Jax’s children were not among those starting or returning to school this September. They’re not at home because they’re poorly, or truanting. They are instead among an estimated 100,000 school-age children in the UK who are home educated*, a figure that is rising by 15% each year. Here, Jax from liveotherwise.co.uk/makingitup talks us through a life less ordinary... but lots of fun.
Along with a growing number of families in this country, we home educate. This means that my three children don't go to school, instead getting their education at home, or indeed, pretty much anywhere, anytime.
One of the suggestions in writing a guest post here for BritMums was that I describe a typical day. I'd do just that, if we ever had one! We don't do school at home, or have any set routines, although I do know people who do or at least are rather more structured than we are, so there's not a great deal typical about any day here at the moment.
I do require a certain amount of maths to happen during a week. It's a subject that I feel benefits from regular practise and we use an online system following the national curriculum. There's no requirement for home educators to do that for any subject, but I like to feel that we're covering all the bases. In fact the only legal requirement on any parent is that they provide an education suitable to age, ability and aptitude, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. It's that otherwise bit that makes home education perfectly legal.