BradleyC
New member
When we first decided to become liveaboards I had loads of questions regarding our kids education. Like most parents in this situation, I started off by doing a search on "education" on the ybw forum and from there and general research on the internet built up a picture of what we could do.
So if you are a homeschooling parent with ideas to share, or someone trying to work out if home schooling the kids whilst cruising is a viable option, then hopefully you'll find some of your answers here. The next couple of posts also cover details of different home education packages you can buy in (primary and secondary school level providers) and prices (correct in June 2014) For the record, I'm not connected with any of these in any way. The following post contains details of places where you can find really good free home education resources.
If anyone has used any of these before and wants to comment or knows of other useful home ed links/resources feel free to share!
So starting with the real basics, can you pull your kids out of school and take them off cruising?
The short answer to this is "yes" if you are based in the UK. In the UK the law states that education is compulsory but schooling is not. You can find full details of home schooling and the law at
http://www.educationotherwise.net/?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=2
If your child is already going to a UK state school then you will need to deregister them once you are ready to home school. You can find information on deregistration at http://www.educationotherwise.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=69
Once you de-register your child from the state system you will probably find that the Local Education Authority wants to check that you offering your child a suitable education (and not just letting them bunk off!)
The Education guidelines of 2007 state that
Parents are required to provide an efficient, full-time education suitable to the age, ability and aptitude of the child. There is currently no legal definition of "full-time". Children normally attend school for between 22 and 25 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year, but this measurement of "contact time" is not relevant to elective home education where there is often almost continuous one-to-one contact and education may take place outside normal "school hours". The type of educational activity can be varied and flexible. Home educating parents are not required to:
teach the National Curriculum
provide a broad and balanced education
have a timetable
have premises equipped to any particular standard
set hours during which education will take place
have any specific qualifications
make detailed plans in advance
observe school hours, days or terms
give formal lessons
mark work done by their child
formally assess progress or set development objectives
reproduce school type peer group socialisation
match school-based, age-specific standards
So basically, from a legal point of view you don't have to follow the National Curriculum and you can create your own if you want to. Some cruising families adopt a view that "kids are naturally curious and if you give them the means to find out about the world around them, in a topical way, then they will pick up what they need to know and not lose their love of learning."(http://www.yachtmollymawk.com/category/education/)
Other people, particularly if they are planning on putting their child back in the state system at a later date, carry on following the curriculum. Others follow the national curriculum broadly speaking, but also teach their kids specific subjects which they know the kids are interested in. So for example, I've created a wildlife class, as both my kids are really interested in wildlife and want to work in that field when they are older.
Basically - it's up to you!
So if you are a homeschooling parent with ideas to share, or someone trying to work out if home schooling the kids whilst cruising is a viable option, then hopefully you'll find some of your answers here. The next couple of posts also cover details of different home education packages you can buy in (primary and secondary school level providers) and prices (correct in June 2014) For the record, I'm not connected with any of these in any way. The following post contains details of places where you can find really good free home education resources.
If anyone has used any of these before and wants to comment or knows of other useful home ed links/resources feel free to share!
So starting with the real basics, can you pull your kids out of school and take them off cruising?
The short answer to this is "yes" if you are based in the UK. In the UK the law states that education is compulsory but schooling is not. You can find full details of home schooling and the law at
http://www.educationotherwise.net/?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=2
If your child is already going to a UK state school then you will need to deregister them once you are ready to home school. You can find information on deregistration at http://www.educationotherwise.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=69
Once you de-register your child from the state system you will probably find that the Local Education Authority wants to check that you offering your child a suitable education (and not just letting them bunk off!)
The Education guidelines of 2007 state that
Parents are required to provide an efficient, full-time education suitable to the age, ability and aptitude of the child. There is currently no legal definition of "full-time". Children normally attend school for between 22 and 25 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year, but this measurement of "contact time" is not relevant to elective home education where there is often almost continuous one-to-one contact and education may take place outside normal "school hours". The type of educational activity can be varied and flexible. Home educating parents are not required to:
teach the National Curriculum
provide a broad and balanced education
have a timetable
have premises equipped to any particular standard
set hours during which education will take place
have any specific qualifications
make detailed plans in advance
observe school hours, days or terms
give formal lessons
mark work done by their child
formally assess progress or set development objectives
reproduce school type peer group socialisation
match school-based, age-specific standards
So basically, from a legal point of view you don't have to follow the National Curriculum and you can create your own if you want to. Some cruising families adopt a view that "kids are naturally curious and if you give them the means to find out about the world around them, in a topical way, then they will pick up what they need to know and not lose their love of learning."(http://www.yachtmollymawk.com/category/education/)
Other people, particularly if they are planning on putting their child back in the state system at a later date, carry on following the curriculum. Others follow the national curriculum broadly speaking, but also teach their kids specific subjects which they know the kids are interested in. So for example, I've created a wildlife class, as both my kids are really interested in wildlife and want to work in that field when they are older.
Basically - it's up to you!
