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Mandapanda

We've decided to home educate

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Hi

 

We have finally taken the decision to Home Educate Aw, after he has not attended school for 18 months. The EWO came last week and agreed we should apply for an assessment for a statement. She did not seem impressed with the school.

 

Having thought and talked about it all week, I know Aw will not be willing to be seen by anyone in order to be assessed, and I don't believe any school is going to be able to cater for his needs better than we can. He already does some learning on his own, and I hope and believe that he will welcome being given control over his education and will thrive, with our input and encouragement of course.

 

I work with someone who has home educated their daughter, and this has helped me come to this decision.

 

I just have to write to the school now. :unsure:

 

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This must have been a hard decision,I wanted to this and was going to go through the process but decided to educate myself furthur for now and then probably reconsider when Sam is in secondary school if there is a need.I was told you will get assesed on what you will be teaching etc. I think its each year they will monitor but it varies based on age of the child.They(education authority) told me you almost have to separate your home and "school" life and have a clear structure though you do not need to follow the national curriculum.There are many support networks,books etc. to help you through the process.You can also get a tutor in for those subjects you feel your child may need additional help.Really envy you,wish I could do it!Best of luck.

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Making a decision can make you feel better and take away some of the pressures, Good luck to the new education route and hope that it helps Aw, it maybe just what the doctor ordered, hopefully there is some improvements, he has been out of a mainstream educational setting for such a long time now so it would be incredibly hard to get him back there without intensive support, I hate it though that parents with special needs children are forced to home ed, home ed should be about choices and what the best for the child, your child is home ed because there is no other alternative than home ed to education and Im worried that mainstream schools catch on that parents of special needs children will home ed, more schools may do less to help intergrate special needs children into mainstream schools, and LEAs will be happy because they are not forced to look into specialist provision either, especially if they know you will home educate, anyway good luck.

 

JsMumxxx

 

I am aware that home education is very beneficial for many children and highly regaurded from employee's Im not putting home ed down as there is some brillant work out there that parents are doing for their kids, i personally felt totally inadequate to home ed J, so decided to peruse specialist education that met his needs.

 

 

Edited by JsMum

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Hi mandapanda, and welcome aboard the good ship Home Education! I think you've made a wise decision - there is only so much support available in mainstream schools and fighting to access it is tough, especially if (as with us) you have little confidence in it being provided. It's hard watching your child suffer while you wait for the LEA to get its backside in gear :tearful:

 

It's our one-year anniversary of starting home ed this Wednesday and it's been a rocky journey, but my only regret is that I didn't take the plunge earlier. J has thrived and learned far more than he ever did in school, and has made loads of new friends - he copes better socially because he's not forced into difficult situations for six hours each day without a break. He's calm and happy, which is wonderful.

 

I truly wish you well in your venture :thumbs: and I think you'll enjoy it, though it's definitely hard work! I'm glad you already have some support from your HE friend. If you haven't done so already you might want to consider joining Education Otherwise and finding out about local arrangements for classes and social opportunities. HE Special is a useful forum too.

 

Very pleased you've made the leap :thumbs:

 

Karen

x

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I hope it works out for you.

 

I know it is not something I could do, I need the time away from my son, when he is at school, to recharge the battery's to carry on.

 

As I understand it, you have to educate you child to a standard that would be equal to the minimum standards they would receive in a state school. Which when you think that children leave school unable to read and write doesn't say much.

 

Iv been told that about a hour a day of formal teaching is all that is needed. Don't know first hand.

 

Good luck.

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hi mandapanda interesting post my dd 13 sounds much like yours ie sleep pattern etc and funnily enough i was thinking about deregistering her to home educate,my biggest problem being that she just wont do any homework the school set ,basically she just wont do anything unless its twilight but what worried me was then i get no help? or do i just wondered if you have any info as to where to get help from with this,big concern being if i were to deregister and then she still wont do work i'm really stuck and wouldnt know where to turn,shes not been at school for 18 months and although last term did 3 x 45 min sessions this hasnt worked this term and she has only been once,and ( up here we are on half term) although i asked school for work i didnt get any til the last day and then not much.but i admit when i told her she didnt need to go to school last term she did settle more,as you have found coincidence or not? who knows.but she had said she would work at home but when i got work still cant get her to do it ,and now difficult cos to siblings on their hols so she thinks it must be her hols too any way just wondered on your views,regards julia

by way dd is 13 and awaiting diagnosis( although she is in denial) and wont discuss it.

