Start homeschooling at 15

[RachelGreensHair]

DD15 is having severe issues at school. No other school will accept her as she's made a start on her GCSEs.

I need to know:

• can she leave school and be home schooled?
• I have a full time job so can I get her online tutors to help her on a 1:1 basis? Is there an easier option?
• does she still have to do her 10 GCSEs or can she do her Maths, English Language and three more to get her the five GCSEs she needs for college?
• how do I ensure she is registered for the exams and how/where would she take them?

Sorry for all the questions but am overwhelmed by it all, thank you.

Yes you could de-register her and have her home educated.
She can take as many exams as you think she needs.
Not sure where she takes them but it will be a option as she is not the only one home educating or retaking etc.
You would be expected to pay for any online tuition your self I expect.
If you’re working will she be supervised whilst at home or are you expecting her to do online school whilst at home alone? If so can you trust that she will do it?

Long term home educator here 👋🏻
Firstly I'd join local Facebook home ed groups, there are always people willing to help.
We have an exam center in our town where they can sit GCSEs when they are ready xx

My son has been HE since age 13.
He works alone, unsupervised using revision books and Free online tutorials, such as T L Maths, which he really enjoys. The guy teaching maths is a maths teacher and does the tutorials from the classroom, after the school day. He is very popular,has lots of followers and really good reviews from students. Would also be helpful for students who are in school as part of revision.
He sat his IGCSEs at a local independent college. I emailed lots of local colleges and schools and this one was happy for him to sit his exams, approx £100.00 each, He just took core subjects. There are however exam centres dotted around, in our area London, Coventry, Birmingham are closest to us, they are more expensive.
He is marked solely on the exam on the day, no course work. You have to make sure your revising for the right exam as in our area there seem to be two different types Aqua and Edexcel, you can choose which one, as college accepts any exam board.
He is currently doing his A levels, studying from home.

You can. The school can and by statutory guidance should discourage it, but unless there is a EHCP in place or similar, there are no barriers to withdraw and home educate.

The easiest option depends on the child and what's available in your local area. Some colleges have GCSE programmes, some especially for home educated students with a reduce amount of options, some from Y10 age. There are others that require students to be Y12 age though if your child is struggling, it might be an advantage to have that additional time as generally these are one year courses unless Level 2 BTECs. They do take care of exam entry though which makes things a lot easier.

They don't have to take that many, no one is monitoring that and many schools don't do 10. It would be expensive to do 10 exams privately.

While 5 can get a child onto a college course, it can cause issues after that. I know there are some who do brilliantly from that, but for many - and my own teenager is in this who like yours struggled at that age - their post-18 options include considering further Level 2/3 training. As long as you're both aware of that going in, it can be fine - mine went in intending to do an apprenticeship at that level after as he just needed that time - but some get caught out.

If home educating, you are responsible for finding a centre that takes private candidates, and registering them with all the associated fees. There are HE exam groups around that can help with that.

I home educate my children but I would advise you to keep your daughter on the school roll for now if you can and if it isn’t going to cause you both too much stress. The school and local authority are obliged to provide school alternative provision if your child is unable to attend, such as private tutors, if your child is still on their roll. I can’t remember the exact legislation but I have a couple of friends who’ve been through this recently and I also saw a thread here where this was being discussed a couple of days ago. As someone on that thread said, whilst your child is on the school roll she’s ‘their’ problem. Once you deregister it’s all on you.
GCSEs are possible to do as a home educated student but it can be complicated and expensive. Depending on what they want to do as a career five GSCEs is usually sufficient.
I’ll see if I can find that other thread I mentioned as there was lots of good info on there.

I’m not 100% sure if this is the right way to do links but hopefully this works. Slightly different situation but a lot of the advice would be relevant to you I think.

[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4827792-to-feel-hacked-off-at-the-home-ed-community-already?reply=126899632 www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4827792-to-feel-hacked-off-at-the-home-ed-community-already?reply=126899632

I think this is the info you need: under s.19 of the Education Act 1996 the LA must make arrangements to ensure they receive a suitable full time education. This is called EOTAS (education other than at school). The poster on the other thread has a son has a neurodiverse child but my friend managed to get this arrangement in place with a neurotypical child but who suffered anxiety relating to school.

https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/HE_Exams_Wiki

When you say DD is having severe difficulties at school what do you mean? Does DD have an EHCP? As a pp mentioned, if DD can’t attend school the LA must provide provision under s.19 of the Education Act 1996. And, if DD has an EHCP a more comprehensive EOTAS package can be secured via that.

unless there is a EHCP in place or similar, there are no barriers to withdraw and home educate.

Even with an EHCP, deregistering from MS is the same as if an EHCP wasn’t in place, parents don’t need to request permission.

Others have given similar advice and links to what I would have given you regarding academics. Also note that colleges will always have something for 16yos without qualifications. It might not be exactly what your daughter wants to do, especially if she is academic, and might delay her plans. You could go talk to local colleges now, if she knows what she wants to do next, then work backwards and find a way to get her the right qualifications.

A word of warning: if she doesn't meet the college's published entry criteria for a particular course, don't rely 100% on the word of any staff who say they'll take her with slightly different qualifications. Talking to course tutors used to be a great way for a keen and suitable applicant to bypass the usual entry requirements, but it is really really common these days for colleges to be inflexible on that and change their tune at the eleventh hour. My own kid and many others I have heard of have been turned away on enrolment day despite having been assured (in writing!) that they would be accepted onto a particular course. Unlike with universities, you don't get a firm offer from colleges.

Since you say your daughter is having severe issues at school, I'm sure your judgement is right that she would be happier at home. Anyway it's only a year. Even if home ed (or EOTAS) isn't perfect for her, I'd go for it since school is so bad for her. There is no need to wait until the end of the current year, though if you are hoping to get EOTAS then leave her on roll but stop attending. That assumes there is a medical issue such as anxiety preventing her attendance, or some other documented safety issue such as bullying - if not then you'd have to deregister and electively home educate in order to avoid truancy prosecution.

Besides the academics which have already been discussed, you'll want to consider what you can do to keep her happy and safe and prevent her from being too lonely. This could be an issue for home educated teens whose parents work, particularly if mental health is a problem. Do you (and her other parent if she has one) work out of the home? If so, is there a friend or relative she can go see sometimes or who can come visit her? Even seeing someone once a week for lunch is a bit helpful. Maybe you can ring her for a chat every day during a break at work. If she is able to get out under her own steam, she could go to the library or for a swim or do some of the family's shopping, or maybe go to an after school club or choir or sport if she wants to and feels up to it. If you have a garden, you could get her to do some gardening to get her outside. There might even be home ed social groups she could attend without a parent; I run a board games club which includes several teens who come alone.

Anything for a change of scene. Some people wrongly imagine that home educated kids aren't allowed to have a flexible schedule and mustn't be out and about in public during normal school hours; nothing could be further from the truth! Without all the usual disruptions and inefficiencies of school, your daughter will need far less than six hours a day to keep up with academics, so encourage her to relax and do some hobbies to break up her day. The draw of social media might otherwise keep her indoors on screens in an unhealthy way. (I don't think social media is evil and it can be a great way to connect with other people, but of course overuse can often have a bad effect on teens if they are seeing negative things or comparing themselves unfavourably to others.)