Advice!!

[pinkystinky]

Bit of history first....Dd got offered a place at a secondary school, which we now dont want her to go to, and she is adamant she will not go there.(Due to bullying from kids down our rd that go there, we feel it will escalate if she goes there.She is now in such a state.
Contacted admissions,applied for a place at another school, which has now been declined as this school was "over subscribed". I sent in a Gp letter too, but they said it wasnt necessary to get a place on medical grounds.
Now she is crying all the time, not eating properly, wetting bed at night(shes 10) and scared !
Looking into getting some information on home educating.Do you get help from anywhere else or guidance? Do the kids miss out on other interaction with other children?
Just trying to do whats best for her!

Google for 'education otherwise' is the usual starting advice from people in the know.

as a secondary point, was the bullying ongoing in prmary, and are the children going to that school? Have you spoken to the secondary school about the issue, and have they spoken to you and your dd?

(this is not to say 'don't HE' I'm just wondering how much support the secondary school could offer your dd?.....we put a lot of effort into nipping this sort of thing in the bud, and lots of our kids come in with 'Must not be in the class with X' which we apply with great care)

Most of the kids in question went up to secondary school this year or year before. Nothing happened in primary, more outside of school.( Although theres one girl in dd current class who keeps giving her hassle...been into school numerous times for the teacher to tell me theres no problem!)
No i havent spoken to the secondary school,wouldnt have thought they could do much as its been more of an outside of school thing so far.She wont be in the kids classes when she starts, but will have to see em on school bus and during the day

Oh, just because it has started outside of school please don't think that the school will not be interested.

I work in secondary school and we deal with this sort of thing almost every week!

I would contact the school and let them know your worries and ask them what they could do. If you (and most importantl;y your dd) are happy with the answers, great, and if not the HE option is always there for you

Yes,

www.education-otherwise.co.uk

is the first place to go for advice on HE.

I will tend to be very biased here because I HE two dd's (8 and 4) but I know a lot of dc's particularly girls who have been bullied and who now HE and are much happier as a result.

Your dd probably needs some 'de-schooling' time just to get her self confidence back. That means de-registering her and just having some quality time together hanging out, going on days out, even if it's just walks in the country or days at the beach.
Don't worry if she's not doing anything 'educational' that'll just add to the stress.

Where in the country are you pinkystinky?
There are loads of He groups around and EO will put you in touch with other HE families near you and your local EO contact.

HE doesn't have to be a permanent arrangement you could just do it until a place comes up at another school.

To answer your questions,
Yes there is heaps of help advice and support from other HE'rs and endless resources available on the internet.
And no we definitely do not miss out on interaction from other children, (only bullies ).

Julienoshoes is the HE oracle and I'm sure she will post too soon.

I'm here!
Oracle?

I'm just passionate that parents know that home education is a legal viable option and are given accurate information about the legalities and practicalities. Then they can make an informed decision about what is right for their family at that time.

There is a website her about 'how to find other home educators' which would help you find home educators local to you.
many places have home ed groups that offer a wealth of experiences workshops and general HE social gatherings.

Locally we have things going on at least weekly during term time. Check out or local HE website Worcs HE Network to get an idea of the things we get up to.
Also there are home education camps and gatherings going on all through the summer. We are all set to attend four possibly five this summer. Our children made friends from all over the country at these gatherings.

So we often have friends to stay, or they go to friends houses-friends they have made locally or nationally.
Then there are all of the normal 'after school' activities that the children can get involved in-Guides/Scouts/St Johns/Woodcraft folk/swimming/dancing lessons/chioir.

Our children have a social life that is the envy of their schooled peers and cousins.

We don't get any guidance from any body in authority-thank goodness!
This way we are not limited to only the subjects in the NC-the world is your oyster-and your 'classroom'!

there are some books that would be good to have a look at, on the books about HE thread.

See if you can get the 'Free Range Education' one, and possibly
'Unqualified Education: A Practical Guide to Learning at Home Age 11-18'
by Gareth Lewis. Others have recommended it to me.
But my favourite has to be
"A Teenage Liberation Handbook:How to quit school and get a real life"
this is the book that really opened my eyes to all the possibilities and freedoms home education could bring us.

I have also found that there is loads of advice and support to be had from the real experts in this area-home educators.

The link about finding home educators will also lead you to some excellent internet support lists-and from there you will find invaluable advice and support.

I would also recommend checking out the EO website and also
HE-UK
and especially Education in the UK as good places for information about starting to home educate