‘Schooling at home didn’t work for us’

Blogger Rachel Brady, 38 – who lives in the Peak District with her husband Adam – tried home-educating her two children, Arthur, seven, and Bea, five, but soon decided it wasn’t right for their family. She says, “In February 2017, I took both of my children out of school. While Bea enjoyed it, Artie was struggling; he didn’t want to go and was losing confidence. I have a friend who homeeducates her two children and, after talking to her and doing research, I spoke to my husband and we decided to take the leap.

“I discovered several home education groups and activities, and the first week flew by joining these. I felt it was a success.

“However, in my second week I realised how much ferrying around I’d have to do to make sure the children could socialise and join in with activities. It was exhausting. There were even a few occasions where Arthur was treated aggressively by a fellow home-schooled child. I didn’t feel it was dealt with properly at the time – school had a framework for behaviour like that.

“I also felt that it was suddenly all ‘down to me’. I wanted to feel part of a team, like in school. I started feeling anxious, depressed and resentful. Adam has a great career and I felt it was unfair he was getting to invest in himself, while I was sacrificing everything and had no time for my blog. After two weeks I took them back to school and they were made to feel welcome. The whole family is happier. I still support homeschooling completely – if it’s what’s right for the whole family. For our family, it wasn’t.”