must really post as newbie cos didnt do that good luck

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jlogan1 - I had the same problem with J and homework, he just dug his heels in and it was very distressing for all concerned trying to get him to produce anything. However I now realise that was because he was all 'schooled-out' after a full day and he simply couldn't take any more. That no longer happens because the pressure is lifted - if he's over-stressed we leave work until later. But the main thing is that he's very rarely that stressed anyway now because it was school that was causing the anxieties in the first place. Stress doesn't have the chance to build up because I'm there to spot it brewing and help him self-manage, a level of support that he's never benefited from in his five yearss at school. He's learning how to recognise these signs for himself and his self control has improved too.

 

With HE you can pace your days and weeks as you see fit, and according to what suits your child's preferences, needs and abilities. Right now I'm working mainly on developing J's writing skills and not really placing too much emphasis on other things at the moment in terms of output, because that's where he's been most lacking. That's not to say that we don't encourage learning in other subjects, just that I don't insist he writes about it because that's where the main challenge is. You don't teach a child to swim by persistently dunking them in the deep end - you have to give them a chance to breathe.

 

You mentioned your daughter's interest in Twilight and that you can't get her to do anything but that. So why not focus on that? We have the same recurring obsessive interests and just now it's Star Wars, so J is now writing historical stories based on Clone Troopers going back in time. It may be Star Wars based but he's producing some lovely work, and his writing skills are coming on very well as a result of having this freedom to choose a subject that inspires him. This is the boy who couldn't hand-write more than a page and a half, and that with a huge amount of anxiety and coaxing.

 

I want to stress again that this is working FOR US and I absolutely accept that it may not be for everyone, but the fact is that you don't know until you try for yourself.

 

Oh, and for the record, monitoring is not as severe as some may think, at least at this stage. There are proposals being considered for changing the way HE is monitored but there's some doubt as to how much will change because it looks lilke being a costly exercise. For now parents can choose to educate their children in whatever style they think suits best, and you don't even have to produce much in the way of evidence. Education Otherwise publish an excellent guide to the legal rights and responsibilities of HE called School Is Not Compulsory, which is well worth a read.

 

Karen

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OK, good early signs already. Aw watched Who Wants To Be a Millionaire with me the other night, and yesterday when I came home from work he was reading the New Scientist magazine (which I get for my eldest son).

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:) Update

 

I have received a letter from the LEA confirming my son is deregistered.

 

It is a very nice letter stating they consider home ed as same level as school ed, giving a list of useful websites, and a couple of booklets of useful info. It says they have not only someone who will come and 'check up' on us, but another person who can come and give help and advice about the actual education we provide. All seems very positive so far!

 

Aw is continuing to do little things like reading New Scientist and going on science forum on web. I had a talk with him about doing archery or karate as a valid part of his education and learning, and he was pleasantly surprised that he could do this. He wants to do archery very much, and seems to now be trying to sort his sleeping again so he will be able to go.

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:) Update

 

I have received a letter from the LEA confirming my son is deregistered.

 

It is a very nice letter stating they consider home ed as same level as school ed, giving a list of useful websites, and a couple of booklets of useful info. It says they have not only someone who will come and 'check up' on us, but another person who can come and give help and advice about the actual education we provide. All seems very positive so far!

 

Aw is continuing to do little things like reading New Scientist and going on science forum on web. I had a talk with him about doing archery or karate as a valid part of his education and learning, and he was pleasantly surprised that he could do this. He wants to do archery very much, and seems to now be trying to sort his sleeping again so he will be able to go.

where do you get the new scientist mag from please my son may enjoy that.

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well done hope all goes well with home ed,still trying to get dd to do some work :wallbash: shes into mental asylums at moment but cant find any books anywhere even library came up with nothing!

have meeting with ed psycologist on wed and if get no-where will go down same route as yourselves as school is just simply not working,mind you nothing else is either :tearful: very difficult at mom cos didnt go to bed til 10 am this morning so by time she gets up i will be turning in which makes it even more difficult to push her to do any homework.

hope the archery works as an incentive to sort out sleep.

regards julia >:D<<'> >:D<<'>

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I was told you will get assesed on what you will be teaching etc. I think its each year they will monitor but it varies based on age of the child.They(education authority) told me you almost have to separate your home and "school" life and have a clear structure though you do not need to follow the national curriculum.There are many support networks,books etc. to help you through the process.You can also get a tutor in for those subjects you feel your child may need additional help.Really envy you,wish I could do it!Best of luck.

