FAQs
Q 1. Why did you start Homeschool Social Enterprise?
A. Well I saw the need for an alternative education provision. In my vast experience of working in different educational establishments and having worked with people of all ages, I can say I never found a child who didn't want to learn. I only observed children who didn’t like what they were learning and most of the time this was down to the teaching style. Deep down all children want to learn. It is a part of our human nature and it was my duty to find a way to engage with those children who find the educational system a challenge.
Q 3. What makes Homeschool different to other schools?
A. Really it’s the framework on which Homeschool is built upon which is Christianity. We believe in God as the foundation. What I’ve found with some of the pupils that I’ve worked with in the past, is that lack of basic Christian values in the sense of being nice and knowing how to treat other people. That social interaction. I've found that teaching some of these basic Christian values has created a positive culture within Homeschool amongst Staff and pupils. There is a mutual respect amongst peers and a willingness to learn.
We are also different because we differentiate our lesson strategy to suit the needs of the individual child. If I have a pupil that likes a particular subject area then that is something that I will reassess to incorporate within other subjects such as Maths, English and Science. For example if a pupil enjoyed cooking then I would then combine Maths in the sense of weighing the ingredients, English by writing out the method and cooking is a chemical interaction of different substances. This would lead me to teaching the Chemistry side of the lesson. That would encapsulate the child and get them to know more about the subject area that they like whilst learning an array of different skills. I like to call these transferable skills, it is a good concept that would help them later on in life.
Q 7. If I have a child who has high abilities and aspirations then how can you support them?
A. We feel that all of our pupils have high aspirations in different areas and what we do at Homeschool is major within that specialism, allowing pupils to explore the extra curricular activity that is connected with their interests. That is not at the expense of other subjects. We understand that our pupils are young and are still in the exploration stages of their development, however we see the value in getting them to think about their futures to prepare them for the habit of taking responsibility for their education.
Due to our small class sizes and the diverse training and experience of the staff, pupils are able to excel at Homeschool where they may not be supported in the same way in other schools. Our support network and the way we endorse the specialisms of each child is second to none.
Q 8. How will you deal with a disruptive child who has been kicked out of different schools?
A. From our collective and vast experience of working in different types of schools amongst different age groups, we find that because of the systems we’ve put in place, the child that may have been disruptive elsewhere is not disruptive with us. This is because we tend to that child's needs to eliminate disruption.
Q 9. If a child has a disability, how can you ensure their protection and safety amongst a school of able bodied pupils?
A. The main thing is our ethos. We promote positive interaction and social cohesion, therefore our children are taught to respect all peers. Our staff are also trained to safeguard children and we ensure that suitability qualified staff are in place to manage children according to their needs.