Home schooling on the rise in Scotland?

[dotesbex25]

I read this in the Times

Surge in home schooling blamed on violence in classrooms

https://www.thetimes.com/article/dde9943e-98ee-4854-9517-2c2bd1056d2e?shareToken=e86f74ea472862e834b4461d5ce64a10

Anyone have any experience of the kind of violent behaviour they’re talking about or know anyone who has chosen to take their kids out to home school them?

I don’t have kids of school age so it’s not a personal thing - am just interested!

Pupils throwing chairs and tables at staff/other pupils.
Pupils stabbing other pupils with pens/pencils
Verbal abuse, some graphically sexual in context...
Destroying of classrooms- other people's property.
My dc got punched in face at age of 6- schools response, 'what could he have done to have stopped it happening'...'he needs to remove himself from the situation when x is...'

Now on this situation x approached my dc in the lunch queue and because he didn't let X push in front, resulted in the punch, but of course school did nothing

It was the (secondary) school repeatedly phoning me at work to pick up my child as they could not prevent any other pupil beating her up whenever they got the chance that made me decide to remove my child to a private school. It was that or home schooling. The school told me that they were unable to safeguard my child from the violent bully. My child’s sibling became increasingly anxious that they were going to witness their sibling being murdered at school.

The bully had been charged with assault multiple times but the police are as powerless as teachers to act on this (and are equally exasperated with the situation!).

As the article says, Fife is the worst area in Scotland. They’ve told teachers not to even try to address bullying anymore.

I wouldn't agree that Fife is the worst.

I would home school if I could, or send to a private school. My son has been attacked many times and even after evacuation (lower primary).

Schools used to be safe but now the focus is on keeping violent children in the school building. So, others are hurt or don't go in the same building.

The policy is ‘inclusion’ but inclusion of a violent child in mainstream schooling excludes every other child who wants to learn in a safe, calm environment. I think a lot of children are home schooled as they cannot cope with the stress of not knowing when the chairs will start being thrown that day etc. Anxiety is high in these environments.

There's plenty of violence in my daughter's high school and she spends many classes not learning much as it's just one thing after another. I went to a high school that was much worse though which I think is colouring my view - my friend's son just started at the same school (my daughter is S2) and she was absolutely shocked and horrified - she had nothing like this in her own high school.

I think there's too many limits to what schools can do. They can't even keep them in at lunchtime or exclude them permanently. There are almost no special school placements, etc etc. It doesn't surprise me that there's a rise in home schooling - private school is inaccessible for most and if your child becomes a target there's nothing you can do to protect them.

This, it's 'not kind' for the violent child to have to stop expressing their violence, so every other child is removed from the classroom and loses education. ...

If you look at any aspect of what the Scottish government publish in relation to bullying it is all about how they can make the bully’s life easier. NOTHING is said about the victim of the violence, the effect on the rest of the class and teachers in viewing it. The government thinks of nobody but the bully.

Agree @Letgoofmyblank
'What did you do to make x unhappy and hit you'
'Why were you in the way'
'Why didn't remove yourself'
'We expect more of you than to cause issues like this'....

“It is likely that home schooled students miss out on proper opportunities to experience a broad curriculum, which is a serious loss, and probably a more serious loss than the slight gain in verbal attainment from being at home,” Paterson said.

I'm going to try and find research which supports this statement as I'm not sure it's true. The whole world is open to home educated kids (as it is to school educated as well). The way information is gathered may be different but the child can be exposed to any number of subjects and topics.

Unfortunately the stats show that Fife does appear to be the worst offender.😯

The one I work in and have children in doesn't collect pupil to pupil data unfortunately.

The violence over the past 4 years in nursery has been frightening. Parents stand saying not my child. Yet we’re not allowed to exclude.

a family member taught in Fife last year and the violence in that school was horrific. Yet the parents threatened the school staff if they spoke to them. This year they have employed effectively a bouncer to stop parents entering the school.

I haven't home schooled my kids but I have moved my youngest 2 kids out of one primary school to another because one of my kids was being terrorised to the point he refused to go to school.

The head teacher looked me in the face and denied their was any bullying in her school despite multiple children having left one of my kids year groups in a matter of months because of being bullied. It is well known the head teacher turns a blind eye to certain kids bullying others. Loads of kids have been moved out of the school because the behaviour of some of the kids in it is absolutely horrific. These kids behave this because they know they can get away with it. Their new school is excellent and the kids are far better behaved but the head teacher doesn't tolerate bullying or bad behaviour. My primary age child now tells me "I feel safe in my new school mummy and nobody hurts me and everyone is kind to me".

On contrast my oldest child is in secondary and the school are strict on behaviour. They temporarily exclude kids quickly over bullying and operate on a zero tolerance policy. Having worked in the school ita obvious the school has good protocols in place for behaviour.

This sounds exactly how my kids old school "dealt" with bullying. My son stopped telling staff when he was yet again attacked as he said "they just blame me anyway".

GIRFEC always seems to apply to the child terrorising the classroom and never to the children being terrorised.

This all sounds absolutely dreadful, and really puts me off moving to Scotland, as I had previously considered. For context, I am a Londoner, lived in Bearsden for a year as a child, and now live in rural Cork with my husband and our DS with ASD Level 1.

Yep, that's why I got the bemused look when I said 'it means Getting it Right for EVERY Child' which meant my child too, not just the little thug terrorising the school who got pandered to.

This is just so so depressing

https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/25427697.pupil-bullied-six-years-carnegie-primary-school/

This is the sort of thing parents are up against. Complaint about bullying, school does nothing, complain to the council, council does nothing, complain to the council, senior officer passes complaint back to person who responded previously who does nothing. Complaint to the ombudsman, action is finally taken after years - YEARS! - of unaddressed bullying. It’s so bloody grim. Think of the damage to that poor child. And all the time it’s getting worse and worse.

Bloody hell that's awful. Also, as an aside, what the hell is going on in Fife??!!!

What with all the nonsense in schools and the situation with Sandie Peggie and that Dolowski guy it's mad!

This reflects poor choices by the Scottish government ultimately.

Scotland does not have Pupil Referral Units like they have in England - these are specialist units in their own buildings where children with challenging behaviour are sent to receive specialist education.

Instead, in Scotland, children are supported in their own schools.

It's a big difference.

Interesting. So it sounds like schools do have the power to address extreme bullying, if they choose ot use it. Why would any school not do that?

They really don’t have powers. They can temporarily exclude - take the bully out of school for a few days, and whereas it was nice for my child to have a few days respite the child will then be back, and can beat up with impunity as the school cannot issue back to back temporary exclusions. So the bully knows they have a fortnight or so with the school being unable to temporarily exclude them during which they can do whatever they like.

Bullies also know the police are toothless. They can be charged with assault and their mum may get a letter home. So what? Means nothing to them. If a child is in care without their carer permission the school cannot:

• Move which class they are in
• Move where they are sat
• Hold them back at the end of school to allow their victim to walk home safely
• certainly not move which school they are in

And a lot of bullies are in care.

Yes it’s terrible that kids are in care but that should allow kids in care to attack, attack and attack again. We shouldn’t be handing all the powers and protections to the bullies with no thought to their victims.