Blimey! That wasnt the plan!!!!!...........

[becaroo]

.......I have been He my ds1 (6) since the beginning of January.

First things first...we are loving it...it is hard some days as I have a 17 month old too and our "work" has to wait til he naps but the change in my son in just these few short weeks is wonderful.

He is happier, healthier and has started swimming lessons and joined the local Beaver group!!!! (Things I had been trying to get him to do for about 18 months!)

Anyway...the "plan" (such as it was) was to He til september and then he would go to juniors where all the kids would be in the same boat...new school, new class, new teachers etc.

BUT, now he is saying he doesnt think he wants to go! We find out in 4 weeks whether he has a place (should have as we are in catchment) and I wondered whether I should accept his decision now or wait til just before the end of term to give him more time?????

I am happy to conintue to HE (although I have my doubts as to my ability at KS2 level!) but I know that many of my friends and his school friends will be horrified if he doesnt go

Got out first LEA visit next friday.....aarrgh

1. If you're happy to continue, just say so. "OK, let's just keep home edding. If you change your mind, we'll sort out a school place for you".

1. Set yourself a reminder on your mobile phone to ask him in June if he's happy to stick with HE. Forget about it till then.

1. You don't have to have an LA visit if you don't want one. I suggest you read the current guidelines for LAs here. If, at the end of that, you think "no, I don't want a visit thank you", you write to them and say "in accordance with the current education law and the 2007 guidelines to LAs, we prefer not to receive a visit at this time. I will be happy to send you a report on our progress over the first 3 months of HE, and will send it to you in early April. [change dates as feels comfy for you]. Please keep all future contact with us in writing. Yours sincerely". Unless you are looking for educational advice from some retired ex-headmaster, an LA visit has very little benefit to you at all.

Well, if having tried HE you find it suits you both, then I don't think what anyone else thinks about it is very relevant really! You're already seeing the difference in him - if other people are horrified at the idea, then I think you only need to point out how well he's doing on it to make them reconsider their assumptions.

At the moment you say he doesn't think he wants to go - I guess that might change from one day to the next. If it was me, I'd accept the place and not push him about it either way till into the summer term, to give him longer to get used to HE and think about whether he likes it and wants to continue. That would still allow you to give up the place and it to go to someone on a waiting list before the summer holidays, if he does wants to stick with HE. Assuming of course that you are happy to carry on and don't feel it would be better for him to give the new school a try.

What Ommward says

Fab news though, Becaroo - you sound positive about it

'tis I, your zoo friend...

I wouldn't worry about your doubts to teach key stage 2. I read on the other thread that you were particularly worried about the maths.

Firstly, there are so many resources out there to help. CGP do good study/ revision guides that are really aimed at children but brilliant for a parent in a muddle (believe me, I've studied my daughter's GCSE ones many a time!)

Secondly, you will find you grow with it. I took my eldest out at the age of 12 and I can't tell you how scared I was about it and how I knew there was no way I was capable of teaching secondary level. I posted on here in so many panics - it was the main thing stopping me. And yet, we've managed it! I've probably learnt more this year than I ever did at school! She's taking Maths, Biology and Geography GCSE this year - and Biology wasn't even a subject I did at school. But somehow you learn together, you help each other, at whatever level.

The weird thing is, with my elder daughter, when often neither of us know the answer and are puzzling over it, me suggesting something stupid and her saying "no, that can't be right because...." , once we've cracked it she learns it really quickly and it stays in. With my youngest, I know what I'm doing (by virtue of having done harder stuff with my eldest) and so I just explain it to her - and it isn't nearly so successful a method!

Have no doubts about your ability to teach key stage 2. It's just a natural extension of key stage 1 anyhow. Take him from where he's at now and you will grow together.

Thank you for all your replies.....am quite happy to keep HE as I am finding that he is really blossoming at home - dont get me wrong, we dont swank about the house like "The Waltons"!!! but even on days when he moans and groans we are done in 1-1.5 hours and then the rest of the day is ours/his to do what we want.

Just shocked he is not sick of me already I guess!

Am also very ambivalent about him going to that shcool anyway tbh....had an app with the head last month to discuss things and so I could see the school for myself and the head was a horror

I am still very upset by some of the things she said/her attitude to the children. All the school cares about are results - the childrens happiness and emotional wellbeing dont really come into it.

Honestly, the things she said would horrify you

Becaroo - if you're describing the head as a 'horror' you've already made your decision!

Anyway, what things did she say?!?

Ugh...where do I start????

After telling her of our reasons for taking ds1 out of scholl which inclluded prolonged bullying she informed me "most parents do not know what contitutes bullying" Actually I think I do. My ds was bullied for 3 years by the same boy. She said that if my child was "punched or kicked once it would not be considered a case of bullying by her". I asked if she thought that a child being physically bullied by the same child for 3 years was bullying and she consented that it was.

I asked about SATS as ds1 wont be taking them and whether that would be a problem. "oh no, we do our own diagnostic testing in the first week of year 3 because no child is at the level in september that they were at in june" FFS!!!! Why do SATS in the first place then you mad bint!!!!

Then she really made me mad

She said "we can tell within 2 days what a child is capable of". Well, I am sorry, but I think it takes a bit longer to fully recognise a childs potential!!!!

I also asked about reading and whether the children were read with at school (like they are at infants) and she very stroppily replied "its not our resposibility to read with your child" I never said it was! I was just asking what they did at juniors!

It also seems a very strict regime for 7 year olds (and my ds1 is a summer baby so would only just be 7 if he went).

And as for homework........ugh. Thats when I got really stroppy.....

Last year some mums got together to complian because 2 teachers were giving out spelling homework on a monday and if the child did not get 90% on thursday they were kept in at breaktime. this even applied to one poor child who was ill on the monday when the spellings were given out!!! So they were basically saying that - if you dont get 90% in a subject you are not good enough". Awful. It was stopped but not before several children were made thoroughly miserable by it.

I asked what the policy was on homework as I said I didnt agree with homework for such young children. She then amazed me by telling me she agreed with me and that when her own daughter was primary age the school she went to offered parents choice and she opted for her daughter not to receive homework as she sadi "kids spend long enough at school, when they are at home they should be able to relax" Wow! She agreed with me! Then I asked if I could opt for my son not to get homework and she said "No, it is a statutory government requirement and we have to set it" I then asked what would happen to my son if he just didnt do it (with my full support I might add) and she said " he would be kept in at breaktimes/lunchtimes to complete it"

OH MY GOD.

So...what about those kids whose parents just dont give a damn and dont get any help at home????? They will be punished for it and made a but for jokes by their peers. I was horrified and said so.

I think she was glad when I left!!!

I should point out here that - as the head pointed out - "25% of our pupils come from out of catchment because our reputation and results are so good" It is considered a very good school and got "outtstanding" in its ofsted report.

Just goes to show.........

Wow. Your DS is very lucky to be HEd!

The more I think about it, the more I am inclined to tell them we dont require the place anymore!!!!!

When I read your OP I thought...don't be hasty, just accept the place and decide at the last minute, if need be

on reading your last couple of posts, thought, have come round to the "tell them to get stuffed" position