Home Schooling Trends in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire

Home Schooling Trends in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire

Choosing to home-school your child will probably be one of the biggest family decisions you ever make.

Why you choose to home-school your child is personal to you. But the reason parents give when embarking on this journey is almost always the same: to give their child the best possible chance of a consistent and engaging education.

This article explores some of the ways Out of the Box Teaching can support you and your child.

Tutoring services for unique situations

Parents choosing to home school in the UK usually assume it will be long-term and are ready to commit a large amount of their time. However, the level of their involvement can differ. Whilst some dedicated home-schooling parents have always known that they will home-school their children and are looking to home-educate on their own (or perhaps book an individualised one-off assessment delivered by a personal tutor), others are looking for academic tutoring and coaching support.

In some cases, the family has moved, and the children are waiting to be accepted to a new school of their choice. Not knowing the exact date of admission, the parents want their children to continue their education without interruption and will seek a home school tutor to bridge the gap.

‘I am after some help’

Lucy (not her real name) wrote me a heart-breaking email about her son – let’s call him Arthur, who was completely disengaged with learning at school. Despite being very bright, Arthur was easily bored and distracted in class, which left him feeling worthless. Lucy said his happiness meant everything to her, and she was seriously considering home-schooling.

Some people have always known that they will home-school their children, but for Lucy and many others, the need for home schooling has emerged gradually. When facing the decision whether to home-school or not, uncertainties may creep in. People commonly ask themselves ‘What are we doing?’, ‘Are we able to do it at all?’. An extensive search often follows, to find out everything possible about home schooling and home education networks in the area.

Finding the solution for academic success (whatever it means to you)

Getting a home tutor on board enables a parent to benefit from having a qualified person educate their child, and to guide them in their own tutoring. Below I outline how an Out of the Box Teaching tutor can help.

The tutor’s roles can include:

• Creating an interest-led learning plan
• Adapting and tailoring the curriculum material for home schooling, EHCP and EOTAS.
• Educational guidance and training for parents. Most importantly, guidance on how to bridge learning gaps in the most effective way, based on years of experience and long-term research into teaching methods and the psychology of a child

 

• Teaching directly, following an agreed plan (one-on-one at home or online tutoring via Zoom)
• Incorporation of confidence and motivational sessions
• Delivering working memory improvement sessions

During the free tutoring consultation, Lucy and I agreed to book a short-term course to assess Arthur’s knowledge and get his motivation back.

The starter package consisted of a set of parental consultations and Maths tutoring. Through the tailored interest-led programme, I worked with Arthur to improve his self-image and confidence in learning.

At the end of our work together, Arthur was fully engaging in Maths activities, and his mum had become a more informed educator.

Find a tutor: how it works

Book a free no-obligation tutoring consultation to explore how our work could benefit your child

The tutor can either:

• lead delivery of the sessions
• participate actively in sessions but also guide the parents to become independent educators: she or he would gradually step back and take on more of a coordinating role

If it turns out that more support is needed than expected, the tutor can be flexible. The main goal is to work together to awaken and nurture the child’s desire to learn and explore the world.

Contact us: 07786 628820, info@outoftheboxteaching.co.uk, www.outoftheboxteaching.co.uk