Help! Homeschooling after bullying!

[Waterfall16]

Hi
My 11 year old daughter has been subjected to years of on and off bullying which is affecting her mental wellbeing (slightly anxious, nervous etc).

Having got into a Secondary School (where the bullies are largely attending) which wasn’t on our list, I’m considering home schooling.
Does anyone have any experience of deregistering from Secondary and re-registering at a later date?

Really keen to find out about other people’s experiences. Don’t know where to start, but I know that I don’t want her at the school she got into.
Thanks

There is an anti-bullying charity called Red Balloon. They help organise Education Authority approved alternative education for traumatised children.

https://www.redballoonlearner.org/

Thanks SQLserved.

Red Balloon is wonderful, but each centre is small (15 - 20 students, I think) and there aren’t many branches. There are two in Cambridge, plus one in each of NW London, Norwich, Danbury in Essex, Reading and a new one opening in Worthing. Are you near any of those?

There’s Red Balloon of the Air for students who don’t live near to a centre or if there local centre is full.

Their local centre…

Mumsnet has a Home Ed board. You might find help there.

Children who have experienced bullying can benefit from some time in an environment where they can feel completely safe and loved. Even if your daughter eventually ends up in another school, a break from school might help her to relax and feel confident. Addressing mental health is the most important thing.

People often fear that home educated kids will be isolated and lonely. However, in the short run your daughter may prefer to spend most of her time with people she can rely on to be kind to her. Social contact takes many forms and isn't restricted to being in groups of kids her own age. The give and take of life with family and close friends also promotes healthy social development.

There may come a time when your daughter is eager to be with other children her age; that could happen within weeks or might take many months if she has been made thoroughly miserable at school. Unless you live quite rurally, chances are that there are good networks of home educating families in your area. My kids have been home educated from day one and always had lots of friends. To a child who has suffered from bullying, home ed groups can be more comfortable than school-based socialising. There are typically different groups to choose from so they can seek out people they get on with and avoid anyone who is persistently unpleasant. They may prefer younger or older children or to hang out with just one or two kids rather than dozens. With home education there is a better adult-to-child ratio, so it is rarer for things to get really out of hand. If there aren't enough home ed groups in your area, then general clubs, sports, or drama classes might help - you may need to try several, because some are so highly structured that the kids don't really have the chance to get to know each other.

Nearly all local home education groups are on Facebook these days. Go to the FB search bar and type "home education" followed by your town, nearest big town, or county. Let us know if you're having trouble finding something and I'm sure someone here can help.

Depending on whether she needs a complete school break or just a break from the bullies - you could try online school if you want to keep the curriculum going.
i believe Academy21 is a free option but hear that they are focused on encouraging a return to school. Not sure how you would both feel about that. Lots of choices and styles of Home Ed, why not take the summer to recover and decide what you’d like to try. It’s a scary step but amazing once taken.
FWIW, the online school where my DC goes is full of children who have a similar story and are now thriving. Just make sure that there are groups/after school clubs/friends to add in to the mix to compensate for the loss of day to day contact ( clubs are a cinch to chop and change if the company doesn’t suit and homeschool groups are often very gentle)

I've written the letter and spoken to SLT older kid same reason to homeschool. Current plan is hs for 2 years then back to a )very possibly different school for sixth form) SLT agreed it was a sound plan.