Hello sorry to jump in on this thread...not sure how to start my own?! Im looking for home education groups or families who home ed. I am based in the wakefield West Yorkshire area.

My son is 4 and I made the choice to keep him with me instead of full time reception. Not necessarily down to covid or the weird changes this year but because he seems a high learner and awaiting an assesment before
/ if I put him back into mainstream school. And tbh I've worked in schools for years and eventually realised the system is failing most of our children on so many levels and do not want that for anyones child. So here I am.
Looking for help, groups, resources, advice please?
Thank you in advance,
Kerry