Communities & home ed 'schools'

[desperatelywaiting]

I had planned to unschool my daughter but, now going though a divorce, and with no support, I need her to be somewhere for at least 3 days a week. Can anyone suggest a very alternative school that doesn't cost a bomb. Very flexible on location, we're in London now but due to finances, will need to move at the end of next summer. I'm thinking some sort of primary school/nature based group that she can be a part of. She is currently at a forest daycare 3 days a week but she will be reception age next year so I'm trying to start getting ideas of what options there are for us. It doesn't need to be in London, we are flexible for location.

SANDS in Ashburton? Although it may only be secondary now I think about it.

Do you have no limits on location at all? Bristol and Hebden Bridge both have provision, so does Manchester. Most places big enough or alternative enough to have a sizeable home ed community will do.

Why don’t you try her in school, she might love it.

Why not put her in school, find a primary you are happy with. Home ed really is only for those able to not work, don't feel bad

Lots of home ed parents use alternative education sites in order to work part time, or just so that the child has experiences & learning that the parent can’t do at home. My DD went to a forest school one day a week when we home ed, I wasn’t working but it gave me a day with just my toddler at home, meant she had an amazing time in the woods (it was an absolutely fabulous setting), & spent time with a group of friends.

Forest schools are generally not a full work day or even 9am-3pm provision - ime they last 2.5hrs maximum.
Maybe a Sudbury school? East Kent Sudbury School - Wikipedia or the original 'democratic' school Summerhill School - Wikipedia
Or a Montessori setting?
Or a Steiner school? Map of Steiner Waldorf schools and kindergartens • Waldorf UK (waldorfeducation.uk)
(Each of those has a very distinct philosophy, research carefully!)

Interesting @BestZebbie the ones I know in Manchester and Hebden Bridge have been a 9-3 arrangement.

What about home educating your daughter and using a childminder/nanny for the days you need to work? They could take your child on outings and maybe to home ed groups. You might find a parent already in the HE community, who might be attracted to the prospect of a job they can do in conjunction with HE their own child. I used a similar arrangement for a few years when I worked part-time, though I did fewer hours than you are planning to work; I was on about 1.5 days a week. It worked brilliantly for us.

I followed an unschooling approach, as did the childminders I used. However, you could still do it even if you preferred a different approach. As you probably know, home education can be done at any time, so you wouldn't have to get your childcarer to provide any education. They could simply provide childcare, and you could do the education when you aren't at work.

The cost of that would likely compare favourably to a private school, and you'd have more options with respect to exactly how your child spends her time and who looks after her, rather than having to commit to what would probably be the only school in your area offering the alternative education you want. I mean, if the first CM/nanny doesn't work out, you could find a different one. If you are on means-tested benefits, you can get help toward the cost of registered childcare.

I should think that anywhere with a big home ed community and reasonable cost of living would fit the bill, as there are bound to be a few suitable parents who want the job.

That hasn't been my experience. Most of the home educating parents I know do work, though rarely full time. For those who don't have a partner able to work opposite shifts, or a family member happy to look after kids for free, it is quite possible to use paid childcare.

Home ed doesn't have to be done during the usual "school hours" and even for families who prefer a school-style direct instruction method, the benefit of individual teaching is so great that it takes far fewer hours of direct teaching than school would. So it isn't as if you have to sit a child down for 30 hours a week.

Totally agree. Most of the home Ed parents I know work.

Put her back in school. I have done this and it doesn't work. Find a school and get her in. Homeschooling is for people who have the ability to do it. She needs an education.

If you are like me going through the trauma of divorce - your child needs consistency that you cannot necessarily provide by the sounds of it. Honestly home school is not some fabulous alternative- you are not looking at the source of the problem and that takes some serious effort to overcome. It might be neurodivergence and anxiety and she needs some medication to help her overcome past traumas. I had a child who could not get out of bed. I didn't know if he would ever go back. But after some months and fluoxetine- he is asd - he did. I cried for the whole first day at a new state school. But it has been the best and also the most stressful thing we've done. We are not through it all yet but I know taking him away from the place where he was most vulnerable and affected was a good thing for a very academic child. Don't see home school as a solution- it's a symptom. Kids need other kids to learn how people are in life. I believe this wholeheartedly no matter how tricky. The last school was a fail in the final analysis and they would not meet us where he was. But with home tutoring and time - he knew he had to go back. I don't for one minute think it's a coincidence that you are mid divorce and your child is out of school. This is where your family is. But don't look at this as a permanent solution. Please

I run an outdoor learning group in Kent, based on a flower farm of you're still looking for something a bit different.