Attendance rules blamed for rise in home schooling

HOME schooling is on the rise, figures show, with some parents teaching their children to avoid prosecution and fines.

Ofsted says some students are being home educated as parents tried to “avoid pressures” from schools over attendance. A survey by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services found 57,873 children were being taught at home in 2018, a 27 per cent rise on the previous year. The Ofsted report suggested among the reasons for the rise was that parents were attempting to “avoid prosecution for non-attendance, and permanent exclusions”.

The inspectorate’s study, based on research in the East Midlands, noted it was often unclear if parents were conducting home education as a tactic to “play the system”. But it added that parents issued with penalty notices for allowing their children to miss school often did so as a result of their “needs not being met”. Pupils are only allowed to miss school if they are ill or have advance permission.

Ofsted said it also found evidence of pupils being “off-rolled” into home education – and families had been forced to remove a child from school rather than it being a choice. Home education was sometimes not a preferred choice but a last resort amid a breakdown in relationships with schools.

Special educational needs, medical and behavioural reasons were among the main motives for pupils being moved out of schools, Ofsted said. Amanda Spielman, Ofsted chief inspector, said parents should not opt for home education “simply to resolve difficulties in school”. She said: “Home education is a legitimate parental choice and can be a positive decision when parents are equipped to provide a good education. But children should not be moved to home education simply to resolve difficulties in school.”