When beginning home education, it is likely that you will expect that groups will form some part of your educational journey.  While a few might gain little benefit from them due to their individual needs, the majority of home educating families will be looking to groups to provide variety in their education and the opportunity to socialise.  Groups can enable the acquisition of new, often practical skills.  They often involve a different environment with other adults and allow children to follow their hobbies and interests with like minded peers, without the constraints of the school classroom.  With some groups, particularly as the children get older, you can leave them unattended and so gain a valuable break from the one to one time that can make up a majority of educational opportunities.  They can provide a structure to the week and are often at times that suit the requirements of home educated children. 

Part of the expectation of starting home education can be the excitement of trying out new activities, often without the stresses of accessing these around the school timetable.  Groups are often smaller and it is a relief to see your children interacting with peers and so most have positive expectations.  And for many this is the case and groups gradually become an eagerly anticipated part of the week for all.

However, recent comments and reports suggest that a worrying number of people are finding their experience of trying to access groups difficult and frustrating, which is impacting their overall experience of home educating.  We have further explored some of the issues that are being experienced in order to try to find ways forward, or solutions, that might help people to find more satisfaction and for all those who want to be involved in groups to have the opportunity to do so. The most commonly reported issues are divided between availability of groups and the suitability of groups and are as follows:

The rapidly increasing number of people electing to home educate, and the varied reasons for choosing, or feeling forced, to do so, means that the population is more diverse.  People report that, as well as increasing competition for places, they are finding issues with feeling excluded or unwelcome.  They report that with some groups they do not feel accepted or feel they have nothing in common with the other families.

Secondly, even if suitable groups are found, many activities are rising in price or are stopping because of the costs involved, further decreasing the number of groups that are available.  Even drop in sessions involve the cost of hiring the room and many groups will have associated running costs.  This will obviously be reflected in the need for fees or donations, but with no funding available to help, these costs are leading some families to not be able to afford to attend the groups they might choose to.

This increased competition for groups will inevitably mean that some will miss out on their chosen activities as the population increases but the market has not yet caught up with demand. Depending when in the school year you de-register, this can also affect immediate access to groups.  This limited availability of groups and more competition and higher prices means that some families are not finding any groups that meet the individual needs of their family.  For example, many report that  age can be a problem.  For some families, they might want more age specific groups that encourage interaction with peers at a similar level.  They might find that any desired activities are within the wrong age range to be suitable.  Other families might have the opposite issue, where they have multiple children of different ages and need groups that accommodate them all.  Others might find that the timing of groups is wrong, for example if their child is an early starter but groups don’t take place until the afternoon when they are tired, or equally other children who won’t wake up easily for morning groups but are limited with afternoon choices. No group can meet all individual requirements, but the more groups there are, the more likely you are to find something suitable.

So what can be done to mitigate the negative impact some are experiencing of an increasing and diverse population and a decrease in affordable, available groups?  Firstly, it is important to not get despondent if you find yourself frustrated with the lack of access to suitable groups.  While you might feel a sense of urgency for your education to provide opportunities for interaction with peers, engaging with groups is often a gradual process that evolves over time.  Like with all aspects of home education, placing too much importance on it might overwhelm or put off both you and your children.  Allow plenty of time to get to know what is available, try out different groups with no commitment or expectation and seek out others in your area who might have recommendations suitable for your needs.  Joining your local home education facebook group is invaluable for information, with many including pinned posts about local groups and businesses, or advertising informal meet ups.  Giving yourself time to have a clear idea of what you are looking for and hope to gain from a group will also help to tailor your search.

For those who are attending groups but finding they feel unwelcome there are several solutions.  Having a clear idea of why you are finding the atmosphere uncomfortable can help.  It might be that the group is large or overwhelming and you feel you don’t know the routine and expectations.  Or it might be that the group is small and intimate and you feel you are intruding.  Maybe the more diverse mix of people means that some groups are genuinely full of people with different values and reasons for home educating to you and you really have nothing in common.  Maybe your family has additional needs that you feel are not tolerated by the group.  Or despite being similar ages, your children do not interact as hoped.  If can help to first try to determine whether it is past experiences that still carry trauma, personal expectations that are being let down, or accessibility issues due to individual needs that are causing the frustration and upset.  This can help you to decide if it is a temporary issue that will change as your children age, their requirements change and population attending each group changes.  For example, with time, many of the issues that were exacerbated by being faced with a new social situation might diminish for all involved.  If this is the situation it might be a case of managing expectations, being patient, not panicking and persevering to overcome this problem. 

However, if it seems to be a long term problem, where despite many attempts you are just being met with the same barriers to attending groups, then it might be time to look for more permanent solutions so that your family can access their chosen education.  For example, this might be an ideal time to think about contributing to setting up a group that would be more suitable.  It is likely that you will have an idea of what is required and in many instances it is remarkably easy to make this happen. From those already struggling to find time between working and home educating, to those who have the time and enjoy a productive challenge, there is a way that all can get involved to enhance and increase the opportunities available for all home educated children to access.

Most parents will know other parents, either through work or general family life.  Many of these might attend groups after school that might appeal.  You could ask them to talk to the organisers and see if they offer, or would consider offering, provision for home education groups.  A lot of businesses are starting to see the potential in using home education children to maximise the time they are running groups. You could also enquire at any activities your children already attend or have in the past and see if they have considered offering any home education provision.

If you are a member of a local social media group, keep an eye on posts in case anybody is mentioning similar.  A simple comment of “I would attend that” might be enough  to generate the interest for someone to take it on board.  You could also post that you are looking for a specific group or activity and see what response you get.  Again, it might generate a discussion or interest that could lead to such an activity being established.

If you are looking for more informal groups, you could maybe let people know if you have plans and see if anyone wants to join you.  This can be a really useful way to  meet people with similar interests who might have experience to offer regarding local groups.  Again, once the conversation starts it might lead somewhere.  None of this is committing you in any way to something that you are not able to take on, but will really make a difference in generating the discussion that is needed for action to take place. 

There is always the option to start your own group.  While this might sound daunting, it can be the ideal way to fill a clear gap in the market and really add value to the home education community, while also opening up opportunities for your own family.  Many families who do this find that children learn valuable skills from helping and organising aspects of the group, as well as directly from engaging with the group itself. From taking a more active and frequent role in organising informal meet ups to setting up a Community Interest Company with support and funding from government grants, there are many different routes that can be taken depending on what you need.  With anything formal, especially involving adult supervisors and more risky activities, the support offered when you set up a CIC will provide clear guidance around all the legal requirements as well as the structure of the business.  These are not for profit companies but can often viably fund themselves while providing a service to the community.

And there is always the opportunity for a change of career direction, or an expansion, and look at providing groups and activities as part of a profitable business.  While the biggest need being highlighted is for affordable, where possible free, access to groups, the expanding market means that there will be more and more families for whom paying for groups is an option.  This might become even more the case with children who can no longer attend private school due to fee increases, but whose families have a significant education budget.  While more expensive groups being available might not directly benefit your family, it might prevent existing groups from filling up and it is likely that this market will continue to expand. After some consideration, you might decide that there has never been a better time to try to make a business of providing for home educated families. 

What is very clear is that, as the community inevitably continues to grow, so the need increases for the whole home education community to address this issue together.  This will help to ensure that any provisions also grow cohesively and appropriately for the whole population.