Online schooling as home school?

[Equimum]

Does anyone use an online school to structure/ support secondary home schooling?

our son is coming to the end of primary school and we aren't happy with the local secondaries locally. Private schools here are out of the question, and we actually all enjoyed home schooling during the lock downs. I am, however, anxious that I would not be able to help him fulfil his academic potential without input.

This does look like a really workable compromise, but I'm not sure how well it really works, or how good the online providers actually are.

Also, how have your secondary aged children managed with socialising when HE'd. I see lots of meet-ups and activities set-up for younger children locally, but less for older children. DS does cubs, music and sport, and would carry these or equivalents on, but I'm not sure it would be enough.

TIA

My son went to Interhigh for about three years after finding secondary really tough. He thrived there - it gave him the quiet and focus he needed at the time, he taught himself to play guitar during the lessons where he finished work before the others, and we had a much clearer view of what he was learning than I've had with my other children. I thought the school was excellent.
I worked pretty hard to make sure he got out of the house - luckily he did have hobbies which got him mixing with a pretty wide range of people.
He went to a state sixth form for A levels because he felt he was ready and is now just finishing Uni, with strong friends both at home and in his Uni town. It worked well for us and our set up, but it helped that he was very motivated to learn on his own.

My friends live abroad and use an online company for homeschooling as the international schools local to them are very expensive and not great. They use Tayberry who are UK based and were v happy with them, and their son does lots of sport clubs outside of "school" for social stuff.

I'd actually encourage you to get stuck in to home ed for a year before signing up to an online school. There are some disadvantages to jumping right into a full programme from a single provider.

First of all, many people find that HEing at secondary is not as daunting as they expected, especially since there are resources you can use to help you. You could experiment with different approaches before deciding. Some people like a pick-and-mix approach. For example, you might develop some combination such as an online maths programme plus a local in-person tutor-led philosophy study group plus a series of short Outschool science courses plus a French tutor plus some museum visits. You don't have to rush to get everything in place from the beginning. You can try various things as you go along, and chop and change while you discover what works best for your child. There's no hurry; unlike at school, your child can't get "left behind" when home educating.

Second, you mentioned wanting to socialise more. IME our friends who are at online school are quite tied to their school schedule and tend to miss out on lots of local opportunities. It isn't as bad as going to a traditional bricks-and-mortar school for 30 hours a week, but it still dominates their schedules and makes it hard to fit stuff in. For instance, someone might organise a really cool comic drawing workshop, or someone might suggest going to the outdoor pool on a hot day, or an HE robotics club is launched... do you really want to be committed to classes and have to say no to whatever pops up? Maybe it would be better at first to go along to lots of local social and educational events, make some friends, and get well stuck in to the social scene before committing to an online school, if you do want to go with a school at all.

I am reading this with interest re the Interhigh. My son is in year 7 and hates it. Every morning is a battle as his anxiety is that bad. He has to go in early, has to have someone come out to collect him from the car and has run away a few times. He has asked to be HE. The school are very supportive but it’s exhausting trying to stay positive for him. Could I please ask what the day structure is like? I couldn’t find this on their website is it the usual school hours or longer/shorter etc? I’ve found their fees and subject list and I’m going to talk with my husband about it tonight.

Hi @HomeSchoolNovice that was our experience, but from year 8. I took him out halfway through the year.

It's a while ago now but InterHigh was like a standard school day, started around 8.30 or 9, finished around 3-4 (I honestly can't remember!)

There is time for breaks and social stuff built in and ways for kids to communicate during class - at the time it was a chat box on the shared screen, and it was up to the teacher how much to talk and how much to let the class talk.

Because lessons are recorded and many children access because their lives aren't shaped for normal school - if they're athletes, or musicians etc - you could build the day around your child. However, the intention is that they take part in lessons when they can.

