Home ed for neurotypical

[Stillhoping1990]

My children are not yet school age, however, we are seriously considering home education when the time comes. I think it could be amazing for our family for many reasons. I wondered if there are many other families with neurotypical children who do fit into mainstream education who have decided to homeschool? And if you’d be kind enough to reach out and chat? I just want to hear about your experience. Did you try school first? Or just home educate from the start? I’m doing a lot of research before making this important decision and speaking with other like minded families is really helpful. Thank you! :-)

I’ve heard Isle of Wight’s good. We live near Croydon and it’s very good, though I wonder if that’s true of many big cities, especially now HE’s on the rise. Brighton and Hove and surrounds sounds good if you don’t mind a lot of driving, and I’ve heard similar of W Yorks, though the people I know don’t live that close to a city; I bet eg Sheffield has lots in a small area but idk for sure - a lot of travel compared to school is very likely, HE’s a niche pursuit. We travel across London often. Had we lived in a village with a local primary everyone went to, we’d have tried that first, because of the community links. Join some national HE groups on fb and ask there.

I did a couple of months of research into home ed for a report once - I came to the conclusion it was a fantastic way to educate your kids (and ideally I'd be doing this) but have to have one parent not working. I've since had kids and unfortunately we both need to work so have gone down the school route. It struck me as more affordable for the middle classes. This was before covid.

I'm actually not sure I know any home ed families with one parent at home full time. Most families have two working parents these days.
Actually maybe one family that was EOTAS which requires the parent to chaffeur/supervise (I don't think EOTAS is really supposed to rely on a parent but in reality it seems to).

It’s very mixed ime. Lots of HE parents work opposite shifts, use childcare (not full time), do work they can do alongside their kids to an extent, eg piecework from home, teaching home ed groups, things like translation services that can be done while kids are busy with their friends - interruptibility is key. And it is true that 2 ft jobs working 9-5 wouldn’t work.

How do you know if you’ve never done it?

My advice would be don't listen to people who have no experience of HE.
They hold very limited beliefs due to the fact they were never HE themselves.
An education that only takes place between classroom walls is very lacking and HE definately has many advantages.
My youngest was HE, he absolutely thrived and it was definately the right route for him. He is now loving Uni life, he is way ahead of his peers as he had time to concentrate on learning about his subject he is currently studying as well as working on his GCSEs and A levels.

There’s home Ed groups everywhere but there are some LAs who are harder to work with than others. Join HEFA on face book there is loads of information. We are accidentally HE parents to a ND teen but I did watch my NT eldest only just survive secondary so knew my youngest wouldn’t. It’s easier in primary years to socialise in my local area but harder with teens as less structured stuff. Plus the academic demands increase if you choose to take exams. However there’s loads of options for different learning styles now with online resources & freedom to choose exam boards that suit your child and timing of exams. We are spreading out 6-8 exams over 3yrs instead of doing 8-10 in one sitting.

So, not at all qualified to teach the vast range of subjects in Key Stages 3 and 4, and fingers crossed at Key Stage 5 then!

Anyone with QTS can teach any key stage in schools.
Though that is totally irrelevant to home education.
Not sure why people bother posting from a position of ignorance.

No state secondary that isn't absolutely desperate for staff would hire someone with a pgce primary qualification, for academic teaching.

Anyone able to qualify as a teacher is easily competent enough to facilitate learning at these levels. Often that means finding local or online provision. I’ve done very little direct teaching beyond what all parents should - reading with, practicing times tables with etc, but I tutored my eldest & 2 mates through an ‘early’ gcse by reading the textbook a chapter ahead of them each week, it worked well.

Worrying and ignorant approach to necessary skills and knowledge needed to teach GCSE, A Level, IB etc

They got great results! i wouldn’t attempt to teach a class of kids I didn’t know well, who might not want to even be there - that’s the real skill, and one I respect in teachers. But coaching 3 kids who love learning through a qualification they want to get? It was easy, and fun.

And yet… it does appear to work well, as many people in the home education community will tell you, as @Teacaketravesty has just told you - or do you think she’s mistaken about the results these children obtained? Parents who are less confident or have less time often buy in resources such as tutoring. So maybe there is something different about home education which is beyond your experience? It’s worth considering that possibility. You are correct about A levels, however. That is why few teens are HE at that level. Most go on to college or sixth form if they can. We are not as clueless as you imagine.

And?
You're in the home ed section and have no knowledge or experience to share - why are you posting?

Please don’t close yourself off to families who have been forced into HE. I was one of those families however, since starting to HE a few years ago I’m very passionate about it. I didn’t realise it would be possible before then but now my eyes have been opened. Just because someone doesn’t HE from the start doesn’t mean they’re not passionate, very often it turns into a philosophical choice for their other children. I found that some HE families belittled those who were forced into it, thinking somehow we were less capable and that we wouldn’t mix in well with other HE families. We weren’t made to feel as welcomed into groups and that was from both the parents and the children. HE should be inclusive but it’s still got a long way to go

Your presumption is totally wrong, although sadly typical of defensive HE parents.

I’m sorry you had that experience, @Littleloopyears.

@Emoleno do you home educate? Why are you on this forum? It sounds like you are here to be negative.

Thank you for your concerns regarding my teaching qualification and its limitations. We will use a private tutor if there’s anything I feel I can’t tackle at secondary school age.

My eldest finished his GCSEs last year. Neurotypical, but very willful and always preferred practical learning so we didn't ever did any formal learning, just loads of time playing, reading, seeing friends, doing art, visiting interesting places with our community, woodwork etc etc. He had a real-, life, broad, wonderfully unforced, informal education.
He then decided to buckle down and do some GCSEs. He completely taught himself, didn't want tutors, and got top grades.
He is confident, plays in local sports teams, has a part job, and is highly motivated.

I feel vindicated after everyone was so critical and worried about our decision to home educate! Everyone now comments on what an exceptional young man he is, and I often get asked how did he turn out so well!!