 

The biggest issue with home education is not actually educating the child it is the fact that Local Authorities either do not know the law as it stands or ignore it and some of them appear to have not even read the 2007 EHE guidelines, and they are still the guidelines being used at the moment even though all of that is probably going to change very soon.

 

At the moment the law clearly states that it is the parent's responsibility to educate their child, and I do mean every parent's responsibility not just those of us who do home educate, and that part of the law is not going to change anytime soon.

 

Parental Duties: Section 7

 

"The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable;

 

a) to his age, ability, and aptitude, and

b ) to any special educational needs he may have,

either by regular attendance at school or otherwise."

 

As parents are responsible for ensuring that their children are properly educated, it is their decision whether to use schools or provide education at home.

 

As I understand it, you have to educate you child to a standard that would be equal to the minimum standards they would receive in a state school. Which when you think that children leave school unable to read and write doesn't say much.

 

I am trying very hard not to be offended by this statement because I know that it was not intended to be offensive. At this moment in time you have, as the law states got to supply you child with an education that is suitable to his age, ability and aptitude and any special educational needs that he may have. There is no ‘minimum standard’ that the child would receive an education in school that applies.

 

School is a building Education is wherever we are. That is how I have always viewed educating my sons at home, something that I have been doing for the last 11 years. I have never felt the need to separate myself as a Mum from myself as a teacher because we do not do home education as if we were living in a school.

 

Some parents do pay for tutors we did this ourselves at one point and I would never rule out doing it again. But you do pay for these tutors yourself because once you have de-registered your child from school then how you educate your child does become your responsibility. Receiving funding for home education is something that has been floated because of the Badman review but when I was asked if I would accept funding to help to educate my son at home, while I was giving evidence to the Select Committee who is looking at the Badman review, a couple of weeks ago, I said no. I personally do not believe that funding will be available for starters and I find it quite ironic that the funding was not available in the system to support my sons but will now be made available to me to educate them at home.

 

There are many many myths surrounding home education and sadly LAs are often the people who subscribe to or actively promote these myths, which does not help parents who has decided to home educate.

 

Cat

Edited by Cat

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Hi

 

I have been home educating my 10 year old since june and all is going well. He still meets other children in home educating groups but best of all he has relaxed a lot and generally seems happier and much more even.

 

Good luck to you.

 

Susan

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where do you get the new scientist mag from please my son may enjoy that.

 

You can buy it in newsagents or go to newscientist.com. When you buy the mag you often get 'special offers' for subscribing. It is quite a bit cheaper to subscribe than buy it each time, but you'll probably want to be sure it will be read first!

 

As a subscriber you have access to more content on their website as well.

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well done hope all goes well with home ed,still trying to get dd to do some work :wallbash: shes into mental asylums at moment but cant find any books anywhere even library came up with nothing!

have meeting with ed psycologist on wed and if get no-where will go down same route as yourselves as school is just simply not working,mind you nothing else is either :tearful: very difficult at mom cos didnt go to bed til 10 am this morning so by time she gets up i will be turning in which makes it even more difficult to push her to do any homework.

hope the archery works as an incentive to sort out sleep.

regards julia >:D<<'> >:D<<'>

 

Hi jlogan

 

Aw's sleep is particularly bad again at the moment. However I am recording all the 'interesting' programmes I can, which he watches during whatever daytime he is awake for. He watched Nature Shock - Death Fog (which killed 2000 people), and told me all about it and the effects of Carbon Dioxide and Sulphur on people and how they behave in the atmosphere etc. Very educational!

 

I am hoping that knowing he NEVER has to go to school again UNLESS he wants to will take off that last bit of pressure so he can relax and enjoy learning again There are already signs of this happening, though not enough for me to feel relieved just yet :unsure: . He's a very deep thinker so I expect it to take a while to sink in and for all the implications to be realised by him. Knowing others with positive experiences of home ed has helped, and knowing my son does like learning really, it's just school he doesn't get on with, has also given me the confidence to make this decision. I don't know how it will turn out but I know I am doing this for the right reasons and haven't taken the decision lightly.

