Would homeschooling be right for my child?

Although education in the UK is compulsory, school is not, and more parents are now considering home schooling for their children. This may be because they are not happy with the education on offer, or because they feel that the different needs of their child are not being met. Especially so if they have a child with a learning or behavioural problem.

When researching for my book Does Your Child have a Hidden Disability? I met with parents who had chosen this way of educating after the endless battles they had fought - and often lost - to get extra help for their child.

One father said to me: ‘I woke up one morning and wondered why I was spending all my time clashing with authorities to "provide" for my daughter when we could do it better ourselves. We have never looked back.’

From a mother: ‘My son was teased at school. His life was made a misery. I complained and complained and I got the label of a fussy mother, but I could see what the tormenting was doing to Eric. I wish I had thought of home schooling earlier.’

‘We educate because we like the lifestyle’, said Melissa Hill, author of bestselling Smart Woman’s Guide to Staying at Home, ‘We can be spontaneous and respond to the needs and moods of our children. It is pure freedom. We treat the world as our classroom.’

‘After my daughter was ‘statemented’ she was given a support assistant, but they spent most of the time out of the classroom just wandering around.’

If home schooling is something you are considering you should contact the Home Education Advisory Service (www.heas.org.uk). Members of the charity HEAS have access to an advice line for curriculum guidance, and a specialist Dyslexia Helpline. The Department for Education and Skills sets out conditions parents have to fulfill in order to educate their child at home; these can be seen on their website www.dfes.gov.uk. In the US look at Homeschool Internet Yellow Pages at www.homeschoolyellowpages.com.

From a very happy mother who decided to educate at home after endless battles with a school: ‘I believe home schooling is the best thing for a child who marches to a different drum, because my son’s talents lay outside of what was normally valued within the schooling system.’ Parents who have opted for this scheme often band together at times to provide some combined activities for their children.

So there is a choice, but one which should be taken only after a great deal of thought and preparation. For the parents who are concerned about their children’s education for different reasons, home schooling is an option which an increasing number are going for. If that is the path you choose, you can be sure you won’t be alone.

© Jill Curtis 2002