Starting Again at Home
Those first few weeks were rough. He was angry, embarrassed and completely shut down. The routine of school had gone, and with it, any sense of motivation. Most days he stayed in his room, headphones on, pretending he was “fine”. (Translation: gaming, snacking, and avoiding eye contact.) The energy had gone out of him.
I tried to help. Gentle chats, pep talks, even the odd bribe, but nothing worked. He didn’t want to hear it. He kept saying, “What’s the point? They don’t want me there anyway.” That broke me. It felt like his confidence had been switched off, and I didn’t know how to turn it back on.
I started googling options late at night: alternative provision, small group tuition, homeschooling. Some of it sounded promising, but a lot of it felt too formal, too much like school in disguise. Then I came across Enjoy Education.
From the very first phone call, it felt different. They didn’t ask for test results… they asked about him – what he was into, what had gone wrong, what might make things feel better. It wasn’t about blame; it was about a fresh start.
Together we came up with a plan that gave him some structure again but also space to breathe. A few hours of one-to-one tuition each day with tutors who genuinely got him.
For the first time in months, it felt like we had a way forward.
A Tutor Who Understood
His first tutor arrived one Monday morning with quiet confidence and warmth. She did not ask him about school or what had happened; she asked what he liked. They talked about space, football and why he thought history was “pointless”.
That conversation was the first small crack in the ice. Over the next few weeks, lessons started to take shape – a mix of English, maths and science, all taught one-to-one, with plenty of room for conversation and choice.
There were still bad days. Some mornings he refused to start at all. But his tutors never gave up. They worked with us and Enjoy and adjusted the pace, added practical activities, and slowly rebuilt his sense of achievement.
The Turning Point
One afternoon, they were talking about the planets. His tutor asked him to come up with his own, just as a bit of fun. Within minutes he was sketching out an entire solar system – complete with names, moons and something called “The Great Ring of Doom” (apparently, it keeps the aliens out).
It was the first time I’d seen him really engage with something in weeks. No eye-rolling, no sighing, just total focus. When I walked past the table, he barely noticed me.
I didn’t make a big deal of it, but I thought, okay, we’re getting there.
Why Homeschooling Worked for Him
Homeschooling gave my son what school, at that point, just couldn’t – a bit of calm, some consistency and the space to rebuild his confidence.
At home, there was no pressure to keep up or compete. If he needed a break, he took one. If he wanted to dive into something random, his tutor ran with it.
Slowly, I could see the change. He stopped talking about what he’d messed up and started talking about what he’d learned.
One exclusion didn’t define him anymore. It became a pause, a reset – not the end of the story.
A New Chapter
Seven months on, he’s in such a better place. Still opinionated, still testing boundaries, still arguing about bedtime (of course), but definitely happier.
He works with a couple of tutors from Enjoy Education each week, but mostly he’s figuring things out for himself now. And with Enjoy’s help, we found him a new school that actually feels like the right fit.
Turns out, taking school out of the picture for a bit was exactly what he needed to remember what he enjoys. And yes, he still insists history is “mostly pointless”, but at least now he can explain why.
