Part-time home school?

[jennyjim]

I would like to take my daughter out of her primary school to homeschool her for 2 days a week. I have to work the other 3 days so can't fully homeschool but wondered whether anyone else has managed a hybrid model. If so, any tips on how to get the school to agree to this??
I'm pretty confident that I, with a tutor or two thrown in, could really boost my daughter's education and catch up on all the lost time in lockdown (she's in year 6 and really quite behind for her SATS and scored very low in a recent 11+ mock) but am afraid the school will say it's all or nothing...

I doubt if the school will agree, the way most schools work is that they work on a scheme of work that builds on existing knowledge. So a topic , in any subject, but particularly in core subjects like maths and English might be introduced early in the week and then the learning for the rest of the week , or two weeks, builds on from there. A child consistently missing several days of learning every week will find it difficult to keep up, join in discussions, show adequate progress, understand the topic in depth, understand and use any specific vocabulary that has been introduced. Your child is already behind, if you really want to support her find out what the gaps are that already exist in her learning and make an effort to cover those, by using on line resources or a good tutor.

i also doubt they would be happy to have to justify this model of learning and attendance to Ofsted should they call.

I think expecting her to be able to cope with the pace of a grammar school curriculum when she is already behind is unfair. Why haven’t you been supporting her learning for the last two and a half years if this was your intention?

You would be better off getting her extra tuition during the school holidays. I highly doubt school will allow 2 days off.

This is a completely bonkers idea that will put your child at an even greater disadvantage. Focus on tutoring outside school hours in areas where she is behind. When is her 11+? In Bucks the Y6 already sat it.

Thank you for your views above, that's most helpful. The last thing I wish to do is to make things worse!

The reason behind my thinking was that the school are partly responsible for her being so behind and that surely 1:1 tuition would be better than class teaching where the ratio is 1:30 but perhaps I am wrong.... I can understand the reasoning above...

The issue for me with tutoring outside school hours is that we are a very busy household, my daughter has 2 younger siblings who are distracting and need attention too, there are already various afterschool clubs (mainly sports) to get to and from and just one parent at home (husband and I both keyworkers on long unsocial hours).

There is no plan for her to sit 11+, I tried her with a mock exam as I was interested in how she compared with her peers and am now ashamed to see how far behind she is. It was a wakeup call for me as a parent.

Any ideas where to go from here most welcome....
With thanks

What you are describing is flexischooling, which is possible, and perfectly legal but it is at the discretion of the Head Teacher. You wouldn’t be classed as homeschooling or home educating as your daughter would still be enrolled with the school. HTH.

My understanding is that whilst possible it would count in the school’s absence figures so that is a disincentive for the school. I understand your motivation. My DS made huge steps in lockdown homeschool which hasn’t been sustained.

School isn't just about academics it is also about socialising appropriately with peers and adults. Learning to wait their turn to use colours. Learning how to deal with distractions and tune them out.

You aren't a teacher (I presume) you don't know pedagogy or the national curriculum and how to piece a lesson together and sitting and working through workbooks is not the answer.

Unless your child has severe LD I think it is highly unlikely that the school will agree. You child will always be behind what the others are doing in class or at a different point at least and it will massively impact the class teacher.

Aim to avoid the knowledge lost over the school holidays if you feel that that is appropriate.

The school aren't likely to agree to flexischooling, for the reasons mentioned by @viques and @bestsellingshow . It is at the head's discretion whether to allow it, except in cases such as the child being below "Compulsory School Age" or having an EHCP specifying flexischooling. You could ask, but I wouldn't be optimistic.

However, I think your daughter would make great progress with one-to-one attention from you or tutors. It is vastly more efficient than mass instruction. (I don't get the impression that @Singleandproud has any experience of home education, as their concerns about it are really quite misguided, especially since you are only planning to pursue this arrangement for six months or so.) It can be hard to cram extra learning into school holidays, weekends, and after school (a model sometimes called "afterschooling") because the child is often too tired and turned off learning from having spent so much time at school.

You might consider pulling your daughter out of school altogether to home educate. Y6 is a great time to do it, since you don't have to worry about whether there will be a school place for her at her old school, and she can just join Y7 alongside all the other new starters at secondary next year.

Besides, some schools waste much of Y6 "teaching to the test" for SATs. I know some parents who have home educated for that year only, purely because their kids were made miserable at school with endless mock SATs rather than real learning. Depending how your daughter's school approaches SATs, she might not miss much if she is out of school this year.

That leaves you with the problem of childcare for the three days when both parents work. Could you afford a childminder? If you are on a low income and receiving benefits, you can get some help toward the costs. I used to work part time, and sent my child to a childminder who was also a home educating her own kids. My child played, read books, and went on social and educational outings with the CM and her kids. It was a great arrangement for us.

