Got questions about homeschooling or home education? Ask two experts from the world’s most experienced online school

[MaddyMumsnet]

Whether you’re thinking about homeschooling for the first time, exploring home education as a long-term option, or simply curious about how it all works, it can be tricky to know where to begin. From choosing the right curriculum to supporting your child’s social development, there’s a lot to consider – and every family’s situation is different.

That’s why we’re working with Wolsey Hall Oxford, the world’s most experienced online school, to give you the chance to put your questions to two of their senior leaders: Christine Armstrong and Ruth Young.

Just pop your questions in the thread below, and Christine and Ruth will be online next month to share their advice and insights. Everyone who posts a question by 28/08/25 will be in with a chance to win a £200 voucher (T&Cs apply).

About Christine
Christine is a mum and experienced educator, with over 20 years’ teaching and leadership experience in UK and international schools. As a member of the senior leadership team at Wolsey Hall Oxford, she’s passionate about the power of flexible online learning to meet diverse student needs and expand access to high-quality curricula. Christine also has over a decade’s worth of experience as a SENDCo and supporting families navigating different educational pathways, meaning she understands the importance of inclusive, student-centred learning that supports the whole child.

About Ruth
Ruth is a mum and an experienced educator, with over 20 years’ teaching and leadership experience in UK and international schools. As a member of the senior leadership team at Wolsey Hall Oxford, she’s passionate about the way homeschooling can be shaped around each individual child – personalising their learning and nurturing their unique potential. Ruth is also a trained schools inspector, with expertise in curriculum development, student support, and the diverse challenges that parents face.

I do not approve of home schooling except perhaps in a few special cases. It's become a bit of a trendy bandwagon IMHO.

Hi - it would be helpful if you could clarify your understanding of the difference between home education and home schooling. They seem to be used interchangeably here but they are not the same.

That's one of the downsides of online 'home schooling' I guess.

Most home educated teens will attend in-person sports, drama or science groups. Either through extra curricular groups or companies, or parents get together and organise a science teacher.

To answer the question of why I haven’t considered homeschooling- it’s because 1) I am at work as is DH, 2) my dcs would hate it and 3) except in extreme cases I don’t think it is in the child’s best interest.

I have met lots of home educated children and it has often seemed to be more of a lifestyle choice driven by an over anxious or reluctant to let go mum than anything else. I have taught numerous children who have previously been home Ed and they all found it hard to mix with their peers and often lacked resilience. I also know a home educated child through a club I run and it’s been really sad to see her gradual withdraw from the others since she left school - she no longer has any shared reference points with them and struggles to understand group dynamics. In this case home Ed is purely a life style choice (so that they can go away for long weekends), no send or bullying.
I have also been involved in a situation where a child who was showing signs of neglect was withdrawn from school to be ‘home Ed’, it was heartbreaking. I left the school do I don’t know the outcome, but still think of them.
HTH

This isn’t a concern about this school specifically, but something that’s been on my mind for a while. Who actually oversees online schools when there’s a problem? As far as I understand, they’re not legally required to be Ofsted rated, which means the Department for Education won’t get involved. Local councils don’t seem to have responsibility either because of the online nature, and Trading Standards doesn’t really seem suited to this kind of issue.

It makes me wonder if online schools fall into a bit of a grey area, even when they receive public funding?

I'd be worried my home schooled child would miss out on friendships and social interactions. How do you get round this? Thanks

how easy is it to track if your child is on track with learning.

Hope I am not too late, does an exam board know that the child has been home schooled ?

How soon should I notify the LEA about this - and would I get inspected to ensure my child is safe - I am sure there could be safeguarding concerns about removing a child from a state school - even though we are entitled to do this.
How is safeguarding managed then ?

Do you mean you as a parent? You don't notify the LA, you just notify the school you are deregistering them. Home educating is not a safeguarding concern - obviously if you are already known to social services then there could be concerns.
No one 'inspects' parents.

Hello, what would a typical school day be like ?

Do you have any stats to compare children who have been home schooled to those who enter University at 18 and whether there are any advantages/disadvantages

How is written homework marked - I know there will be a lot of typing - but handwriting and spelling (no spellcheck) is important to me as a parent

Are there online meet ups, if there are no in person home schooling groups nearby?

