Riannon Chaplin
If you told Amber a few years ago that she would be starting university this September, she wouldn’t have believed you. But she’s about to embark on a performing arts course and feels positive about her future.
Amber, who has been home educated since year nine, says: “School just wasn’t for me. I used to dread it. At home, my mum helped me, and I learnt so much more than I would have at school.”
In England, an estimated 92000 children are in elective home education (EHE), up from 80900 in 2022. EHE is when parents choose to educate their children at home rather than sending them to full-time school.
Amber’s mother, Helen, says: “I wish I’d done it years ago. It was life-changing for her when the pressure of school had gone.”
The number of children moving to home education in the UK is at its highest since the pandemic. But why is EHE on the rise? What does home education look like? Why are so many parents choosing it over formal education?
Why Are Parents Choosing Home Education?
The reasons for choosing to home educate are as diverse as the parents and children involved. But there are common themes: term-time travel, more family time, and freedom from bullying can all play a role.
Katie has home educated her four children throughout their compulsory school years. She uses a mixture of ‘unschooling’ – allowing children to learn by following their interests – and a more structured approach when they became interested in GCSEs and A levels.
She says: “It always seemed clear that home education would offer more freedom and flexibility than school. They’re all curious and engaged, and able to deeply focus on topics they want to get better at.”
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How Does It Work?
Home educators aren’t required to follow the National Curriculum. This flexibility is one of the benefits that attracted Donna, who began home educating her eldest daughter 10 years ago: “She’s an arty girl, and a lot of schools don’t cater for the arts very well. We’re not teachers, we’re facilitators. That’s how I see it.”
“Thirteen years of knowing you are being measured can significantly heighten anxiety for neurodivergent children.”
Layla, a science lecturer, uses what she calls ‘completely child-led autonomous education’. Her son became frustrated with the slow pace of learning in school. Now, he educates himself using the materials Layla provides.
She says: “I was writing my Master’s thesis on how the education system isn’t fit for purpose, so when my son asked me why I was still sending him to school, I didn’t have an answer.”
Home Education And The SEND Crisis
For some parents, home education doesn’t feel like a choice. For children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the system’s failings can have far-reaching consequences. In England, the rate of persistent absence is 23.4 per cent in state secondary schools. But the number rises to 36.4 per cent in special schools.
Hanneke’s daughter, who is autistic, as well as having ADHD and selective mutism, has never attended school. She says: “I just couldn’t imagine how she would get on in the classroom. I think we would have had school refusal and a lot of anxiety. For a child with special needs or mental health issues, it’s an absolute nightmare place to be.”
Dr Sarah Gillie, Senior Lecturer in Education and Early Childhood at the University of the West of England, says these issues are pushing some parents into home education: “Compulsory schooling starts two years earlier in the UK than in many countries. Our state-imposed regime of standardised testing inevitably impacts all children’s experiences. Thirteen years of knowing you are being measured can significantly heighten anxiety for neurodivergent children.”
Home Education And The Local Authority
For all the benefits of a flexible learning environment, there are also difficulties.
The most commonly-cited worry was the local authority (LA). Local authorities can make ‘informal enquiries’ to check that home education provision is suitable, though parents aren’t obligated to provide evidence.
The LA can serve a school attendance order if they believe the education isn’t suitable. For example, some parents don’t teach their children basic skills necessary for life outside the home.
In a statement, the Local Government Association (LGA) said gaps in LA powers means children can ‘slip through the net’. It calls on the government to introduce a register of children who are not in school and grant councils the power to meet face-to-face with children.
But Katie believes local authorities don’t always understand alternative approaches to education. She says: “I’d like to see genuinely non-judgemental support that helps parents take the route in their child’s best interests.”
Hanneke, whose daughter struggles to read and write, worries a lack of understanding around SEND could lead some local authorities to frown on parents’ methods: “You get the horrendous check-ups, like we’re all child abusers. I don’t have loads of worksheets to prove it, but she’s learning and developing. We don’t all have the perfect picture that looks good to others.”
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Attitudes Towards Home Education
Many parents are faced with common preconceptions of home schooling. Helen and Donna lost friends when they started educating their children.
Social development, career prospects, and the nature of the education provided are common criticisms of home education. Unschooled adults in Canada reported social isolation, learning deficits, and family dysfunction. The lack of outside regulation can result in a subpar education for some children.
Additionally, some parents give home education a bad name. No formal curriculum means parents choose what their children learn about, which can result in extremism and radicalisation.
“People end up finding out it exists because they’ve had problems with the system. But they should know that it is possible.”
Abusive parents can also use home education as a tool to isolate their children from the outside world. Famous examples like the Duggars and the Turpins have highlighted the importance of regulating home education.
But normal parents like Katie disprove the stereotype that home educating stunts growth, intelligence, or career prospects. Her eldest children achieved straight A* and A equivalents at GCSE.
She says: “Anyone who has actually met me or my children usually ends the encounter by considering home education themselves.”
School Isn’t Always The Best Option
Hanneke describes herself as a ‘forced unschooler’ due to her daughter’s demand-avoidance. She says the majority of her daughter’s activities are led by her own interests, including science classes, museum visits, and gymnastics. However, she wonders if her daughter would struggle less with reading and writing if she attended school.
Many home-educated children experience blended learning. While Amber studied some subjects at home, others were courses taken at a nearby college. The main benefit of choosing alternative education is being able to structure it to better fit your children’s needs.
Donna believes parents should be made aware earlier that home education is an option: “People end up finding out it exists because they’ve had problems with the system. But they should know that it is possible, you can do it. It’s a philosophy of life.”
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Featured image courtesy of Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash. Image license can be found here.
Riannon Chaplin
Riannon is a trainee journalist from Essex with a degree in History from Cambridge University. She is especially interested in social affairs, particularly education, disability and health and wellbeing.