What is deschooling? A crucial first step?

As a new home educator in the UK, you may have wondered what is deschooling means and why is it important. This article should answer your questions and provide guidance on how to approach this crucial transition period.

• What is deschooling?
• The importance and purpose of of deschooling
• Common misconceptions and myths about deschooling
• What’s the difference between deschooling and unschooling?
• What does the local authority think of deschooling?
• How long should we deschool?
• Getting started with deschooling

What is Deschooling?

The definition of deschooling is the adjustment period after leaving traditional schooling in favour of home educating, where children and parents step away from school routines and mindsets shaped by formal education. It’s a time to unlearn school-based habits, focus on well-being, and rediscover natural curiosity and personal interests. Through free play, exploration, and self-directed learning, families build the foundation for a more flexible and meaningful educational approach.

The Importance and Purpose of Deschooling

Deschooling serves as a vital bridge between structured institutional learning and the more flexible approach of home education. This transition period is essential for several reasons, all of which contribute to laying a strong foundation for successful home-based learning.

Firstly, deschooling helps your children adapt to a new educational environment. The shift from a highly structured school setting to the more flexible nature of home education can be quite significant. Deschooling provides a gradual adjustment period, allowing children to slowly acclimate to their new learning circumstances without feeling overwhelmed by the sudden change.

Secondly, it gives you and your child time and opportunity to strengthen your bond. If the final few months, or even years, of school have resulted in conflict at home, this may be especially important. The success of home education is highly dependent on a mutual respect and cooperation, and a period of deschooling allows you to establish the family relationship as the first priority.

Furthermore, this period offers your children the opportunity to recover from any negative experiences they may have had in school. Many children who are withdrawn from traditional schooling may have faced challenges such as bullying, academic pressure, or a sense of not fitting in. Deschooling provides a much-needed respite, providing time to heal emotionally and rebuild their confidence in a safe, supportive environment.

Another crucial aspect of deschooling is its role in rekindling your child’s natural curiosity. Years of structured schooling can sometimes dampen a child’s innate desire to explore and discover. Human beings love to learn and being disengaged with school does not mean disengaged with learning – just look to their hobbies and interests to see just how focussed and dedicated to learning they can be. But sometimes it takes a while to recognise this and to detachment from the negative connotations around ‘school learning’. The deschooling period allows your child to rediscover the joy of learning at their own pace, following their interests without the constraints of a rigid curriculum or timetable.

Deschooling provides an invaluable opportunity for your children to explore their individual interests. In a traditional school setting, there’s often limited scope for personalised learning. However, during the deschooling phase, children have the freedom to delve into subjects that truly captivate them, potentially uncovering passions and talents that may have gone unnoticed in a more structured environment. The purpose of deschooling extends beyond these immediate benefits. It’s a time for you all to shift your mindset about education, moving away from the idea that learning only happens within the confines of a classroom. This period helps families establish a new rhythm for home-based education, one that aligns with your unique circumstances and values.

Additionally, deschooling also serves as a period of exploration and adjustment without the pressure of formal academics. It allows families to experiment with different approaches to learning, helping you identify what works best for your child. This can be particularly beneficial for children who may have struggled with traditional teaching methods, as it opens up new possibilities for engaging with educational content.

Common Misconceptions and Myths About Deschooling

Deschooling is often misunderstood, leading to several common misconceptions about its nature and purpose. One prevalent myth is that deschooling means no learning at all. In reality, it’s an active process of adjustment and exploration. Deschooling is learning, but in a more natural, interest-driven way.

Another misconception is that deschooling is an easy process. Many families find it challenging to shift from a structured school mindset. Parents and children may struggle with feelings of uncertainty or guilt. It takes time and patience to adjust to new rhythms and ways of learning. Deschooling requires emotional work as families process their school experiences – parents included.

Some believe everything must be planned from the start when deschooling. This is far from true. Deschooling is a time for flexibility and experimentation. Families can try different approaches and adjust as needed. It’s okay to change course and explore various learning methods. This period allows for discovering what works best for each child.

