Homeschooling

[allforkids]

Is there anyone here who has experience with homeschooling? Why did you decide to do it? Also, what services do you use? I'm thinking about homeschooling, but I'm worried about the right materials, how to find a teacher, and how to do exams?

In the UK, the term is home educating and methods range from unschooling right through to online courses which mirror mainstream teaching. Facebook has a range of groups, both nationally and locally based. That is a good place to start. If you can post more about the kind of thing you’re interested in doing then you should get more replies.

Try https://educationalfreedom.org.uk/ and https://www.educationotherwise.org/

As @EveryKneeShallBow said it's home education generally. I écho Facebook as the best place to find the community and get ideas.

I home educate one child and home school my other. Home school is where the LA are supposed to be responsible for the education but the child learns at home- like what happened in lockdowns. My child has SEND that cannot be supported in school and I refused to home educate. Technically we have EOTAS but the LA don't provide most of the EHCP so I fill the gap and fight them to pay me back for it.

My home educated child works very differently. We flex what we do, im not tied to set sessions or attendance etc. Just have to do a yearly report to show what we have learnt and evidence progress is being made and education is not being neglected. Easy to do without significant SEND would be too difficult to do with my SEND child hence my refusal to take responsibility for his education.

I'm not an unschooler. Maybe semi structured leaning towards more structure. I follow the national curriculum although that's not legally required. I plan to put my child into school for GCSES as the cost of these for an academically capable child will be too much and Im not up to teaching at GCSE level in some subjects and can't afford that amount of tutoring. It can be done though.

CPG books are great. There are loads of school resources you can use at home eg read write inc, white rose maths, times tables rock stars. LOADS of apps. Loads of websites track progress and us AI to set work these days too. Lots of social stuff happening with other home edders and trips and outings organised via Facebook then WhatsApp groups.

I do think you need to be aware of your child's future. I've bitten my tongue around some of our local home edders who I personally feel are not providing adequate education. Now one of them is asking advice how her dd can get a job when even shop jobs and catering are asking for maths and English that her child doesn't have. She's completely ruined that child's future imo and given all home edders a bad name. If you do it then think long term and your child future not just as a way to not have to deal with the mad rush of school mornings and have cheep term time holidays

How old are your kids? Most home educating parents use a fairly relaxed, hands-on approach with younger children with perhaps a small amount of formal sit-down work. Few use a teacher except for specialist subjects such as foreign languages or musical instruments.

That usually changes in their teens, with most children who are capable of sitting GCSEs studying towards them in a more structured way, possibly using online school or tutors.

So the answers will depend on the ages of your kids, whether they have any special needs which might affect their ability to sit GCSEs, and their ambitions for the future.

Thank you all so much for your time and advice. I realised that I should look for an online school because I'm really thinking about preparing for GCSE. Now my task is to find the right online school with the right tutors. I'm not looking for a school for children with special needs, and I'm not an unschooler, I'm just looking for more effective ways of education for my child. I'm so confused how to find any rankings or reviews. May I ask to share how you searched for tutors or an online school? From what I understand, online schools have an advantage because they have the ability to organize exams. Thank you again to everyone.

Well, I'm an unschooler and my kids didn't do GCSEs at the usual age in the usual way, so I can't speak from experience. However, the subject is much discussed and I have spent huge amounts of time around other parents HEing teens, so I can give you some tips.

Online school is possible but is not the most popular way to prepare for GCSEs. I don't think most of them do organise exams for you, but maybe someone can correct me if they know of a school which does do all that. A few disreputable online schools have even been known to sell courses preparing kids for exams which they know full well the parents will struggle to arrange!!! Most people use a more flexible "pick and mix" sort of approach in which they choose whichever resources work best for their child on a per-subject basis. So for example, maths is a straightforward subject for which a mathematically talented kid probably wouldn't need a tutor, and such a child might just use books and online resources to teach themselves. Maybe they want a more sociable environment to learn German, so they go to an in-person local tutor group arranged by another parent. If they find essay-writing a big challenge, they might use a one-to-one tutor for it. And so on. Often people just look around to see what's on offer and if something looks appealing they go for it. Maybe there is a particular subject which they weren't necessarily planning to do but they absolutely love how it is taught by a local tutor, so they choose it. Some colleges have 14-16 programmes at which your child may be able to do a few GCSEs now, or do a set of "catch-up" GCSEs at 16 if they aren't ready now.

Most home educators spread exams over several years rather than doing them all in one sitting, usually starting with the child's strongest subject or one which they consider relatively straightforward to answer - so it is more common to do maths early than English Language. Spreading them out reduces stress and allows the child to focus on just a few subjects at a time rather than juggling many, as well as allowing them to learn from their previous exam experiences and feel more relaxed in subsequent exams.

I'd suggest making contact with your local home ed group. People there will be able to tell you about local opportunities such as college courses, in-person study groups, and recommended one-to-one tutors. Also, you'll be able to find out about social opportunities for your kids.

It's worth knowing that most home ed kids do fewer GCSEs than they would at school, typically just as many as they need to get on to whatever college course they want or for job purposes, which is often five or six. You can do whatever suits your own child, without taking into account a school's desire to boost their statistics proving that they successfully chivvied x number of children through y number of exams at z age.

English and maths are increasingly wanted for all sorts of purposes in later education and careers, so it would be unusual to omit either of those. Even so, you can choose from various exam specs and subjects to play to your child's strengths and interests. Typically an online school or a tutor will have expertise in a specific syllabus, so make sure that matches the one you want and the one for which you can find an exam centre. For instance, tutors who mostly tutor schoolchildren may only have familiarity with GCSE rather than any of the IGCSE curricula. To avoid mistakes like that, get tutor recommendations from other home educators whose kids have sat the exam yours is going to do.

Hi ,
My child is currently in year 4 in a Stare primary. I am seriously thinking of home educating him for a couple of years before he joins a secondary school.
As a beginner , I want to know the procedure to start it. Do I need to inform the school or council ? How and when should I contact the council ? At the end of 1 year of home educating ( year 5 ) will he be required to take an exam? What sort of evidences will I be required to show ?
Thankyou

Hi
I completely understand your concerns — I’ve worked with a number of families who have chosen homeschooling at different stages, and it can feel overwhelming at first! A few things I’ve learned:

• Materials: You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Many parents use exam board textbooks and structured online resources to follow the curriculum. It helps to have a clear plan of what topics need to be covered each term.
• Finding a teacher: If you want expert support in subjects like Science, Maths, or English, small online group tuition or private lessons can give your child guidance without the need for full-time in-person teaching. Working with a qualified teacher can also help you structure lessons and track progress.
• Exams: There are ways for homeschooled children to sit GCSEs or other exams. Typically, they register as private candidates through local schools or exam centres, and a teacher can help ensure your child is prepared and confident.

I also run small online GCSE Science, Maths and English groups designed to support homeschoolers or students needing extra guidance. The groups are deliberately small so every child gets attention, and they focus on building confidence and exam skills. If you’d like, I’d be happy to share more about how these sessions work. Homeschooling is very manageable once you have a structure and support - it’s definitely possible to give your child a strong academic experience while keeping it flexible.