I don't think HE is the best option for every child or every family. Nor do I think it is the only option. But it is a legal option, and I think far more of us should at least consider it seriously with our children, get ourselves informed and think about the pros and cons.
At school-choosing time, it'd be "this CofE primary, or the one round the corner which we are in the catchment for, or do we feel like a Steiner-WAldorf, or are we going to be sending our children to a very posh prep school or can we get into this RC primary, or shall we home educate?" Just one on the list.
it simply isn't seen as an option by many families, and they don't offer it as a possibility to their children even if their children are clearly unhappy about starting/continuing school. I think they should, because happy children learn better and live better than unhappy ones.
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Indeed. It is this lack of real choice that annoys me so much. How can the child/parent chose what feels the right path for them if they do not know the options? Last night I dealt over the phone with a furious lady, whose son has had an appalling time his whole school life, and only now, aged 15, has anyone told them about HE. Not Connections. Not the school. Not the mental health "experts" who'd "never met anyone who didn't want to go to school" and said he must have a mental health problem. Not the EWO. But, finally, an OFSTED person of all people!
The child is now, literally, revelling in being in control of his own life, of being told that he can chose, that he doesn't have to go something he hates ("because its what everyone does", "because you have to", "because its character forming"....).
Well, you're certainly doing your bit to mend the situation - to get the message out into a wider society that there IS a choice. I appreciate your efforts enormously!
Revelling. What a glorious word to hear.
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