(This post has minor UK, (and some US) homeschooling legalities - the rest is aimed at any child / household anywhere!)
So, you’ve weighed up the pros and cons. You’ve seen the standards of general education, and felt it didn’t fit what your child needs. Then you tried it - maybe during lock-downs, or just on a part-time basis - or via your children’s homework - and panicked!
This article is to help those parents who want to take the leap, but are also finding lots of reasons not to…!
Let’s start with the legal stuff; In the UK it’s perfectly legal to take your kids out of school and teach them at home. Either yourself, via other family members, friends (possibly those already homeschooling) or an external independent tutor.
There are currently approx 64,000 registered in England. 6,000 approx in Scotland. Prior to the pandemic there were 2,500 in Wales, this has risen to 4,000 - and in Northern Ireland officially 428. In total the UK has approx 70, 400. (from Think Student May 2022)
In the US there are 3.7 million homeschooled children - the legalities are slightly more complex given the state laws - more information can be found here at Cambrilearn
The laws in the UK are very loose, and open to interpretation for parents (which is a good thing!) meaning there are no obligations that you have to meet a certain curriculum, hours, or outcomes. (‘Official’ outline on elective home education Gov.UK)
To keep on good terms with the Department for Education, you should inform the head teacher at your children’s school that you will be home educating, but are under no duty to explain why. There could be many reasons - possibly you want more one-to one-teaching, your child has particular interests that you would like to have more focus on, or your child has specific needs that are better suited to being at home. It doesn’t really matter. You know your children best. You can then send a progress review if requested to keep all informed. Examples of this to follow next week.
Now for the good stuff!
Referring to a previous HatchEd. post here, we’ll now discuss the homeschooling day, how to divide your time (especially if teaching across children of different ages), what your timetable might look like, and how to manage if working. Hopefully this will ease some of your worries! Starting with the main one;