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Homeschooling advice

Lalylou

Our wonderful autistic boy is 9yrs old (recently diagnosed) and having a really difficult time at school. He is frequently refusing to go in to school, initially due to his fears around sports and maths, but also he cannot handle large social groups and the noise is just too overwhelming. Mainstream isn't right for him (for many reasons) so we are seriously considering home schooling. Where do i start? Anyone else navigated this and have any tips? All we want is a happy boy who can be himself - he is very happy at home. We live in Hertfordshire. 

  • There is so many other things we learn from being at school. We only grow when we are not in our comfort zone.

  • I really advise against it. I was home schooled and I regret it. 

  • in reply to Ian

    Thank you, that’s helpful :)  No EHCP yet but we plan to start the process shortly. He has done taekwondo in the past and also enjoys solo sports like tennis and swimming. My feeling is that he may want to socialise a little more once we have taken the pressure of school off him, and he has freedom to make those choices himself. 

  • in reply to Budburst

    Thank you ever so much for your reply - my reading for tonight! I’ve heard from a friend about Kingsinter and Wolsey being very good. 

  • Does your child have an HCP? If so, you need to discuss home-schooling with your local authority SEND team. If he does not have an EHCP, then legally speaking, all you need to do is give written notice to your son's Head Teacher that you " intend to educate him otherwise than at school ".  The school will inform the LEA.  You will probably be contacted by an Education Welfare Officer or advisory teacher and asked to provide some information about your plans. You are not required to follow the National Curriculum, but you are required to provide " efficient full-time education according to his age ability and aptitude taking into account any special educational needs he may have." [Education Act 1996 s.7]

    You might want to consider encouraging him to try social activities so he can meet other kids. Many autistic kids thrive in structured activities such as martial arts, uniformed youth organizations, drama groups etc., especially where the adult leaders are autism aware.

  • Yes, we're doing the same with our 13 year old autistic daughter. There's lots and lots of support out there. A few pointers:

    Search on facebook for local home education groups. These will recommend group meet ups, they may be able to give you details of local tutors or joint home schooling groups. There are also often organisations who run special sessions for home schooling families, for example we have a local wildlife rescue centre that run sessions training home schooling kids in caring for animals and there are special home schooling only sessions at a local swimming pool, as a chance to socialise with others doing the same as you. A local facebook group will help point you towards these.

    Your council website should have a home education section, which should list resources you can use, including local tutors as well as online resources.

    There are tonnes of good educational resources online. Try these:

    - BBC Bitesize - tonnes of videos, written lessons and games

    - Oak Academy - free video lessons and quizzes at all key stages

    - IXL - maths and english support for a monthly subsription

    - Learn laugh play - online lessons in a broad range of subjects for £2.50 per session per week. Both academic and fun

    - TKSST - amazing range of interesting educational videos outside of normal curriculum areas. Worth a look!

    - Mathantics (youtube channel) - maths explained for kids

    Online schools offer the whole school experience, but over the internet. Good ones include:

    - Wolsey Hall Oxford - very flexible, good range of tutor support plus SEND team

    - Kings Interhigh - online lessons with same kids each time.

    You can absolutely do the whole thing from home and it can be much better for autistic children to do this. I was initially worried about how this would affect her social life. But socialising doesn't have to happen in an institution and in fact it's been pointed out to me now that school is the only place where people are expected to socialise in a large group of people who are all exactly the same age as each other, but who don't necessarily have anything much in common. The idea that this is the natural way to learn social skills is largely misplaced. Home education can offer a more rounded and natural experience, with children able to learn to socialise with a more mixed range of ages and with people they actually have an interest in common with. This can be a much more positive experience for autistic people.

    Good luck with it all if you do take the plunge!