When do I need to start making a plan to home ed?

[OverdressedtobeDepressed]

I know it’s not going to be soon, DD is 6, currently year1. My plan has always been, primary education (unless she’s specifically struggling or not enjoying it) then home education from secondary age.

I don’t have any experience of home education so I’m asking here just so I know I’m prepared😂

What materials will I need? How much roughly does it cost? I’m lucky enough that DH earns enough that I won’t need to work so I have the time and energy to home educate the kids, but I want to make sure I do it right.

maybe if someone could give me a run down of what a typical day/week looks like for home education that would be amazing 🥰

sorry not to answer your question but what if your dd wants to go to secondary?

i can’t imagine anyone having enough knowledge to teach all key secondary subjects. This is why they all have separate teachers at secondary!

I was extremely organized with home school during the pandemic. It was far far harder than you’d think.

What specific reasons do you have for moving to moving to home ed for secondary school? Particularly if she’s enjoyed the school environment at primary school?
Would she be sitting GCSEs? Are you confident you could teach those subjects to a high enough level.

This is what we did (although in the end, DD wanted to come out of school at the end of Year 5). She would be in Year 7 now and takes her first GCSE in May.

For us, the costs are basically just materials and some online tuition (we use the £2 Tuition Hub for a few subjects including her GCSE subject). We also have memberships to Nat Trust etc. Our council pays for GCSEs but most don't, so you'd have to sit them privately with a provider - they're usually about £300 per subject, so a lot of home educators space them out.

A typical week for us varies depending on what we've got going on, but I'll write out a checklist at the start of the week with what topics and worksheets DD is going to do (based on a term plan I've put together with her input). It's up to her then how she organises her week, but it has to get done - I think that encourages more independence than a rigid timetable. I like that she can spend longer on topics and go off on branches; one of the most frustrating things as a teacher was not having the time to go off on tangents because the curriculum was so tight.

She's part of several clubs, both home-ed and non-home-ed, and often works at weekends, evenings etc to fit in around places we're visiting or just being part of daily life. One thing I noticed as a teacher was that children struggled to talk to adults; they'd get shy / giggly / evasive when asked to do so. DD can go into the post office by herself to send post; she has conversations with shop keepers. I think having regular interactions with more adults than just teachers has helped in that regard.

It's the best choice we ever made; she's thriving in home education. It's absolutely nothing like home schooling was in COVID; that was a crisis situation and a necessary evil. Home education is brilliant.

Join HEFA on Facebook; it's a brilliant source of information and support.

Dd and I can have that conversation closer to the time. I’m fairly certain she’ll be in agreement that home education is the route we should take, but things can change and I’m not adverse to letting her test the waters and go.. I can always pull her out if she doesn’t enjoy it.

I’m well aware that home education ain’t easy work, which is why I want to be prepared and educate myself on it early.. rather than getting there and starting with struggle.

My reasons for home education:

1. Mental health - this is my utmost priority for my kids. I come from a long line of poor mental health. My parents, my siblings and myself have all suffered.. all can pinpoint school being the culprit of declining mental health that’s had life long consequences.
2. Bully culture - it’s a pandemic across the UK that bullies just aren’t being dealt with appropriately. I don’t think school have a handle on how to deal with bullying, the local school in my area have only bad things said about bullying.
3. Safety - a more recent deciding factors for me, but we’ve had many incidents locally of blades and weapons being brought into school - and with the country being on the arse end of turning into Germany circa 1939 I’d rather my children be home so I can see and hear what they’re learning, rather than being influenced by peers who’s parents have radicalised their children into fascists and racists.
4. A learning environment tailored to my children personalities. I don’t believe learning is a one size fits all; I’d rather my children learn through real life/real world experiences, with the inclusion of necessary and normal life skills that aren’t taught as part of a normal school setting.
5. Freedom - i don’t agree with uniform policies, uniform has absolutely no bearing on a child education. Also attendance; I want my children to have the freedom to enjoy holidays without being quadruple the price out of fear of massive fines and jail time for non-attendance.

Basically - they are my children, they don’t belong to the government and they are not the states property.

It sounds a bit presumptuous, you have no idea of how your dd will feel about school by the time she is in year 6? From my own experience, most children are looking forward to secondary with their friends, unless there are specific issues.

How will your children learn to cope out in the world of work? You will be denying the opportunity to socialise and learn to get along with people. Why are you certain your DD now aged only6 will agree? What if she wants to go to secondary school with her peers? You cannot possibly provide the full range of secondary school experience - drama productions, sports teams, choir, orchestra or cover the full range of subjects.

I think it would be worth casting the net more widely for a secondary school or even considering a move before that point as your child is so young. I've taught in secondary schools for 15 years and don't really recognise what you're describing!

Home education doesn't deny children the ability to socialise, don't be daft 😂 they aren't locked in cupboards. All of those things can be accessed without a school place.

From what you've posted it sounds like your focus is on your feeling and not your child's. If she decides she wants to be home educated I suspect that will be as a result of you leading her in that direction and if she wants to go to secondary school it sounds like she won't have the option to do so.

In terms of educating your child at home it's very premature to be considering how to best approach this. What you plan now will likely not be what she needs in many years time.

