Home Ed Parents- what do you do for work?

[SparklyNavyHare]

Hi Everyone,

I am considering home education for my little one but I currently work 5 days a week in a pressurised job that if I do choose to home educate I would have to leave.

What careers do home ed parents have that fits around their child?
I’m not interested in MLM/join my team/ buy my course social media stuff- I don’t like taking photos of myself never mind posting videos.

Im happy to learn new skills, employed or self employed but want something realistic and where I can make a reasonable living- thank you

@WondererWanderer and also having to force them to study things because it is good for them but they aren't interested (or they don't think they are) but you know that it is for the greater good. If you want your kid to have academic options when they are older, you need to provide academic opportunities now and that's often hard, time consuming, expensive and involves pulling rank with your child!

HE kids I know, including my own, learn through their interests and then formalise that learning if they want to, later, by sitting an i/GCSE or other qualification, eg an OU module or an Arts Award. Parents skill swap, club together to hire tutors, find resources online/at the library… There are some subjects, like Food tech and Drama, which are harder to do outside school, but loads that are possible, even preferable, to do independently.

Yeah. I was home ed. I dont have gcse passes in science, maths or foreign languages. It really held me back.

You do you though. I don't think allowing minor children to opt out of education is wise. Can't buy beer but you think they can make a decision about what they want to study, whilst not understanding the ramifications of not having these formal qualifications in later life.

We now live in a world where even university graduates can't get jobs. You think opting out of all these subjects and not even having the gcse, is somehow going to put these children at an advantage or not disadvantage them.

Information like atomic structure and trigonometry came up naturally for my children when they wanted to know why/how things happen. Eg on a science museum visit or camping looking at the stars. As parents we are very ready to engage deeply with those questions, as we know we’ve held on to the responsibility for our children’s education. Often, that looks like, researching alongside them, we don’t know everything, but will likely know enough to help with search terms/questions/an adult we know who loves maths or chemistry or whatever.

Because you dont have to do French gcse or learn about atoms. Its not compulsory to sit gcses.

My son is 14 and has been home edded for just over a year. He's booked to do english and maths igcses next summer (a year before his school peers). We haven't done much formal sit down work. We've looked at stuff together, we've watched things, listened to things, done work through practical stuff, used online apps, and in his practise papers he's coming out with a level four and still have a year to go. Once these two are out of the way, we will work towards history, environmental management (which is what he wants to do as a career) and business studies. He may not come out with as many gcses, but they're more relevant to what he wants to do, he's less stressed and has plenty of time to practice real life skills - he can cook, do a weeks shopping for a family, knows what to plant in the garden when, can do car and bike maintenance, has removed an engine from a motorbike and helped rebuild it, is brilliant at decorating and DiY, has built garden furniture from pallets etc.

My cousins children have never been to school ,never did formal learning. One has just graduated from uni with a 2:1 in teaching!

@thefamous5 maybe your cousin's child who has just graduated in teaching was trying to make a point that they would have liked to have been in school!

I’m really sorry to hear that. No wonder you are wary of HE! I went to (& did well at) school, and think both options have upsides and downsides.

Fwiw, my children have/are working toward formal quals (my eldest is 16 and starting 6th form in Sept) and this style of education has worked well/is working well for them. Most of the HE kids I know, start working towards formal quals in adolescence, and don’t seem held back by their free-flowing childhoods, but of course I only know the ones who get taken to groups/classes/excursions. Of the ones who don’t do GCSEs/equivalents, it’s bc of additional needs, or they have another plan, entrepreneurial or a talent - they aren’t ’NEETs’, but again, I appreciate this is anecdotal.

No, you're right. They don't "suddenly" pass exams. If they want to pass exams, they choose to work toward that goal in a focused way, which does usually involve formal academic study. Typically, kids who have been following the "unschooling" model realise that they want to do exams and then concentrate hard and do all the preparation and pass the exams in the space of a year or two. GCSE curricula are fairly self-contained. You don't need to have been doing formal academic work from an early age.

So my eldest decided to do English Language, looked at the syllabi, chose one which reflected their strengths, and studied the preferred formulaic approach to essay writing and practiced that a bit. Having noticed they had relatively many spelling errors, they swotted up on some commonly-misspelled words and revised some grammar. They then sat a mock exam which we sent off to be marked, with a view to discovering what else they should work on. As it turned out, their result was easily high enough for what they wanted/needed, so they decided to stop working at that point and just turn up and sit the exam. All the reading they had done in previous years had made them reasonably literate, so this wasn't exactly starting from scratch. My kid did hardly any work for this particular GCSE, as there isn't really much content for English Language, but I appreciate that people have different strengths and others would have needed to work harder. But the approach would be the same.

For maths my child needed to do more work, but still they covered the entire school curriculum in nine months under their own steam and sat the exam with an acceptable mark. School makes a real song and dance of maths, but many mathematical concepts are acquired more easily and naturally through daily life if you aren't in a hurry to get them to pass tests from an early age. Maths is my "thing", and this is a real bugbear of mine. Forcing small children to learn abstract techniques before they have real-world experience backfires. Not only does it waste their time, but it actually confuses them, possibly putting them off the subject for life. Allowing them to do it when they are ready and interested works better.

She very much doesn't. She wants to go into teaching to try and make a difference to how children are taught!

I'm not anti school- i was a primary teacher, I have three children at school, two who will definitely stay the whole time because the structure and routine suit them. One may decide to be home edded from y7 onwards. School really doesnt work for everyone, and home education absolutely does not hold people back.