@Saracen actually I do have experience of children that have been home educated or flexi-schooled due to health problems. I see them come back into class and not able to access what the rest of the class are doing as we are building on work completed on the days they were not in. I see them having friendship issues as their friends become closer due to the additional time together and the home Ed child moving to the edges of friendship groups.

For a child with health issues attending lots of appointments and being fatigued the negatives are worth it but for a child who is just a little behind and you are concerned about the arbitrary result they get for their Sat's seems very daft. High Schools retest children anyway for their own baseline. Lots of children are behind right now and Secondary schools have interventions in place to bridge the gap.

You've no chance. Why not just get a tutor in to bring her grades up.

Thank you Saracen for sharing your experience, I think I'm going to seriously consider full home school for the next two terms. Using a childminder who can continue the homeschooling for my days at work hadn't actually crossed my mind... that's a great idea, especially if he/she has tutoring experience. And of course MissMaple I'll add in a tutor as and when I can during school hours and after.

Avoiding SATS and all that workup sounds marvellous! A good tutor could focus on areas of most need of attention rather than a group approach of maximising class outcome to provide perhaps a more balanced perspective for my daughter.

Regarding friendship issues Singleandproud, I agree that social development is really key but am thinking that as friendships will all be changing in year 7 (new school) this may actually be a opportunity to take a break out without affecting her too much....

Please everyone keep your ideas and suggestions coming, they are most useful!

I think you need to consider the real world. I can't imagine that there are lots of childminders who can home school your dd to the standard she will need in order to catch up with her peers. If your dd is behind the best thing you can do for her is support what is happening in school and get her a 1 1 tutor for the things she finds most difficult. You are essentially hiding the problem by withdrawing her.

I would re-consider your priorities. If improving schooling is the number one focus, then you need to drop the extra sports /activities, to get your child into after-school /weekend tutoring. Alternatively, get a babysitter to take your child to tutoring if you / your DH can't get them there during the week. Dropping out of school will interrupt friendships and learning and doesn't seem the best course here.

If your child is really struggling, have you had them assessed for any learning disabilities?

How do you intend to explain to your child why you are pulling them out of school?

And how will you explain this to your other children?

please let me know if you did this and if so how it turned out- I am also interested in doing this and it is legal to do so if you can get a sign off from the headteacher

Yes, it's legal, but it's hard to get headteachers to agree. Somebody recently started a thread on it which might interest you: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/petitions_noticeboard/5345062-curious-about-flexischooling

and you could join the Facebook group she mentions in order to learn more.

you also let me know if you did this, flexi schooling, and if it was agreed by the headteacher? @jennyjim @Saracen

i want to flexi school my daughter in Year 5 for one day a week.
I am a teacher. i can’t do more than one day a week, financially.

The reasons are a bit more complex.
She has autism and is struggles quite a lot with her mental health in school. She is miserable and upset so often. She gets overwhelmed in school, she struggles to calm herself down. And when frustrated or dysregulated, it usually goes physical when really bad and she might punch someone.
She often withdraws herself from lessons and does very little work in the school day.
Ive had a lengthy meeting with the headteacher, and despite me throwing lots of SEN code of practice and Keeping children safe in education, they just don’t want her there. It would be easier for them if she’s not there. In that particular class, they already have one with ADHD, one with GLD, definitely 2 with ASD and another two on the pathway.

If money was no object and I had won the lottery, I would take my daughter out full time. But I haven’t won the lottery. Her dad and I are divorced and I’m working really hard to keep a roof over our heads.

In our case, I can’t see how the headteacher should or can say no to flexi schooling for 1 day a week. It would benefit her quite a lot. Expect if they don’t put her needs first and think about themselves, their attendance figures.

Hi @chickenwraps , that sounds like a difficult situation. 😔

No, I have never flexischooled, always fully home ed. Do join the flexischooling Facebook group for more up to date info and advice.

You're right, headteachers are somewhat more likely to agree to flexi if they would prefer to have the child off their hands, or to have to spend less money on supporting her in school. So your chances might be better than most.

If you end up with flexischooling or home education, one option which might be slightly more affordable than cutting your working hours would be to use a childminder to look after your daughter while you work. The CM does not have to be providing any education, and it is simpler if they don't. You can instead educate your daughter yourself when you aren't working. Education doesn't have to be 9-3 M-F; it can be whichever hours suit you. With individual attention and an education which is exactly tailored to your child's needs, home ed is more efficient than school, and so you can fit it into fewer hours and do some or all of it via informal learning. So you could make it work around your job. If you are on benefits, you can claim back part of the cost of a childminder, the same as if you used the CM in the afternoons.