Bilingual (French) teacher-share Islington North London

[startingsomething]

We're moving back to North London from France with our seven year old twins in September. They're currently in the French system, in a tiny village school. I've begun looking at schools here and I just can't find what I'm looking for. (Before you mention it, the Lycée is huge and the wrong side of London.)

I'm looking for a nurturing environment that will channel children's interests to teach solid reading, writing, mathematical skills, along with a love of learning.

We can't afford private school fees for two kids. However we could pay something (maybe five to seven thousand a year per child).

And now I'm wondering - is there anything to stop us banding together with a couple of other parents of similar kids to hire our own native French speaking primary teacher?

It would technically be homeschooling. We could supply a room in our home and I'd expect the teacher to take children on educational visits to many of the wonderful opportunities in London (British museum, galleries, parks to name but a few).

If there were several families involved then perhaps we could add a volunteer parent component as well as sharing the cost of the teacher.

So, does anybody know:

How many unrelated children would such a teacher be allowed before we are obliged to register as a school?

Are there any other families in North London interested?

Is there a suitable teacher out there for whom this rings a bell?

Has anyone tried anything like this before?

What haven't I thought of? What other considerations are there?

I welcome all your ideas and constructive comments!

EHEguidancefor_parentsafterconsultationv2.2.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

P21 - "6.6 Some groups of parents who home educate their children come together to support each other and teach their children on a communal basis. There is no reason why this should not take place, but such groups should be aware that if their intended provision will amount to full-time education of five or more children of compulsory school age (or just one if that child has an EHC Plan/statement of SEN, or is ‘looked after’), then it may require registration as an independent school. Enquiries on registering as an independent school may be made to the email address given at the end of this document. "

Full time education for this purpose is normally considered to be 18 hours or more.

Are you stuck in a certain area or can you move? There are two bilingual state French schools, one in Fulham and one in Wandsworth. So it is free :) You just need to be able to get a spot.

Also, if you are looking to keep their French, you could also look into getting a French au pair?

I'm not sure this plan is really viable. Assuming you'll be in the UK long term, they'll need to adapt to the UK school system eventually. You could look at Les Crocodiles in Hoxton for a French Saturday school option:
https://www.les-crocodiles.org/home-en

Thanks PatriciaHolm, that's incredibly useful guidance. I have two kids, so two more would certainly tip the balance of affordability for us.
Sampoodle123, please can you tell me the names of the two state schools in Wandsworth and Fulham? This is exciting news.
I'd far prefer to hire a teacher than have an au pair. We don't really need an au pair or want a live-in help - what I'm looking for here is a way to twin-track French and Uk education.
Jackal - thanks, I'll check Les crocodiles out.
Not sure at this stage whether we'll be heading back to France or staying in the UK.
I saw a lovely independent school - but it's £15,000 each kid every year. We just can't afford that, which is what set me thinking.
Thanks in advance for all your thoughts and ideas.

Ah, I see that the Fulham school is connected to the Lycée - I'm really not interested in that, having heard too many negative reports. Wandsworth might be interesting, even though it's the wrong end of town from us.

@startingsomething will send you a private message.

Fulham Bilingual School doesn’t appear to be associated with the Lycée. There is a fee-based Lycée school in Fulham but Fulham Bilingual is free (part of Holy Cross Catholic Primary) and seems to be sort of what you’re looking for, other than the location of course.
https://www.fulhambilingual.org.uk//_

Cbfl in Kentish Town?

With such a good adult-to-child ratio, it isn't essential to be doing formal education for 30 hours a week. Home educated kids usually do considerably fewer hours. Their learning is more targeted and efficient than group instruction in a classroom of 20-30, so they can spend more time playing and doing hobbies.

So you could hire someone for just a few days a week instead. If you, or the other children's parents, work full-time and need the kids to be looked after for more hours than that, then a part-time childminder or nanny could be added. That would be more cost-effective than paying a trained teacher to take the kids to the park and keep an eye on them while they eat lunch! You'd also have more flexibility to use specialist tutors, say if you want music lessons. You or a CM could ferry them round to tutors, Brownies, swimming, etc or they could just play. I guess the children wouldn't be getting as much French exposure that way, however, unless you or their other parent or the CM can also speak French with them.

Why not look into setting up a French club in school holidays, or a french speaking nanny share - the answer to your question, how many children before you have to register as a school is 5 by the way.

There is also this bilingual state primary school in Harrow…https://www.stjeromebilingual.org/

I've also discovered this school - although it seems eye-waveringly expensive. Does anybody know anything about it?

https://www.ecolejeanninemanuel.org.uk/fr/

there two schools in in Kentish Town. can you get a scholarship from eCole jeannine Manuel?