Home education is more popular than ever for all sorts of reasons.
Sometimes children are homeschooled if:
- Waiting for a school place
- Undergoing medical care
- Experiencing problems in the school environment
- Parents opt for a different lifestyle choice
- SEND issues have affected your child’s ability to access education
We could go on… Whatever the reason, parents often worry about home education, whether they are following the curriculum properly and whether their child will miss out on anything.
In our experience, as home educators across the Manchester and Cheshire areas, plus online across the planet – there are so many positives to home schooling.
Home education offers choice
The school system is largely geared to passing academic exams, especially as young people approach their GCSE years. Of course, you do need to adhere to government learning guidelines if you choose this route. Check out this link…
The truth is, while core subjects such as English, Maths and Science are important subjects to continue, home education can give your child more options to pursue a special interest as well.
Home ed offers an extraordinary flexibility which traditional schools simply cannot offer. You might have a timetable of academic subjects in the morning, but pursue vocational/practical activities in the afternoon.
There needs to be a balance between academic education and more vocational learning though. That’s why we advise parents thinking of home schooling options to do a spot of homework.
Find out what your options and responsibilities are. Speak to other parents who home school… There are plenty of networks out there…
Get organised when learning at home
- To encourage children to take home education seriously, it’s important to be organised. Have one place that is always the study area. A place in the house, above the garage if you have a spare room, or garden office space, that can be tailored to teaching. Have a bookshelf, chest of drawers and stationery caddy that are purely reserved for home education needs.
- Have a learning schedule – perhaps a whiteboard or learning calendar. You can adapt it as you are going along, of course. But set lessons at set times during the week can raise expectations and keep the learning momentum going.
- Deciding what to learn and teach is the biggest issue. You needn’t follow the National Curriculum to the letter, but certainly with exam-subjects we suggest you study each exam board specification in each subject – and go from there.
Professional support for home schooling
Many parents feel overwhelmed by how much there is to consider. Home education is a bit of a minefield..!
When it comes to subject knowledge, it can make life so much easier if you have subject tutors taking on the role of teacher.
If this is something you would like to explore, get in touch with us here at 121 Home Tutors.
We have a bunch of home education specialists on the team who can advise you going forward and ensure your child learns in a way that suits them.
Tags: core subjects, home education, passing exams, SEND issues