A common myth is that only the child benefits from deschooling. In fact, parents need this transition time too. Adults often need to unlearn ingrained ideas about education, and need time to explore their own perspectives on educational approaches and philosophy (don’t worry if you feel a little over your head at this point – your views will be shaped as you work with your child and search for new ways to engage them. It will also bend and stretch from year to year so will likely never be something you ‘nail down’ – and that’s ok!). Parents can use this period to observe how their child naturally learns. They can also explore their own interests and rediscover the joy of learning.

What is the difference between deschooling and unschooling?

The difference between deschooling and unschooling is that deschooling is a temporary adjustment period after leaving school, while unschooling is a long-term, child-led educational approach. Deschooling helps families reset routines and mindsets, whereas unschooling replaces traditional curriculum with learning guided by a child’s interests.

What does the local authority think about deschooling?

Each local authority is different and depends entirely on the characters in post at the time. Not all parents have conflict with their local authorities but it’s well reported that the deschooling process is commonly misunderstood, viewing it as a period of educational inactivity rather than a valuable transition – and it’s recommended that you don’t use the term ‘deschooling’ in your communications with them.

Please ensure you’re aware of your rights as a home educating parent, and seek advice early on in terms of communicating with the local authorities. Check out the links in the blue ‘Know Your Rights’ sidebar for more information!

Over the years, I’ve worked with a range of local authority education officers – both from an external perspective while supporting home ed families, as well being as a local authority employee for a while (although not in the area of EHE). Most of them are well-meaning individuals who genuinely care about the education of the young people on their case load. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that local authority staff, as government employees, are required to adhere to the government’s educational agenda, which generally promotes school attendance for all children. This underlying objective significantly shapes their training and the narrative they are expected to convey to parents. To navigate this difference of perspective, you are advised to carefully frame your child’s activities in educational terms when communicating with local authorities. There are templates provided by home ed communities to help you to do this (find them via the blue ‘Know Your Rights’ links) and you should reach out to these communities before interacting with the local authority.

One thing you shouldn’t do, though, is ignore requests from the LA. Reply to everything within the timescales set – and play the game. They have a responsibility to ensure that every child is safe and receiving a suitable education – and you have a responsibility to demonstrate that you are providing that. I’ll say it just once more… learn your rights and understand what you have to provide, and what you don’t.

How long should we deschool?

The rule of thumb is one month for every year of formal schooling they’ve done – although this entirely depends on your child and where they are. Parents can often take a little longer to reframe.

How do I get started deschooling?

Let’s start with what not to do:

• Don’t spend a ton of money on a particular curriculum – this period is about learning how you wish to approach education and I can almost guarantee that what works for your family in 6 months time will be different from the image you have in your head today.
• You don’t need to spend a hour per day on math and an hour on English doing work books. It’s great if you integrate those skills into whatever your child is interested in (e.g. cooking and baking uses both mathematics and reading comprehension – and you can work on those skills discretely while you whip up something yummy!).
• Avoid launching into formal diagnostic assessment to find out where they are. Some kids love a test… but most don’t and you should avoid making the home learning environment feel too much like school in the early days.

At this point, you should check out this podcast by Issy Butson, aka Stark Raving Dad, a homeschooling Dad from New Zealand. This gentle, 30-minute podcast will begin to flip the ideas you have about schooling on their head.

Episode 13: De-schooling Your Way To Educational Freedom

You could also check out my post on 100 activities to do during the deschooling period to serve as inspiration, but you’ll also want to apply to principles below to whatever you’re doing:

Forget the classroom. Forget the desks, the chairs, the stationary. Go outside, walk, talk, discuss, question. Go to museums, to parks, to galleries, to the library. Many of these places are free, and many paid places off 12-month return for free (our family definitely look out for these, as it takes the pressure off wanting to see everything in one go and means you can go for a 30 minute potter round, and focus on a different area next time). See what sparks your child’s interest, and follow that.

