EDUCATION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
HOME EDUCATION : EDUCATING IN PLAIN VIEW
How do they socialise or get qualifications ? This is a frequent question posed to home educating families , with a common misconception that their children are hidden away not being exposed to the wider world or gaining meaningful qualifications or life experience .
Home education is a very viable option for many families who may elect this route for philosophical , academic or religious reasons , to fit around health issues or to address unmet special educational needs .
In fact , it is the current default system in the UK , with school being opted into . So how do home educated children fare in attainment ?
Quantifiable evidence is slowly emerging , with The National Home Education Research Institute in America finding that home educated children perform at an average of 15 - 25 percentile points above traditional school students .
So , how do home educated students achieve this ? A study from October 2020 at the University of Hertfordshire found that : ‘ Some sessions are paid for by parents , others take it in turns to run sessions based on their own expertise and interests . Parents travel around the county and beyond … for activities that they felt had often been squeezed out of the school curriculum .’
This is echoed in trustee of the Home Education Qualifications Association , Jeremy Yallop ’ s article dated May 2022 : ‘ In practice , most support for home educated families comes from other home educators . Locally , sports and cultural activities are organised by dedicated volunteers … sharing advice from key skills to Oxbridge exams .’
It would appear that the home education community is a resourceful one , creating groups and organising camping trips , park meetups , swimming , martial arts - the list of possibilities is endless . Advice is freely given to better help those in a similar situation with volunteering and work experience organised between families ’ businesses , playdates arranged and youth clubs established . Friendships are more aligned with interests rather than a strict age group , meaning children can be articulate and integrate with all members of the wider community .
In the age of online information , any social setting can be found and , if it isn ’ t , a home educator will set one up . They will also strive to make it as accessible as possible , given that many home educators have SEND or have felt excluded or discriminated against by mainstream settings .
This is what Pip Rothwell set out to do when she helped five students achieve their qualifications for Creative Crafts in 2018 around her dining table . Realising that the community couldn ’ t access the more practical art based qualifications easily , she created an award-winning company that did just that and Technology Triumphs was born in 2019 . Each NCFE accredited course gives access to a private community group where ideas can be shared and communication encouraged . The skills acquired have helped many students gain work placements and college places .
The view that home educated children do not achieve qualifications or are without social skills is fast becoming an outdated one , and with estimates of up to 20 % growth annually , the community is only set to become larger and offer more opportunities from within .
technologytriumphs . co . uk
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