I've met a few HE families, in most they had a FT working parent and then one who worked part time if at all. The part time work would usually be something like retail or care work at weekends and in the evenings.

Tbh I think you are looking for a unicorn. I'm sure everyone would love a job like that, but they don't really exist.

I remember once asking something similar on here, and remarked that you need to have the right job or be financially secure to do it - and one poster insisted you could do it whatever your circumstances!! It was so infuriating, she go quite nasty about it…. Sorry not much help but the only people I know home schooling are living off one partner’s high salary or run their own businesses

This is my experience too, or both parents work something like 0.6, with childcare if any overlaps. My DH works ft with some flexibility to accommodate kids’ trips/exam revision help; I work p/t freelance writing/editing when I can: AI is having a huge impact on my ability to find work these days, so I’m retraining and counting down until my youngest finishes HE and I can work more flexibly. The impact on our pensions, how much mortgage is paid off etc, has been enormous, but so has the positive impact on our children and I’m content with our choices.

I think the trouble is that you need an end game right from the beginning to make sure that you aren't reducing their options later on.

I HE myself and know many HE families.

People either have well paid pt careers (lawyer / doctor) and can afford to employ a pt nanny for 2 or 3 days a week, or they have lower paid formal work which requires robust family support (eg nurse or allied HCP) or they have work they can do at home here and there - small businesses, tutoring etc.

My friend does home Ed, she works evenings online in a call centre for a mobile phone company

As far as children not learning formally goes, my kids basically spent their primary years playing, baking, reading, hanging out with friends in the park and going to HE groups. We did very little sit down learning in those years, but went on plenty of days out to museums and historical places.

One of my kids wanted to go to secondary school just after we’d moved into an 11 plus area, so he did the formal maths and English work for 9 months before passing the 11 plus. (He didn’t stay in school as he felt so much time was wasted there).

All of them have gradually done a bit more formal stuff from secondary school age, and have knuckled down to GCSEs during their later secondary school years. I have noticed that my children picked up so much information from their early experiences, and as they learned more formally later on they were able to retrieve this information and integrate it with the new learning, which massively increased their understanding.

The good thing about home ed is that it's very flexible, you don't have to stick to educating during the hours of Monday - Friday 9-3 and you don't have to be restricted by term times either. Do you have any family support? Anyone that would be willing to support you with childcare and/or be willing to share their own skills with your child?

I'm not sure if childminding would float your boat? Just part time, there is a gap in the market for childminders who specifically cater for home educated children. You aren't responsible for educating them, it is just a childcare only scenario but people are crying out for that kind of service as people will often still need to work.

It can be tough to find something that fits so it is wise to start thinking about your options now if home education is something that you are seriously considering for your child.

Good job I’m not caring for your children then. Im actually great at both and they work well together. Education doesn’t have to happen between the hours of 9 and 3 Monday to Friday, that’s the beauty of home education. The parents of the children I care for love that I also home educate as we are one big happy family. I also don’t work 5 days a week but, of course, you didn’t bother to ask how many hours I work.

We followed the curriculum from primary, and did iGCSEs. To be honest, it was one less thing to think about, following a structured curriculum. Our kids never went to school, and we always said university entrance level education had to be our standard, because that's what would've been available to them at school.

@FigTreeInEurope , that's exactly it. It's making sure that you have an end game that doesn't disadvantage them. Whatever soft skills a child picks up at home, they are competing against others who were at school.

I home ed, and truthfully, it’s almost a full time job in and of itself - if you’re doing it properly. Of the hundreds of HEs I know, the vast majority have a SAHP. I wouldn’t even consider trying to do it alongside something like child minding. The most sensible option would be evening shifts, or something very flexible online. I also know one parent who is a professional (self taught) photographer and makes a good living as well as being able to schedule sessions for out of school hours and edit in the evening.

OP I am a carer for my younger child. She gets higher rate DLA. She has an EHCP but still no school place (2 years and 2 tribunals......). I am considering home ed to free myself and her from a system that doesn't want us. My older daughter is at a great special school that she likes but was home ed for a year and she did a mix of tutor and online and groups etc and it was fine and the sky didn't fall in.
Home ed is hard work and expensive and its a learning curve. I am educated, i have a car and space at home and money for materials and tutors and clubs etc. I also pay into a private pension. DH works full time. Home ed has exploded as mainstream schools have tanked in terms of the quality of their provision for all kids, not just SEN.
Worth considering that other countries don't start formal schooling until 6 or 7 years old. My tips are to aim for 10 hours at the most of quality learning teaching activities etc per week or child will be knackered as smaller groups and 121 is so intense much more intense learning than school. Also don't rush around going to every group and activity at the start, there are loads and you are allowed to pick and choose don't fall for the FOMO.

I HE in theory. In practice DC attends an online school.

I am self employed, so can work around their online hours and then we do other activities too. It wouldn't have worked in primary school though as DC would have needed a lot more supervision to attend the lessons and really engage in learning.

DC was struggling at mainstream secondary and we hoped they've get English and Maths GCSE. Moved to online school and acheived amazing GCSEs (7-9 in all subjects) and is now studying A Levels.

I don’t think it’s true that children need to start academic learning early. I think it can be counterproductive for lots of children, who then lose their natural love for learning.

In fact, you don't have to do formal "work" at all; you can let your child learn entirely by playing and doing whatever he is interested in.

Very naive and really shows that you don’t know much about how children learn to become literate. Literacy is not a ‘natural’ ability that we just pick up. It has to be taught. Some children find it easier than others, but just allowing a child to play will not mean that they develop literacy skills.