Online schools are an alternative to more traditional schooling, whereby children or young people learn either entirely or primarily online. So who do they suit and how do you find the best one for your child?
Online learning can be a great solution for families who travel a lot and/or who want to access the English national curriculum from overseas. In addition, online schools can work well for elite young sportspeople and actors with professional commitments that make the inflexibility of mainstream school challenging. Then there are parents who like the idea of their children being home schooled but feel unable to do all the teaching themselves.
Some children really took to the online learning provided by mainstream schools during lockdowns, and decided to continue down that route. Others with anxiety and other mental health problems prefer the idea of learning from the comfort of their own home. Online learning also suits some children with SEN.
Online schooling is not for everyone. It’s not even for most people. But for a growing number of families, it is deemed a valuable alternative to traditional school, particularly as some are achieving the kind of results that most bricks and mortar schools would be proud of.
Online schooling forms part of the wider home-schooling model but takes some of the pressure of parents by providing students with a structured learning programme with trained teachers. There are two main types, although some online schools provide a combination of both:
Some families decide to top up the learning with tutors, either online or in person. A growing number of tutor agencies that we review provide this service either throughout the online schooling journey or at critical points eg coming up to exam time.
When it comes to online schools offering the English national curriculum via live lessons, there are still surprisingly few options. Just as with physical schools, we only review those that demonstrate good results, have an established history and where parents and students describe mainly positive experiences.
For online schools and colleges offering distance learning, there is a great number available but as yet, we do not review these.
That said, we have an expert on our consultancy team who regularly advises on all the online options available and can provide detailed guidance about the subtle, and not so subtle, differences to help match the right one to your child.
For further information on any of the issues above or to help find your child the right online school or college course(s), contact us about our online schools service by emailing consultants@goodschoolsguide.co.uk or calling 0800 368 7694 (UK) or +44 203 286 6824 from overseas.
Overview: Steiner Waldorf aims to provide an unhurried and creative learning environment in harmony with different phases of a child’s development. Background: In 1919, Austrian philosopher and scientist, Rudolf Steiner, whose ideas founded the basis of Anthroposophy, began a school in Stuttgart for children of the workers at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory. This inspired a worldwide movement of schools.
Creativity and exploration – this ethos puts children firmly at the centre of society. Philosophy: Based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. Background: Pioneered by Maria Montessori, Italy’s first female doctor in 1907 to educate the poor in Italy. To the uninitiated, Montessori methods may seem like a free-for-all. Homework, testing and exams are seldom found. Montessori found that children learn best by doing ‘The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self. A child works in order to grow, and is working to create the adult, the person that is to be.’…
Forest schools aren’t actual physical schools. Instead, they refer to regular outdoor sessions, mostly at nursery or primary school level, in natural environments to enable children to develop confidence through hands-on learning.