Stacey Solomon has revealed she decided to take her two sons out of school and start homeschooling them last September.
The TV personality, 28, who is mum to Zachary, 10, and Leighton, five, was encouraged to talk about her decision after she received comments on Instagram asking why her sons weren’t in school during term-time.
“The truth is that they no longer go to school,” she wrote in a column for The Sun. “Last September, the boys and I decided that we were going to try homeschooling. Before I get started, I would like to say that every child is different and therefore responds differently to methods of teaching. Also, this wasn’t a decision we made lightly.”
Solomon said it was a decision she had pondered for a few years. Both her kids went to school when they turned four and enjoyed it, but the mum said she began to question how their personalities changed while they were there. She felt that her eldest son, Zachary, began to lose some of her favourites parts of his personality – “he was often cheeky and making jokes, but he would come home from school embarrassed to make jokes and be silly”.
She also thought there were so many parts of life that are imperative to a child’s learning that aren’t necessarily in the curriculum. So, she decided to take the leap.
She has a tutor in once a week to teach her kids the core subjects of maths, English and science. When it comes to homeschooling, you don’t have to follow the core subjects, but Solomon does so to ensure the boys are ready if they want to go to secondary school – currently she’s teaching astrophysics, biology, technology, and Mandarin.
Homeschooling doesn’t just include sitting inside the whole time. For Solomon and her sons, it includes walks outside and visiting family and friends as well as watching online videos and being creative at home.
“It’s not easy, school is actually really convenient,” Solomon said. “You drop your children off and head to work and pay for the childcare in between. My mum is incredible, she is able to be there whenever I need her and I am extremely lucky. I wouldn’t be able to do it without her.”
Back in 2016, another ‘Loose Women’ presenter revealed she homeschooled her kids. Nadia Sawalha said taking her daughters Maddie, 15, and Kiki-Bee, 10, out of school was the “best decision” she had ever made. “I never knew it existed. If I had, I would have done it years ago,” she said at the time. “I don’t want my children tested every day and left feeling stupid if they haven’t achieved a particular mark. I don’t think that’s the way to learn.
“Now my daughters are loving it. They’ve been out of school for a year and I’m not planning to change that.”
The Government states any parent can teach their child at at home, either full or part-time. “Write to the headteacher if you plan to take your child out of school,” the advice states online. “They must accept if you’re taking your child out completely. They can refuse if you want to send your child to school some of the time.” You can get more information on homeschooling from your local council. Enter in your postcode in this online tool and you will be directed where to go for further resources and advice.
Read Solomon’s full column on homeschooling here.