Tbh it just got too hard to try and get my child to stay in a standard school. It wasn't for him at the time and it was such a relief to be done with it. I don't blame the school, but of course a teacher's answer to school refusal is 'You must get him to come in' - ie the answer to not liking school is More School. Which is daft, when you think about it.

What we all learned is that it's a long game and if school isn't for him at the moment, that's fine. It's not the end of the world, it doesn't mean anyone's failed, it just means that it's not the right setting right now.

I think my son also learned he could change - by learning at home, and taking it steady, and by teaching himself guitar and magic tricks, he found he ended up in a different place from where he started (which had been a pretty scary place for him - he found school threatening and hostile, and absolutely believed he could never fit in.)

Taking him out actually gave him confidence to find himself and to re-enter education when it was right for him.

Reading this with interest.
My daughter is year 9 and really struggling with anxiety. She seems to be on a downward path and is now asking to be homeschooled. Online learning during lockdown worked really well for her, so I'm thinking an online school may be an option. Myself and her Dad work full time though, so weighing up practicalities.

Hi I really hope you mumsnetters can help me in my time of need. In a nutshell my 15 year old daughter has been taking risks meeting boys. The wrong kind. Thugs and gangster types. She’s academically quite gifted and scarily intelligent. I see that for some reason she’s craving their attention and goodness knows what’s been going on beyond what I have found out from looking at her social media (which by the way I had banned her from). To cut the story short we are devastated, hurt traumatised by her behaviour and how she has been groomed. She can’t see what’s happening is wrong and we are desparate to get through to her before things get worse. The school is beyond a crap hole and they just don’t care. I blame myself for sending her there but there was little choice becuase of catchment areas etc. I need to get my child out and safe from harm. Home schooling at this late stage, where do I begin? Are there any people in North London or Crouch End area I can speak to. It’s 5am and and it’s been yet another sleepless night of sobbing. If anyone can help please get in touch! I just can’t allow her to throw it all away.

I would probably start a new thread but my research re kings InterHigh was positive for an online high school. Thankfully we are now making progress with my son and have kept him in school. Good luck with your daughter!

Is there any chance she is neurodiverse? I mean gifted but falling into the wrong crowd - could she be autistic? If you think there may be any SEND, consider contacting sendias https://markfield.org.uk/sendiass/

I thinknthe Markfield project, generally may help.

Hi thank you so much for responding. I have no one. No family or support. Maybe you are right it’s worth a go. She’s so distant has been for a looong long time. I’m always annoyed at her and it’s a constant battle to keep her away from these people. No matter how much I tell her she just thinks I’m the bad one and I don’t love her. I can’t just let my child walk off a cliff. I’m so desparate. If it wasn’t for a younger child and a mother in her 80s I’d kill myself

I am really sorry to hear you sounding so low - it is difficult and I think if you were perhaps able to be in contact with parents going through the same situation l, that may be helpful. There are lots of FB groups that could help you out also Not fine in school, for starters. You could be referred to Early Help, if changing schools is genuinely what is needed, they may be able to support.

@Equimum and @HomeSchoolNovice , I know this is an old post but I'm interested to see if either of you ended up at InterHigh and would love an update! I am in a similar boat and looking at this as an option for DD9. I think she would thrive but its a long day online. If you didn't go with InterHigh, what HS route did you take?

We are still in main stream high school but struggling. I’ve raised this online high school again with my husband but he’s not keen. After today’s events leading to several calls and an extremely distressed child he may change his mind.

I hear you. I am really ready to look properly at HS but, like you, DH is not convinced and really feels that we can support DD back into mainstream school as the ideal outcome.

Good luck with finding the right way forward and I'd be keen to hear how it progresses. Keep us updated!

There are some online iGCSE courses for students. They just go into a centre to sit exams at the end of the course.

Thanks, Friday was much better and this is why my husband is so reluctant to pull him out, as well as the huge amount of support the school is providing to us. We’ll have a better idea of what to do when his neuro-developmental assessment has been completed which should be around June.