Home Schooling
Home Schooling
Outcomes & Expectations
What can I expect as a long-term outcome for my son or daughter?
For some, home-education can be huge success. It can result in balanced, positive happy children who are well placed to succeed at university and beyond with a wide range of excellent GCSE and A Level results, but these positive outcomes are only achieved through huge diligence and commitment. Conversely, home-education can erode opportunity or narrow life chances if the default position is always to reduce work load and limit horizons.
Please think long and hard before taking the decision to home-educate. Many parents make the decision then scramble to understand the know-how, mistakenly believing that there is an existing infrastructure of support; there isn’t. It is simply a case of having to feel your own way forward and develop your plans as you go along. For many that can cause undue stress and anxiety for the whole family.
Think too about your child’s school. It may be disappointing and in your eyes it may be failing your child but it will have the infrastructure to enable your child to study a range of subjects and gain qualifications. Even the worst school in the UK is better equipped in terms of resources than the most capable home-educating parent. Every role you have previously taken for granted, every teacher, every school trip, club, activity and friendship, will be yours to replace. Home-education comes with pressure and angst so make sure you are willing to take this on board and keep battling through.
Remember – this is about your child and their future. School qualifications are certainly not everything but they are almost always essential for your child to access further/higher education (including apprenticeships or other technical/vocational training) and future employment. The more limited the education that you provide for your child (whether to reduce workload, costs or both) the more you may unwittingly reduce or harm their future prospects.
Does my child need to take GCSES?
While some home educators choose to have a more relaxed schedule, it is strongly advisable that qualifications are taken at some stage in your child’s educational career. You will need to prepare well in advance for this, with most GCSEs and Advanced level (‘A Level’) qualifications typically taking 2-3 years to learn, prepare for and then sit.
You are highly advised to discuss with your child what their future aspirations might be and plan their education by working backwards; be aware that your child’s aspirations may change and you may need to consider options that allow for some flexibility/choice. If your child has a career aspiration for the future, then it is a good idea to look ahead and see if a university level qualification (undergraduate degree or above) is needed; what points do they need to realistically achieve, and therefore what A levels and GCSEs are needed? Most professional jobs along with further and higher education centres in the U.K. require formal qualifications. If GCSEs feel too out of reach at the moment, functional skills qualifications for Mathematics and English are a great place to start. Remember that you child does not have to sit GCSEs all at once nor do they have to do them in line with the age taken at schools. You may like to take exams in subjects that your child finds easier first and the harder ones later. An example would be sitting 10 GCSEs spread over the course of 3-4 years, and not necessarily at 16 years old.
While some home educators choose to have a more relaxed schedule, it is strongly advisable that qualifications are taken at some stage in your child’s educational career. You will need to prepare well in advance for this, with most GCSEs and Advanced level (‘A Level’) qualifications typically taking 2-3 years to learn, prepare for and then sit.
You are highly advised to discuss with your child what their future aspirations might be and plan their education by working backwards; be aware that your child’s aspirations may change and you may need to consider options that allow for some flexibility/choice. If your child has a career aspiration for the future, then it is a good idea to look ahead and see if a university level qualification (undergraduate degree or above) is needed; what points do they need to realistically achieve, and therefore what A levels and GCSEs are needed? Most professional jobs along with further and higher education centres in the U.K. require formal qualifications. If GCSEs feel too out of reach at the moment, functional skills qualifications for Mathematics and English are a great place to start. Remember that you child does not have to sit GCSEs all at once nor do they have to do them in line with the age taken at schools. You may like to take exams in subjects that your child finds easier first and the harder ones later. An example would be sitting 10 GCSEs spread over the course of 3-4 years, and not necessarily at 16 years old.
Please also consider the level of qualification, especially for GCSEs which often have a Foundation tier level or a Higher tier level. Foundation level is a less challenging examination, assessing grades 1-5 (Grade 4 and above is a pass at grade C, Grade 5 a high C). However, a student will need to score higher marks on a Foundation paper to achieve grade 4, than if they were to sit a Higher paper. Higher tier papers assess for grades 4-9 (A** – C). Note that grade 9 is equivalent to a ‘high A*’.
What if my child does not know what they want to do when they are older?
If your child does not know what they want to do when they finish education, that’s OK! No one can expect a child or teen to map out a career plan and it is common for career aspirations to change as people grow older (or even for them to embark on one career and switch later). Home education allows your child to explore what they really enjoy, and gives the flexibility to try new hobbies, skills or training. Different work experience placements or volunteer roles can give them a sense of what the adult world looks like.
Each county council has a careers advice FAQ’s page, and some have a careers and employability service which can help with careers advice, work experience placements, and work-related enterprise opportunities.