Reconsider how you learn. Through school, I was an compulsive note taker. This felt like a sensible strategy as we were having information thrown at us so quickly it was difficult to digest it, and the idea was I’d go back and read it at a later date. I didn’t, in most cases. I’m currently researching narrowboats as we’re considering living on one. I’ve been researching for around about 3 months now and know understand the importance of ballast, solar and 12v electrical systems, insulation and ventilation principles and all about the various different ways of removing your poop from the boat! I’ve made zero notes. Zero. I’ve read a lot, joined Facebook groups and seen people saying the same things, I’ve viewed diagrams and spoken to current boat owners. Repeated exposure to information – along with a keen interest and being immersed in it – is how I’ve learnt so much. This is just an example, but it’s useful during this phase to examine how you and your child learn informally, to guide you in your future educational approach.

Build you bond. Use this time to really focus on building trust with your child – especially if you’ve previously been in a power struggle with them to get them to school. Safety and trust are the foundation for successful home education and are absolutely required to make this work.

Meet your child where their interest lies. Use whatever they enjoy doing as motivation for engagement in learning. For example, check out this blog about how one family, who enjoyed gaming, used this as a basis for learning. This didn’t mean that their children just spent hours glued to a game station – they looked at the history of video games, explored careers in the gaming industry, learnt some coding, created characters, took a field trip and more. This form of learning is called ‘Unit Study’ and it draws skills from across the curriculum subjects into a single theme. I have an ever growing collection of unit studies on this website, with new ones added most weeks, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for a Google search for ‘unit study [topic]’ will usually turn something up, often pre-made with worksheets for a low cost (typically £5-10).

Prioritise Wellness. A few years back our family went through a period of extreme stress and grief. I was trying to complete a course at the time and experienced a profound inability to comprehend the material and form thoughts. It took me 11 hours (and a lot of support) to be able to complete a written task that previously would have taken me fewer than 90 minutes. This mental shutdown was definitely at the extreme end of the spectrum, but I’m also someone who frequently suffers from anxiety, so I know, first-hand, how difficult it can be to learn when your mind is already challenging you. Wellness needs to be prioritised, otherwise learning is ineffective. So reduce white carbs and sweet foods to avoid sugar spikes that can affect mood and focus. Ensure your child gets adequate sleep – for teens this is around 8-10 hours per night. Encourage daily outdoor time in nature and exercise, which boost physical health and mental well-being. Foster social connections through group activities and family activities, and have fresh discussions around appropriate screen time (and always switch off at least on hour before bed!).

Research different learning approaches – and experiment! Check out the education approaches posts on this site as a starting point to consider different ways of learning. Experiment with different approaches and see how your child responds. This is a trial and error process – be open with your child about that – and don’t be afraid to ditch a piece of work if the approach is not working for you. You can always come at the same content from another angle.

Carry out gentle ‘assessment’. It’s important that you begin to ascertain where you child is in terms of their learning, so you know your direction of travel further down the line. You may have a clear idea of some of this already, but do discuss with your child that you need to understand what they know, and what they don’t (especially if your plan is for them to do GCSEs or other standardised assessments). Ask them how they feel it might be best to approach this. Don’t confuse assessment with testing – it’s entirely possible to take samples of their interest-driven work and evaluate it either together or on your own. Some families may wish to complete diagnostic assessments in the core subjects, and if this route is for you there are a number of online services that offer this for minimal cost.

Summary

What is deschooling? A vital transition period for families moving from traditional schooling to home education. It allows time for both parents and children to adjust to a new way of learning, rekindling natural curiosity and exploring individual interests. Common misconceptions include thinking deschooling means no learning or that it’s an easy process. In reality, it’s an active, sometimes challenging, journey of discovery for the whole family. While local authorities may misunderstand deschooling, it’s crucial to know your rights and communicate effectively. The deschooling period typically lasts about a month for each year of formal schooling. To begin, focus on exploring interests, prioritising wellness, and gently evaluating your child’s knowledge. Embrace the flexibility and experimentation of this journey.