It has been found that more people are opting for homeschooling in recent years, with a rise of 40% over three years prior to the pandemic.
The two key reasons given by parents were to improve their child’s mental health and to avoid them being excluded. Questions about classroom sizes and all children receiving the same teaching regardless of their individual needs have also been raised.
Can I home school my child?
In the UK, you do not need any qualifications to teach your child from home as long as you provide an ‘efficient and full-time education. You can take your child out of standardised education by opting out of the schooling system without permission. However, parents with children enrolled at a SEN (Specialist Educational Needs) school will need to discuss this with the school before disenrolling.
How do I opt out of standardised education?
If your child has never been enrolled in school you do not need to inform local authorities they will be homeschooled, although this is recommended when they reach the age of 5.
If you are removing your child from their current school you are not legally bound to inform them, however, if you don’t this could cause many misunderstandings and complicate the process. It is highly recommended to inform the school of your choice and they are legally obligated to inform the local authorities.
The benefits of home schooling
One to one teaching
Regular UK class sizes are around 30, meaning that in homeschooling they will get far more direct attention. Due to this, the pace will be set for the individual rather than potentially falling behind or feeling that the lesson moves too slowly. Lessons are not only tailored in terms of pace but also subject. With one to one teaching, the lesson can focus on the specific topics the student needs to work on, versus a generalised approach for a large class.
Use of time
As the learning will be specific you can cover topics in a shorter space of time than you would in a typical classroom. You can think of this as quality time over quantity of time, allowing the student more free time to explore their own interests.
Flexibility
As well as the duration of time spent studying, you can also dictate where and when. Reduced studying hours means less scope for a full day requiring an early start. This can allow for a fuller and healthier sleep schedule for both you as a parent and your child. Also, ‘class trips’ for homeschooling can be more regular and even class outside on sunny days.
Community
As homeschooling is becoming more popular there are good options for socialising within community groups. It may be a concern for parents considering homeschooling that their child will not get enough social interaction without large classrooms. However, being involved in local groups and clubs can combat this worry.
Some groups will even be specifically for homeschooling families. A benefit of this can be mixing in more diverse age range groups versus a year group where everyone is the same age.