Taking Control of Your Child's Education

So when children are not “achieving”, what else happens?

The pressure then falls on the parents, for extra curricular things such as reading, and homework

But when are you supposed to do these things? Because by the time they come home they’re exhausted and you just want to have family time. 

You want to watch a movie together, cook, play or just blob for a bit because you're all tired. So what are we supposed to do? Because currently, there's no middle ground. 

Our options are to home-educate or put our children in school full time. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill has been updated and proposes significant changes to home education including a requirement for children to be registered with local authorities when educated outside of school.  

There is the opportunity for some families to flexi-school, where children attend school part-time and are home educated the rest of the time. However that is few and far between and at the schools discretion. 

But I still think with flexi-schooling you are then asking your child to differentiate between those different dynamics and for children who are finding mainstream education a struggle this can cause many other issues. I honestly think the way we are choosing to educate our children is wrong.

I am a qualified teacher and I’ve done years of training, I’ve worked at different schools and had training on a variety of different teaching methods, schemes, different approaches and I have to say hand on heart I have not used a single one of them when raising my daughter and supporting her early development.

She recognises sounds, she can count, her language is great, she's socialised, she's emotionally intelligent. And that is purely because she has had access to the world around her, she's had opportunities to explore and experience things, to meet different people, and to learn in her own time. 

Now I know home education is not an option for everyone, and I know there are many fears and myths which we can look at in another post, however what I would say is that it is an option worth considering - or at least looking at how you can incorporate some of its alternative approaches to education with your own children.  

Aside from learning tools and methods, above all else we need other parents and people who understand the importance of creating that space for our children. 

Raising a child is hard - whether they are in school, or you home educate - whatever your family dynamics and day to day life looks like, you can’t do this on your own.

We need to share our knowledge, build a community, and nurture those little ones and their love of learning. And that is why I created The Nurture Nook, to form that middle ground between home and education. 

So whether your little one is in school and needs that extra support, whether you are home educating, or maybe your little one is not school age yet, but you are thinking about how to support their development, this middle ground can be a lifeline. 

Wherever you are in your parenting journey, The Nurture Nook is here to support you, to offer you that guidance, to share our knowledge, to nurture your family whatever that looks like and help you find your community. 

And we do that through a love of books, storytelling, and away from desks, because I believe our children’s learning experience should be as rich and fulfilling as their imaginations.

Reach out, message me. Let me know what you need! Aside from the various events, I want to support you on this journey, because honestly I need you too!