Fears for children as homeschooling rates ‘surge’ in England

LONDON – Education campaigners demanded government action on Jan 26 after new figures revealed that the number of children in England being homeschooled jumped more than 13 per cent in one term in 2023.

The spike – from an estimated 86,200 in homeschooling at the start of 2023 to 97,600 by the April to July summer term – emerged from data provided by local councils to the Department for Education (DfE).

It showed a 20 per cent rise during the last full school year from September to July.

Nearly a quarter of parents involved said they were keeping children at home primarily as a “lifestyle choice” or for “philosophical or preferential reasons”.

These were by far the most commonly given main reasons, ahead of mental health factors (8 per cent) and general dissatisfaction with the school (6 per cent).

The homeschooling trend, which has intensified since Covid-19 led many parents to teach their children for prolonged periods, has heightened fears that rising numbers of children are missing out on professional education and socialisation.

“I think it is a surge – these numbers have skyrocketed over the last seven or eight years,” former children’s commissioner Anne Longfield, who now chairs the Commission on Young Lives, told BBC Radio.

“We need to take this much more seriously,” she said, urging the government and local authorities to “really help schools provide the kind of support they know these children need to stay in school”.

Only 4 per cent of parents said health concerns over Covid-19 were the main factor behind their decision, suggesting the pandemic-associated increase could be morphing into a long-term trend.

Although some parents were choosing to homeschool, Ms Longfield argued that for many more, “it’s not a choice”.

She said a range of factors – from children feeling unhappy in school and not getting the support they need to a lack of state-funded resources – were contributing to the decisions to homeschool.

“It can just be a desperate choice, and those are the families we really need to focus on, to understand what’s needed to help those children remain in school and flourish,” she said.

‘Boots on the ground’

Separate DfE figures published on Jan 25 for the current school year that started in September 2023 showed that 20 per cent of children in England are persistently absent from school while not being taught elsewhere.

That was down from the previous academic year but still above pre-pandemic rates.

The British government in London, which looks after schools in England, has for several years pledged to create a compulsory national register of homeschooled children.

But legislation to kick-start that has yet to be introduced and is unlikely before a general election due later in 2024.

The main opposition Labour party, riding high in opinion polls, has vowed to press ahead with the register and empower schools watchdog Ofsted – the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills – to play a bigger oversight role.

It also wants to incentivise attendance through funding for other measures like school breakfast clubs.

Ms Longfield said England faced “a particular problem” with finances for schools and related services, with head teachers telling her of the need for more social workers and related support staff.

Mr Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, agreed that “children’s social care and mental health support have suffered cuts or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade”.

“Crucial local authority roles like education welfare officers have been decimated,” he told The Guardian.

“We need to see more boots on the ground, with visits to families to get to the bottom of issues with children’s attendance.” AFP