Parents rushing to school children at home
Numbers double in space of five years, probe shows
THE NUMBER of children being home schooled in the region has doubled over the last five years, an investigation by The Yorkshire
Post reveals. Nearly 4,500 children were educated at home in the 2016/2017 academic year, raising fears from Ofsted that some vulnerable children may be slipping through the net.
It represents a 101 per cent rise since 2012, when just 2,225 pupils were classified as home taught.
The figures are based on data provided by 15 local education authorities across Yorkshire, with reasons behind the trend listed as including personal choice, dissatisfaction of the school system, bullying and increasingly mental health worries and a need to support mental well-being. A lack of school places is also listed in some parts of the county, as well as not being offered the preferred school.
Anil Sarna, founder of Hebden Bridge School, which offers support to home-schooled children, said: “We have a one-day school experience and also offer modules, where students can pick and choose what they want to study.
“We are very flexible and this appeals to home-educated pupils who don’t want to be at school five-days-a-week, but they want to have learning experiences with other children in a more structured way.
“Our home-educated children all love learning. They are really engaged with everything we do.
“Our experience has been extremely positive.”
In some areas, including Calderdale and Barnsley, the number of home-taught pupils has more than tripled.
The region’s highest number of home-schooled children is in Bradford, with the city recording 666 pupils as being educated at home in 2016/17 compared to 269 in 2012/2013.
In its response to the data request, Bradford Council wrote: “In England, education is compulsory, but school is not. Any parent can home-educate their child at any stage during the child’s compulsory schooling.”
Nationally it is estimated that 45,500 children and young people were being educated at home on school census day, October 5, 2017. This is roughly equivalent to the population of 49 averagesized secondary schools.
Ofsted’s national director for social care, Eleanor Schooling, warned last week that vulnerable children in society can become invisible to professionals and agencies under the guise of elective home education.
Cathy Kirby, Ofsted director for the region, told The Yorkshire
Post: “The Government sets the policy on home education. Ofsted respects the rights of parents to educate their children at home. And for most children and families, home education is a positive option. But we know that for some children, being educated at home can add to their vulnerability. Ofsted recognises that the challenge for local authorities in meeting their safeguarding responsibilities to these children.
“We also know that there are links for some children between home education and unregistered schools.”
We are very flexible and this appeals to home-educated pupils. Anil Sarna, founder of Hebden Bridge School, which supports home-schooled children.
WHEN JENNIFER Byrom’s second child became bored and unhappy at secondary school in Calderdale, he was given the option to be educated at home.
Seven years ago, she said, her son Arthur was not particularly happy there and he sometimes felt ill and didn’t want to attend.
“We didn’t think much of the homework given to him and he wasn’t really interested in what he was doing,” she explained. “We eventually gave him the choice, carry on or home education. At 13 he decided to follow that path.”
Arthur, now 20, would go on to sit three GCSEs and then start an Open University degree early, achieving a 2:1 aged 19, before going on to work in Manchester.
Ms Byrom, from Hebden Bridge, said: “He became a happier child being at home.”
So when it came to educating her youngest son Alfie, 11, it wasn’t a difficult decision.
She said: “Alfie attended a Steiner kindergarten and then a Montessori school until he was seven. We did visit local primary schools thinking he might go there, but we decided that we prefer the freedom of home education.”
Ms Byrom and her husband teach Alfie some of the time – mainly maths, science and history. The couple also run their own business and the mother-of-three works from home part-time.
Alfie attends the Burn and Brae Wilderness school each Tuesday and the Hebden Bridge School on a Thursday. He also participates in a lot of other structured activities during the week including chess, music, dancing and art.
Ms Byrom said: “We wanted him to concentrate on what he found most interesting and we wanted to be involved in his learning.
“A big thing for us was more free time for him and us as a family. As he is our third child, we had no worries about it because we knew we could make it work for him and he would have a good education.
“Because he has more time and is less tired, he can do more afterschool activities than most children.”
Alfie does participate in some structured learning at home, said Ms Byrom, with online resources including the Kahn Academy and BBC Bitesize.
And conversations about TV documentaries, such as Blue
Planet, as well as things he has seen or heard often lead to studying topics that have sparked Alfie’s interest.
Ms Byrom said: “As a family we travel a lot and do house swaps. This year we went to Montreal for three months and swapped with a family that home educates. We have also taken him to Vancouver and Singapore, and this year we have also been to Loch Lomond and the Barbican in London.
“We just feel that because he is not at school he is able to do so much.”
In response to any critics who feel home schooling may be isolating, Ms Byrom said Alfie mixed with children of all different ages, as well as adults, through his wide range of activities.
She said: “Overall he’s a very happy child.”
There are also groups of home educators across Yorkshire that arrange meet-ups with their children, explained Ms Byrom.
She said: “Home education is growing. I see so much more going on now. I would definitely recommend it. There are ways to make it work for every family I believe.
“What is better than to give your child the best education and spend more time with them?”
There are ways to make it work for every family I believe. Jennifer Byrom, home educator.