I’m glad you’ve had that experience and you/your children have enjoyed school.

I however and mostly everyone I know did not have that experience. Statistics show that home educated children absolutely thrive.
statistics show that children who are home educated have better mental health - that’s a fact, not an opinion.

Of course, if she’s asking to go to secondary school, I’m not going to say no. - I just highly doubt she will want to, she doesn’t necessarily ‘enjoy’ school as it is, she finds it boring and doesn’t enjoy going - but does enjoy her friend group and LOVES her current teacher which is her motivation for going.

It’s ultimately her choice, always. But if her choice is home education, I want to know that we can do that straight away and not have to research everything at the time when we need to be implementing it. Better to have the information early than not have it when you need it, right?

I understand your apprehension about influences from secondary school. Are the secondary schools within your catchment area terrible? It’s often a lonely life for older children who are home schooled.

@Rocknrollstar all of those experiences can easily be found in clubs during the weekend and in the evening.

This post isn’t asking people whether or not they agree with homeschooling. What an all-round ridiculous reply.

I don't think there's such a thing as reliable statistics on home educated children by the nature of gathering statistics - there's a confirmation bias as you're hardly going to take part in a survey if it's been a disaster!

Having said that, I'm sure there are lots of success stories.

I wonder how much you’re influencing her attitude to school?
Your posts are very much from your perspective and reflecting your feelings. You’re already assuming she won’t like secondary school abs she will have picked up on that.

Yes, homeschooling works well for lots of young people. But so does school.

Yes, none of them have a good reputation at all. It’s like trying to pick the best one of a bad bunch🫠

I think the notion of ‘home educated children are lonely’ is quite outdated now, more so in the last few years since the huge rise in home education. There are plenty of home ed groups, get together and clubs locally. - the reason I put her into primary school was to get a head start on making friendships and learning the social side of things; DD’s best friends mum is also in a similar situation where she isn’t keen on secondary school at all, but isn’t sure they can home educate so she feel's stuck between a rock and hard place.

I know it’s very early to be thinking about - but don’t we all often look into our children’s future?

You mean you want to have the freedom to go on holiday when you want. Your child wouldn’t be paying any fines, you would. Don’t try and make the holiday issue about them.

Deffo start saving for exams! If your dd decides to remain in home ed for secondary years. Our council does not pay for any exams. One A level 2 years ago was £300( we paid £275 as had reduction as ds2 sat gcses in same place) This year One Alevel is £550..perhaps £495 with reduction. So quite a hike. Lots of groups online and organisations with different ideas and resources. Good luck op and dd

Well.. yes? I’m a full grown adult who chose to have children. Should I not have the choice on when I can take myself and them on holiday? Why should the government decide when I’m ‘allowed’ to go away? 🤣

But it does also make it about them- we can’t afford holidays inside of term time as it is - so my children have never been on an airplane, they never had an abroad holiday, and provided they stay in a school setting.. they never will? Is that fair on them?

How do GCSE’s work with home ed - someone above asked if we plan to do GCSE’s suggesting it’s optional, or there an alternative?

If she doesn’t take GCSEs, how does that affect her in the future? Do already home educating parents recommend taking them? Do they just take the basic English and Maths as this seems to be the only ones that employers tend to ask for from experience.

Not doing GCSEs will definitely impact future education and employment choices.
Universities look at GCSEs and some courses will expect more than just English and Maths as well as L3 qualifications- which of course will require a range of GCSEs ( or equivalent) to study in the first place.
Employers will also ask for qualifications with English and maths GCSE being the bare minimum.

Like it or not, qualifications are currency which gives you access to education and employment opportunities.

I'm a doctor. Some of the skills I use I learned at secondary school: how to deal with difficult people, how to deal with stress.

I think you are doing her a huge disservice by keeping her from a universal teenage experience. Its one thing if they start and can't cope, but to not let her even go and try it?
Your post is all about how you didn't like school and don't want to be inconvenienced.

This is why we are getting young people who can't cope with life and stay living at home forever

Well with ds2 he was able to take them at a school ( private) not too far from us. It depends where you live really. There may be a school/ college that accepts external candidates. If soneone dosen't have maths/ eng gcse they can go to college and take them or there are functional skills courses I believe to get the basics. We did say to ds2 that it is pretty important to have maths and english as will give much more choice. Every child is different as I am sure you know! Every home ed 'journey' is different. So many different approaches and is not one size fits all. Ds2 took other gcses too in subjects he was really interested in,including a science. He saw it as keeping options open.

You’re getting a lot of unsolicited opinions on questions you haven’t asked here unfortunately, OP. Try HEFA (home education for all) on fb. They have a wealth of information available, many guides to read, and experienced home educators who can answer your questions appropriately.

It's up to the individual child and family - some don't take GCSEs at all, some just do Maths and English, some do Functional Skills instead, some do the full set - either spaced out or "end of year 11". You need to choose the courses carefully as some are unsuitable for home ed due to practicals needing to be at a specific centre, but there are usually IGCSE or similar alternatives with no practical.

Our plan is for DD to do as many GCSEs as she wants and spread them out.

I agree with @CherryBlossom321 op. These threads tend to get hijacked.