New to Home Ed

[muunk]

Hi, just thought I'd introduce myself before jumping straight in and asking questions!

I have 3 children, 2 are currently at school including my Son diagnosed AS. We have had a very, very unsuccessful year at school and to say the school is becoming a joke would be an understatement. My Daughter currently seems to be coping but my Son has had a year of teacher changes, bullying and having no assistance with his problems. We have reached the stage where he can't cope anymore and I have made the decision to Home Ed from September.

I work Part time and am hoping to continue with that and am currently trying to get my resources ready for September.

My first question is, if I will be HE from September do I need to wait until then to inform the school in writing? (I have downloaded a letter from the HE website)

My second question is, is there anything in particular I need to follow? Is there any links that will give me the information? I joined a few groups on yahoo but they don't seem to be very active so am I looking at the wrong ones? lol

Sorry, for the possibly repetitive post, I am sure you get asked these questions all the time! I just want to be prepared as much as I can be at this stage for when we start.

TIA,

Sheena x

[Saracen]

Sorry to hear things are going so badly at school!!

You can send the letter now or later, whichever you prefer. If your son has any more days left at school this year and you want him to stay on until the end of the current term, just make that clear so they don't think you are starting instantly.

Given that apparently there is no doubt in your mind you will be HEing, if the school is oversubscribed then it might be considerate of you to send it now. There might be another family waiting for a place, who could be given your son's place immediately rather than hanging around in limbo all summer not knowing if they'll have a place.

On the other hand, as soon as you inform the school, they are required to inform the LA. The LA is likely to get in touch with you soon after to ask about your son's home education. This doesn't have to be a big deal - you can just confirm that you are home educating and tell them you will provide them with some information in six months - but some families are nervous about contact with the LA and would prefer it to happen later rather than sooner.

You don't need to have all your resources ready for September. It may work better to let your son have a few months off, just doing fun things with you while he recovers from his unhappy school experiences. Take him swimming, let him play with Lego, read stories to him. Meanwhile you can take your time to look around and think what might suit him later on. Don't pay much money for anything at first; let him try things and change if it doesn't engage him. There is plenty of flexibility to adapt. The rat race is over. You have all the time in the world.

There are no required subjects and you can follow any curriculum you like or none at all. You just have to decide what YOU think your son needs to learn and the best way for him to do that. That may sound scary, but the beauty of it is that it is an endless tinkering process. It doesn't have to be right straightaway, because it is easy to modify. In that respect it's totally different from school.

[muunk]

Thank you for replying x

I would guess it is probably desperate to fill spaces at the moment as so many other Parents are taking their children to other schools, it really has got that bad!

I think I'll give it in tomorrow then, if I can ask them to get back to me in 6 months. The sooner they know the better, they've already done enough damage and I want them to know 100% that he won't be returning, I've already told his teachers verbally but I'm pretty sure they're certain he'll be back!

Thank you, again, I'm sure I'll be on here asking for help again pretty soon! xx

[morethanpotatoprints]

Hello muunk

I'm sorry to hear you have had such a bad year, it must have seemed very long.
In terms of having to do anything particular the answer is no. You could teach them hula dancing if you wanted to.
You don't have to follow the nc for what it is , you don't need to assess, mark or plan for lessons.
There are many websites dd uses for learning and resources are readily available, free to download so obviously very cost efficient.
There are also the workbooks that are available from lots of high street shops, these are brilliant if you do want to follow the nc as you can check everything has been covered.

Welcome, and do get back with any questions you have. There are many on here who can help if you need.

[Thinking2014]

Hi muunk I second what's been said, you'll get lots of help here or you could try search Facebook, apparently their groups are more active.
Do have a good read online, I've found lots of useful sites and blogs and connected with other HEdders on twitter too.
Have a read through the threads on here in case you spot something of interest :)

[muunk]

Thank you again, I will have a look around.

Another quick question, do you need to have anything to prove you HE while out and about?

[Thinking2014]

muunk I read on //educationfreedom.org.UK that some people do get stopped when out during school time with their kids and asked why they're not in school. They recommend carrying their card around that apparently is proof enough that you Home Ed. I've not heard if anyone has bought their cards but after gaining a lot of useful info from them I may get it anyway, they say it also serves as proof if you want a discount into places...all the info is on their site...

[muunk]

thank you thinking2014. I think it might've been your post that made me ask, I tried to purchase it using paypal but it kept telling me I couldn't use any of the payment methods lol I have just found this one which looks good!

[muunk]

Helps if I add it! homeeducationcard.co.uk/membership.html

[Thinking2014]

I haven't bought it yet because I'm not 100% sure I need it...I may just need a letter from the LA that proves I HE...I haven't heard what anyone else uses (if anything) so not sure. I read the small print and it said further proof may be required at descretion of the attraction...well that tells me that the card isn't a quick solution because I may still need further proof [hmmm]

[Hakluyt]

Just say you HE. Give them your name and address if asked then wait for them to do anything. They won't.

[Thinking2014]

Hakluyt but if its an attraction won't they just turn you down for the discount if you can't show some sort of proof that you HE?

[morethanpotatoprints]

Attractions offering discounts to H.ed, I must live in the wrong area
Tbh just joking, most things in this area are free. Museums and galleries definitely.
Which attractions offer them elsewhere then?

[Thinking2014]

//Www.educationfreedom.org.uk had some attractions listed I think for discounts...

[muunk]

The link that I gave also gives you attractions and museums etc that offer discounts xx

[muunk]

I received my card this morning, it also offers 20% off Conquermaths, Reading Eggs, ToucanBox, MathSeeds, Mathletics, Educationcity and Edplace :)

It normally costs £15 but if you go to homeeducationcard.co.uk/Referrals.html and quote my membership number (100596) you can get it for £12

Apologies if this isn't allowed but thought 20% off these programs could be some use :)

[Thinking2014]

Aw muunks that's kind of you to share!