Mum who home schools her teen son is called ‘deluded’ by Lorraine viewers after admitting he spends his days drumming and FLAME-THROWING

A MUM who lets her teenage son dodge school in favour of spending his days playing the drums and flame-throwing has been called “deluded”.

Jenna Presley, a 38-year-old festival organiser, appeared on today’s edition of Lorraine and explained to host Christine Lampard that she took Archie out of conventional education at the age of seven after fearing he was “depressed”.

6

Jenna, who lives on a farm in Salisbury, Wilts, has shared her unique parenting methods on the upcoming Channel 4 documentary, Feral Families.

Revealing why she’s scrapped traditional parenting methods, she told the ITV daytime show: “We’re unschooling so we don’t have very much structure as such. We do have rules but I don’t jump on every accident, I just don’t think it’s necessary.”

Jenna added: “I pick my battles. If they’re fighting, if the boys are fighting with each other, I’ll step in and say no, this is bad behaviour.

“Bed time? I don’t say ‘it’s bed time’, I say, ‘come on, do you want to read a story?’ Then we’ll read a few stories until they’re settled.”

6

Jenna, who also has two younger sons, believes her approach is “less stressful”, and the boys are “willing to just follow my lead” because she’s “not on their case all the time”.

Christine asked why she decided to take son Archie out of full-time education at the tender age of seven.

She said: “Archie was at school, very normal, very conventional. But he was showing signs of depression.

“I worked in mental health for 12 years, I’m qualified in counselling and I spotted the signs of depression in my seven year old son.

6

“I was working with the school for nearly a year. They were trying to get him extra help as he’s on the dyslexic spectrum, he struggles with literacy. Anyway, it was all being handled very badly.

“I wasn’t comfortable with the way the school were dealing with it and he was very depressed.”

Jenna says there “wasn’t another convenient school nearby”, adding: “I just felt that school wasn’t right for him. The school had filled out a report to say he wasn’t engaging very well at all.”

She spoke to a friend who suggested home schooling and she decided to give it a go.

6

“We started mirroring school, that didn’t work. I decided he needed his confidence rebuilding, so that’s why I focused on the things he’s good at and loved, like drumming and fire-throwing,” she said.

“Once his confidence was built, we then went back to literacy and maths. He’s doing well. He’s only three years behind if he was at school. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not that bad.”

Christine then asked Jenna’s father Michael what he thought of Jenna’s approach.

“My wife and I weren’t happy at all. We’re traditionalists. We went to school, our kids went to school,” he said.

6

“I just think apart from the English, maths, geography and history, apart from the learning aspect, it’s the interaction with other kids. Kids need to interact, to find out who are the good kids and who are the bad kids, which ones they want to be friends with.”

Michael says he’s “concerned” that Archie has and is missing out. “Archie, they live on top of a hill, on a farm, and he can’t mix with anybody,” he said.

“He’s 13 coming up to 14 and he’s got half a dozen mates, if that. He doesn’t interact with anybody. The fact that he’s shy and everything else works against him because he doesn’t go to a youth club and things like that.”

In an effort to ensure Archie is keeping up to speed with others his age, Michael has paid for him to having tutoring.

6

“When he came to stay with us we could see he was behind in his reading so my wife found a place that takes people like Archie, so I pay for him to have lessons once a week,” he said.

“Speaking to the lady from the school, he’s catching up. When he started there he was a long way behind but by the time he’s finished another year of schooling, he’ll be back to where he should be.”

Viewers at home weren't happy with Jenna’s methods and took to Twitter to share their opinions.

“This parent is deluded,” commented one, while another added: “Kids NEED structure &; discipline. I would be embarrassed & ashamed to have my kids called feral. She needs to #WakeUp & #GetAGrip.”

“Grandads right I’m afraid, kids need school,” wrote one contributor, another said: “My word sensible Granddad…”

Meanwhile, a mum-of-three who believes in ‘unschooling’ never disciplines kids and lets them chose their own meal and bedtimes.

And, a mum of ‘feral’ kids who are allowed tattoos and to dodge school appears on This Morning and claims they are better behaved than normal kids.