Number of children home-schooled in Cambridgeshire rises by 40%

There has been a sharp rise in home-schooled youngsters in Cambridgeshire

The number of children in Cambridgeshire being home-schooled has risen by 40% since 2019.

A home education charity said some children's needs were not being met at school.

One private tutor said there was a "perfect storm" for its services and said his workload had tripled.

It comes as Cambridgeshire County Council said the numbers of children with special educational needs was also on the increase.

New figures show in 2019 there were 1,014 children being home-schooled in Cambridgeshire, with numbers up to 1,463 in August 2023.

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: "As of December 2023, Cambridgeshire secondary schools were commissioning 13 different tutoring companies to provide alternative provision for their learners.

"There are currently 7,552 pupils with an education health and care plan (EHC) - a document which details a child's special educational needs - in Cambridgeshire. There are 10,154 in receipt of SEN Support."

Piyush Gupta says there is a perfect storm for a "boom" in demand for private tutors

Piyush Gupta runs a business that supplies private tutors, and said "things have never been busier, due to a national shortage of teachers and the after-effects of the pandemic".

He added: "My workload has tripled since the onset of Covid-19. I currently have a team of 75 tutors, ideally I would double that to cope with surging demand.

"There is a rise in home-schooling and some parents require help to make it work."

Jayne Crane, a private maths tutor from Newton, near Wisbech, has seen demand "boom".

She said: "Everyday I have to turn more and more youngsters away.

"Home-schooling has had a huge boom, I teach groups of home-schooled children during the day, I now have a long waiting list for my services."

Wendy Charles-Warner, chair of the home-education charity Education Otherwise added: "Some children's needs are not being met at school, in many cases, because the child has a special educational need.

"A lot of children are not thriving in school, and the schools are not funded to provide for those youngsters that are being pushed to the margins."