Educational Philosophies/
Statements of Educational Provision

Example 2

Although T is dyslexic, she is an avid reader, probably getting through ten or more books a week and we visit the library frequently. When we go out for a day we always visit the library in whichever town we may be. We have an extremely wide range of books at home covering almost every subject, also many encyclopaedias, textbooks and workbooks. We have a wide selection of videos, DVD’s, CD’s and tapes, both musical (covering almost all types of music) and story. She has access to the Internet whenever she wishes and has discovered that her typing has improved greatly and I am currently teaching her IT. She has a great love of history which we are encouraging and she is collecting the horrible history magazines which she looks forward to receiving fortnightly. She has spent several months making a very involved family tree of the Royal Family from the Tudors down and has just reached George VII. As she is writing details of each person’s life and events in their life this has given her an understanding of historical, geographical and scientific events at the time.

T plays football with her friends from school, swims frequently and enjoys walking. She is teaching herself calligraphy, which, given her dyslexia and coordination problems, is quite a challenge and is also involved in glasspainting and makes jewellery. She has expressed an interest in soapmaking and currently is finding out details of ingredients needed. She also enjoys cooking. She has begun a book detailing days out with photos, postcards and newspaper cuttings. She also draws paints and writes poetry.

We feel that learning is ongoing, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and so do not work to a timetable. We feel that timetables are necessary in schools where there is such a limited time to learn, but not needed at home where there is no time restriction. It is difficult to say how long is spent on each subject as so many run together that we could not say where one ends and the next one begins. If she shows an interest we nurture that by finding books, videos and other resources on whatever it might be so as to find out all that we can. We have received many free resources via the Internet such as NASA, PETA, North American Indians, English Nature, Anglesey Seal Life Centre to mention just a few and she is studying these avidly.

We have four teachers in the immediate family and many of our friends and neighbours are also teachers and all have indicated that they are willing and able to help with anything I may not be able to do myself, and they have been a constant support to us. Her father has backed us up all the way with home education and is a great source of encouragement. Many of our friends have taken it on themselves to encourage her and are helping her learn about the environment, local history and geography, gardening and childcare and many other things. They have all said how much she has changed, for the better, since being home.

Regarding socialisation, she attends a group on alternate Fridays for children who have had problems such as bullying at school, and another group on alternate Thursdays for teenagers with learning disabilities. She enjoys these greatly and both groups have taken her on trips which have included many days out in the summer, bowling, Evita and most recently was taken to see “The Stomp” in London. She has a lot of contact with other home educated children and often meets her old friends from school and stays with them, and of course has them to stay with her. She has far more contact with friends now than she did before. She has a wide circle of friend whose ages vary from 1 to over 80. She is slowly getting her confidence back and since being home her health has improved immeasurably.

We have a “museum day” approximately once a month when we visit museums, in London, other towns and here at home. So far we have visited Maidstone Museum many times, our local Museum, the Imperial War Museum (the holocaust exhibition was of particular interest to her) and the Victoria and Albert Museum. We have also visited Brighton, Southampton, Hastings, Folkestone, Ashford, Rye, Dover and Guernsey where she spent a week learning about the islands heritage (especially the German Occupation as her grandfather was there at the time), history and geography from family members. She is very interested in WW2 and has been to an exhibition about Anne Frank, and has read many books on the subject. We have visited the Earth from the Air exhibition at the National Geographical Museum and enjoyed it so much we purchased the book about it and check the picture for each day daily. Next week we are meeting other home educators from across the country at the Natural History Museum in London. Last week we met up with some other local home educators for the Stop the War march and rally in London. We are planning to visit Dover Castle and the Wartime Tunnels in the spring and also Battle Abbey.

As a family we find home education to be extremely rewarding and are grateful that we are able to do this for T. Our only regret is that we did not do it sooner.

HE versus school - the pros and cons

T’s comments

I want to learn properly at home. I want one to one help that they couldn’t give me properly at school. I want to learn maths with help. I don’t want to be bullied any more. I just want to do history most. I feel happy that I am no longer at school.

My comments

T will learn on a one to one basis. We will go back to about year 3 or 4 in maths and start again at the beginning as the basics have to be understood thoroughly before the rest can be understood. The same applies with spelling. She will also become proficient in typing and other IT related aspects. She will work to the highest standard that she is capable of.

Home Education – The Pros and Cons

1 No bullying

Can be lonely

2 Only one teacher

You miss other teachers

3 No crowded classrooms

You miss other people

4 You can spend more time on the subjects you are most like

You don’t have the chance to research with your friends

5 You do the work you like

You don’t learn new subjects

6 You don’t fall out with your friends

You don’t make new friends

7 No school uniform

Wear and tear on home clothes

8 Work can be done any time of day, any day of the week

No more school holidays

9 You can concentrate better so the quality of work improves

No one else to compare your work with

10 If you feel ill, the work can still be done later in the day If you work at home you cannot get away from it when you are ill

11 No more homework

Work will always be at home

12 Days out for educational purposes

No more school trips

13 You have your mum as a teacher

You might not like your mum

1 No bullying any more. No more being hit, no more being pushed, no more threats. It says it all doesn’t it. It can be lonely, but only if you want it to be. You can still see your friends after school, phone them, and go to SNAP discos with them. You just won’t be with them all day every day.

2 Only one teacher. Yes, that is true, and I am not qualified, but we do have a vast selection of books available to us, the internet, libraries and a lot of teachers among family and friends. What we don’t know we will find out.

3 No more crowded classroom trying to get a teachers attention when you don’t understand or you need help No more work destroyed by other pupils. Yes, you will miss other people when learning at home, but you will have my attention all the time, what you don’t understand will be explained until you do understand and you will not have your work destroyed by others any more.

4 This covers 5 as well. You will do the work you like, and we will discuss what subjects we are covering and choose the topics that interest us. For example history can also cover religion, english, geography, geology, natural history, french and latin, science, IT and many other categories. Leaning no longer has to be compartmentalised into a particular subject. Rather, a topic can touch on aspects of many different subjects which in themselves will lead to learning about more and more. Therefore, you will be learning many new subjects on a more varied basis.

5 As explained above.

6 You don’t fall out with your friends as you won’t see so much of them. They can still come round when they want, you can still have sleepovers and go out with them. You will make new friends. We still have to find out who in this area is also educated at home and you may make friends that way.

7 A shame because it offers a sense of belonging . However, no more falling down tights.

8 We can work when it suits us best – mornings and/or afternoons and/or evenings. If you are enjoying what you are doing, then you do not have to pack up after 40 or 50 minutes, but can carry on for as long as you want. School holidays do not apply in the traditional sense. Obviously this is the best time to see your school educated friends, but holidays can be taken when it is best for us, and work can and will be done in school holidays as well as term time.

9 A difficult one. It does help to have someone to compare work with and to see how well you are doing compared to them, but there will be no distractions as there would be in school and when we find a local
group of people we can compare with them.

10 Obviously if you are feeling ill, then you would not be working in the traditional sense, but discussions can still happen, books can be read, videos can be watched, and computers can be used.

11 No more homework. True, but all work will be homework i.e. work done at home.

12 We will have days out for educational purposes visiting museums etcetera. You will possibly learn more as you will be able to go round at your own speed and concentrate on the things that really interest you.

13 Yes, you have me as your teacher, and there is no getting away from that.

10 months later she has realised that some of these things don't matter or no longer apply, and that her social life is 10 times better than it was before.