What is Home Education?

Home education is basically teaching your child(ren) at home. This can be done either full time or some schools may offer part time teaching, so your child's education is split between home and school.

At present you do not have to use a curriculum and the way you teach your child(ren) can differ from family to family. Some adopt a more formal approach, with set school times, set timetables etc whereas other families opt for a more informal option. 

Click HERE to see the government website guidelines about teaching your child at home; removing them from school etc.

Home educating your child(ren) is legal and it is an opportunity for your child(ren) to learn and develop at their own pace. It's also an opportunity for the educator to learn too. 

I home educated my sons for 14 years and the question most people asked was: 

"What about socialisation?" 

My sons would meet up with other home educated children for sports days every Thursday, they would meet up with other home educated children once a month when a few parents would organise a day to get together and do activities etc. My sons did a Kayaking course and some archery. They attend a home education week away with hundreds of other home educated children. 

Another question people ask is:

"Do you have to be a teacher?"

The plain answer to that is no, you don't, but what I would say is - you do need to be enthusiastic about learning as well. There's no point sitting your children down and expecting them to teach themselves. You can learn together. If you want the best for your child, then you will be the best teacher for them. 

"Do you get government funding?"

No. 

Some pros and cons:

Pros:

You know what your children are learning
You can tailor their learning according to their "age, ability and aptitude"
You don't have to be a slave to a curriculum
They get to develop in a world which they will be living in once their schooling is over
You can have the school holidays when you want them
It's rewarding
Discipline can be administered how parents wish (within the law!!)
Some places offer discounts to home educating families
Field trips (atm Covid depending) can be partaken of regularly and the places you visit, more often than not, are quiet - depending on when you go

Cons:

It's a long term commitment if you decide this is for our family
It can be expensive depending on how you go about providing the school work
Opposition from other family members or friends etc (initially anyway)
As the children get older they need a higher level of learning/teaching (this is one of my ideas for the HESC)