There are many reasons to home educate and many families never intend to use the school system for their children. This is about my choices and reasons though.
Funnily enough, I have encountered alot of negativity over my choice to home educate my son, but not my daughter. My daughter is severely ill and mostly bedbound with ME, so obviously I should take on the responsibility right? Well wrong, it's still the school systems responsibility to educate all children and any child that has had 15 days plus off with an illness is entitled to home tutors or funded online tuition. This is a legal requirement and its illegal for them to refuse, like hundreds of other families, we were refused this.
My son enjoyed nursery school while they were in small groups. I tried to talk to the SENCO about his sensory needs and fear of large social situations. I was, of course, dismissed and offered parenting classes, because its always a failure of parenting and never a failure of the system. Once introduced to a class of 30 pupils in nursery and then a class of 60 in reception (!!) it all became too much. It was still seen as a parenting problem because he would, like many children, hold it together at school and then meltdown before and after school. He was refused assessment and referral to services by the. SENCO because "the form is really long" and "I'm busy with the kids who lick the walls".
So I took him out and was met with a nasty backlash of "child protection" who told me that I couldn't do that, but were very wrong, I could and I have. They stated that unlike my daughter, my son was *physically able* to attend school, so should.
Why should children attend school though? The current school system hasn't changed in many years apart from the banning of beating children. It's still made to produce compliant factory workers, which isnt even relevant to the current and future workforce demands.
My son was 5, he was screaming in distress every morning, wetting the bed on school nights, even vomiting before school after they confiscated his lunch box so he couldn't even have his safe foods (no reason was given).
Now he is back to being the confident. Happy child we know, through the NHS he was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, but refused an autism assessment, so we paid privately for that and now he has a ASD diagnosis. If there was any way of ensuring those needs would actually be met in the school system then maybe he could return. But why? He is thriving, he adores learning, just finds it impossible with 60 other loud kids around and who wouldnt find that environment over stimulating?
Our school system has become little more than barely functioning free childcare, or child prisons. Merging two classes of 30 so they can reduce the number of teachers. No way you can give a child the attention they need in that environment and if they have sensory problems it's hell on earth for them.
Deregistering a child does not mean you are *taking on the responsibility* of their education. They government never take on that responsibility, the responsibility is always the parents. So when they are forced into a failing school because its the only one with room. When they leave with no qualifications or completely illiterate, it is the parents responsibility. If it was the government's or the schools responsibility they would have to take a good look at the school system. The only thing taken on by the parent when they deregister (or never register) a child from government education is the financial responsibility for that education.
And of course, constant criticism from the local authority and ignorant people.
2tired and a (not so much) toddler
