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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.

How easy is it to move back into mainstream education.

9 replies

HulahoopsBBQbeef · 30/06/2021 16:15

Hi
I am currently thinking of home schooling my reception age child but I’m not sure how this will work out. I would like to think that it would be in her best interests, however, if we do feel we want to go back into mainstream education for the following school year how easy would this be?
Has anyone got any experience of this? Did your child have to pass certain assessment criteria to be allowed back into their year? Did they end up in the year below?
Thank you

OP posts:
Orchidflower1 · 30/06/2021 16:17

What are the reasons behind you considering home schooling? They may impact on any future transition back to ms.

HulahoopsBBQbeef · 30/06/2021 16:33

Thank you for your reply. Mostly it’s about meeting the needs of my daughter. There are a few issues regarding her health and development that I feel would require more individualized care. And I have not been convinced as of yet that these will be met. I am also unsure whether the rigid structure of the school day would suit her needs.
However, I am really concerned that I wouldn’t be able to meet her educational needs fully, and this is why it would be useful to know whether the transition back is achievable and realistic or whether I would be setting her up to be behind her peers.

OP posts:
Orchidflower1 · 30/06/2021 16:55

Have you had meetings with her new school? I assume you’ve applied for her to start school this September? When is she 5? Have you considered deferring for a year rather than taking her out of school altogether?

HulahoopsBBQbeef · 30/06/2021 21:15

I had already toyed with the idea of home schooling but speaking to the teacher has made me more confident that they are unable to meet her needs. I didn’t really want her to be behind children her age which is why I wasn’t keen on deferring. And to be honest I don’t feel deferring will deal with any of the issues that I have with the schooling system.
I’m just confused as to what is better for her.

OP posts:
Orchidflower1 · 03/07/2021 10:13

In answer to your original question, she would go back into the year that is her age related.

Has your daughter got an EHCP? If she has physical disabilities, have you thought about special schools?

If she’s due to start this September, why don’t you defer her place to give you some thinking time?

Saracen · 03/07/2021 11:35

There are no assessment criteria to join/rejoin school. Your daughter would go into the school year which matches her age, even if that is ill-suited to her individual needs. Rarely, a school may put a child into a different year group if there are strong reasons for it.

She will definitely be entitled to a school place whenever you want one. However, if the school you want is full, then you'd either have to send her to a different one which does have a vacancy, or continue home educating while waiting in hopes a place will come up at your preferred school.

I've home educated two kids. The eldest has no special needs and we home educated just because we preferred it. That child tried school aged nine and found it very easy to fit in, despite having done no formal education at home. The younger one never went to school because I was so sure it wouldn't meet her needs.

My view is this. If the child is suited to school, there's no disadvantage to waiting, and may be some advantages. For example, when my kid trotted off to school at nine there were no issues with toilet accidents, fear of a new environment, losing clothing, not speaking up when they had a question, or feeling overwhelmed. Nine year olds are more mature and independent than four year olds. What is daunting to a little kid is no big deal to a big kid.

For a child like my younger one, school was never going to be a good fit. I was sure that keeping her out for at least a couple of years was the right thing to do. Even if I had later decided to send her, having started off at home would have given her a good start to her education. Her social and emotional needs were easier to meet, and she had one-to-one attention for her education. So I figured she would have entered school with greater confidence and better education at (say) six than if she had gone in at four to flounder.

Also, by six her needs would have been clearer and I wouldn't have been fobbed off with the idea that she might just be a late bloomer. I could perhaps have got an EHCP in place for extra help BEFORE she started, so her early experiences of school would be positive. The special needs system is predicated on the idea of putting kids into a mainstream setting and making them try and fail to fit in before any accommodations are offered. That may be economically efficient, but I think it is cruel. Many of the schoolchildren I know who have SEN have low self-esteem because of this. My daughter doesn't. She's never been given the message that she "should" be able to read by a certain age, or do arithmetic of a certain standard, or sit still when she needs to move around, or have friends of her own age. She is where she is, and she's following her own path.

HulahoopsBBQbeef · 03/07/2021 22:23

Saracen thank you so much for your post. It’s really helped me to think about things in a much clearer way. It is the extra needs that I am concerned about. But it’s reassuring to know that transitioning into mainstream is an option should it be needed.
I have just started reading one of Ross Mountney’s books and it’s opened my eyes to new benefits of home education that I hadn’t even considered.
It just seems a little overwhelming taking the first step and not knowing whether the outcome will be the best for my daughter. Especially as it goes against what the majority of other parents seem to be doing.

OP posts:
Soontobe60 · 03/07/2021 22:29

One thing to consider is that you will have to reapply for a school place if she’s home schooled now. As it will be an in year admission, she won’t be guaranteed a place at a school of your choice.

TreeNug · 21/08/2021 16:48

In my experience it depends very much on the child. If the child has been well socialised and is confident in new situations, starting school at a later date would be fine as they are able to adjust to a school routine and make friends easily.
A more timid child might find this difficult for obvious reasons.
Children beginning in reception learn the school routines from the beginning - usually guided and supported slowly by the staff. A child starting at a later date wouldn't always have this luxury as it would be expected that the children would be very independent and confident in the routines by then.
Reception is usually an extension of nursery - so very child-centred and play based. The children learn to socialise with other children through play and friendships are often made, which is why most parents are keen for their children to attend the foundation stage.
Year 1 onwards is generally much more formal with children often learning from a teacher at the front and working in books (although this isn't always the case).
Your child would not need to pass any assessments to go back to their age class.
What needs do you think your child has that couldn't be supported in school?

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