 

If your child is not sleeping, I don't really see how they can be expected to function in the 'normal' world. If I had been able to force Aw to get up in the mornings I might have taken different decisions, but I simply cannot wake him when he is asleep. Not because I can't bring myself to, but because he simply cannot wake up, he is too sleepy and not at all with it. He will not take medicines of any sort, which may have helped his sleeping - it's hard enough to get him to have food and drink!

 

All we can do is our best, and be prepared to explain that to them later!!!

 

 

 

 

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UPDATE

 

Aw has slept well past 3 nights. He is much more relaxed now and enjoying learning in what is called an 'autonomous' way. He reads, watches documentaries, searches on the internet, reads New Scientist and we now have lovely discussions about interesting and educational subjects.

 

He decided he wanted a new television in his room, having been reluctant for any changes in there. He now wants a better desk to put it on!

 

Education are coming on 27 November to do a 'Home Circumstances Report', presumably to see what our home environment is like, what resources we have (books etc), and to meet us, and perhaps discuss what plans we have. It will be interesting to see if Aw will come and talk to her, as she won't be interested in 'getting him back to school'.

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well done funny how they react to change sometimes,but if more relaxed it must be helping everyone in house.i have spent the last 3 weeks trying to find out as much about home ed as can but have come to a dead end,have been trying to contact someone from LEA who deals with it but shes always out in meetings or phones when i'm out :wallbash: have been trying for a week but still no joy and been told she is the only person that deals with it :wallbash: so thats more time being wasted,just trying to find out where is the place to get resources from ie workshets and reference books ,have tried shops and websites but cant find what i'm looking for.anyway glad all going to plan ,slowly does it >:D<<'> >:D<<'>

julia

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well done funny how they react to change sometimes,but if more relaxed it must be helping everyone in house.i have spent the last 3 weeks trying to find out as much about home ed as can but have come to a dead end,have been trying to contact someone from LEA who deals with it but shes always out in meetings or phones when i'm out :wallbash: have been trying for a week but still no joy and been told she is the only person that deals with it :wallbash: so thats more time being wasted,just trying to find out where is the place to get resources from ie workshets and reference books ,have tried shops and websites but cant find what i'm looking for.anyway glad all going to plan ,slowly does it >:D<<'> >:D<<'>

julia

 

Knowing you've had similar experience to me, I would say don't rush into anything. Certainly don't rush into a 'school at home' regime. Like my son, I suspect your daughter needs to regain the joy of learning. Home ed can mean virtually anything you want it to. Children can learn a lot just by doing everyday things, talking etc. Build on any interests she has. I am reading a book called Free Range Education by Terri Dowty which is very reassuring, with parents and children's own experiences of home ed with many different approaches.

 

There are many free resources on the internet. I think I googled 'free online resources'. The Times has a website with all sorts of information on it. The Open University has extensive free resources, with written stuff and videos. The BBC website is always a good starting point. You can search for things your daughter is interested in. I have joined some Yahoo Groups to do with Home Ed and there are organisations such as Education Otherwise.

 

Good luck.

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Knowing you've had similar experience to me, I would say don't rush into anything. Certainly don't rush into a 'school at home' regime. Like my son, I suspect your daughter needs to regain the joy of learning. Home ed can mean virtually anything you want it to. Children can learn a lot just by doing everyday things, talking etc. Build on any interests she has. I am reading a book called Free Range Education by Terri Dowty which is very reassuring, with parents and children's own experiences of home ed with many different approaches.

 

There are many free resources on the internet. I think I googled 'free online resources'. The Times has a website with all sorts of information on it. The Open University has extensive free resources, with written stuff and videos. The BBC website is always a good starting point. You can search for things your daughter is interested in. I have joined some Yahoo Groups to do with Home Ed and there are organisations such as Education Otherwise.

 

Good luck.

Welcome to this beautiful word of Home Education. Been doing it since October 2009 second time as did it when my kid was 5 for a year now he is 12 and been out of Ed since October.Lonsdale Letts allow you to get coursebooks and workbooks at school rates if you drop them a line and tell them you are home educating. Makes all the difference with the price. Also website What2learn great website. Parentintouch another good one. The Yesterday channel and bbc4 do excellent documentaries. Also BBC 2 has just completed a series of 5 science programmes on How Earth Made Us. should be available on iplayer.

Just take your time and rebuild the confidence and self esteem that has been distroyed, they call it de schooling! Excellent book Home Educating Our Autistic Spectrum Child Terri Dowty and Kitt Cowlishaw. Good read!

Enjoy being with her and learning together.

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