To answer the question of the thread - I haven’t considered home schooling because my husband and I both work full time jobs and wouldn’t have the time to dedicate to home schooling. Like most people I would imagine

How do they learn to work with people from diverse backgrounds?
Do the people who choose to home Ed represent the diversity of the country in terms of income, social class and ethnicity?
What measures do you take to safeguard children?
How do children learn that some people are less fortunate than them?
How do they learn to spot when someone needs help and to offer it?
How do they learn teamwork and taking account of other people’s views?
How do they learn that other people may have very different views and that that is ok?
How do they learn leadership?
How do they learn to be a contributing member of a community?

Hi everyone, Christine and Ruth here. Thank you all very much for getting involved and leaving questions for us. We look forward to answering them!😀

One of the biggest questions families have when considering homeschooling is how their child will make friends and stay socially connected with their peers. The truth is that home education can offer a wide range of opportunities for building meaningful and lasting relationships. Many families find it gives children more time and energy to pursue hobbies, sports, volunteering, music and community activities, where they naturally interact and bond with other people. Homeschooling groups also provide plenty of chances for meet-ups, shared projects and social events with children of a variety of different age groups, making these social experiences especially rich and rewarding.

At Wolsey Hall Oxford, we understand how important these connections are to a child’s growth and development, which is why we’ve created a global online school community where students can take part in clubs, competitions, forums and more. These extracurricular activities provide a safe and supportive space for students to share interests, grow in confidence, and make friends from all over the world. Combined with the flexibility of our courses, which give students more time for activities and friendships outside their studies, we offer the best of both worlds: opportunities for meaningful in-person social interaction, and a global online network of likeminded peers.

Sharing work with others and receiving feedback can be a lovely way for children to feel connected and learn from different perspectives. In a homeschooling setting, this can happen in informal ways such as swapping projects with a friend, joining a local homeschooling group, or showing family members what they’ve created.

At Wolsey Hall Oxford, all our students’ assignments are carefully marked by our UK-qualified tutors to ensure feedback is accurate, encouraging and fully personalised for every child. Each family's dedicated Student Progress Manager also provides regular updates on students’ progress.

We completely understand these concerns – every parent wants their child to feel safe and valued. For families who have experienced bullying, it can be a relief to know that homeschooling offers a secure, nurturing environment where children can focus on their learning without fear or judgement, often regaining their confidence and self-esteem.

At Wolsey Hall Oxford, many families come to us for exactly this reason, and they see their children thrive both emotionally and academically thanks to our gentle, supportive learning approach. When you enrol with us, you don’t need to “teach” your child yourself – rather, your role is to encourage and support. We offer a wide range of learning materials, both on and offline, to support students’ understanding; our experienced Tutors mark students’ assignments and provide detailed feedback; and every family also has a dedicated Student Progress Manager to help them keep things on track. We don’t offer parent training because it isn’t needed – instead, we give you and your child the resources, structure and support to make the transition as smooth and accessible as possible.

Families quite rightly want to know how effective a homeschooling programme is, and whilst independent bodies don’t collect statistics on homeschooling exam results generally, what we can share is the success of our own students. At Wolsey Hall Oxford, our exam results are very strong, with many students going on to top universities worldwide. Although we can’t publish every individual’s results, our long history in education and exam centre recognition demonstrate the quality of our online courses and the excellent outcomes our students achieve.

We’re also proud to have recently been independently reviewed by the Good Schools Guide, which describes us as “an exceptionally professional and longstanding distance learning school that provides a flexible, innovative, well-supported and accredited curriculum,” – with 98% of families saying they would recommend us to others.

It’s always wonderful to hear from experienced teachers who are interested in supporting homeschooling students. Qualified, passionate educators can make such a difference in helping young people succeed.

At Wolsey Hall Oxford, we’re always pleased to connect with UK-qualified teachers who share our values and commitment to exceptional education. Anyone interested in joining our team of Tutors can find out more and apply on the Careers section of our website.

Proper schools judge the progress students make by calculating the ‘value added’ - how much progress they make, on average, against baseline testing. What is your average value added score at GCSE and at A level?

Homeschooling and home education are two different things in the UK. I see you have used both terms interchangeably so it would be good to clarify which type you support?

“Trendy bandwagon” 😂

Tell that to the thousands of parents that have removed their children from school because their children are broken by school. Or the ones who have been “off rolled”. Or the ones who have been bullied relentlessly. Or the ones with SEND where school is just incapable of meeting their needs.

There isn’t one family in my home ed community who is doing it because it’s “trendy”. They are ALL in it because it is the right thing for their child. Often at a cost. It is very much NOT the easy option.