Home educating rising sharply, councils in the south report

Home educator Nadia said her daughter Nuri, 7, was faring better outside school

Home education is rising sharply in some southern counties of England, figures suggest.

BBC South requested data from 15 councils in Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire for the years 2013-2023.

Hampshire County Council reported the highest number of home-schooled children, up from 623 to 3,593.

Parents said schools could not cater for all needs, while local authorities said school was best in most cases.

Nadia from Reading said her home-educated daughter Nuri, 7, had been unhappy in school but was now "exceeding targets".

She said: "I believe that the school system is very much a cookie cutter approach and unfortunately our daughter didn't sit within the cookie cutter shape."

Vicky from Portsmouth said she made the decision to spend more time with her children

At an art meeting for home-educated children in Portsmouth, parents explained why they thought their community was growing.

Home educator Vicky said: "I think some people, probably for similar reasons to me, want to spend more time with their children. But also the school system, I think, is really struggling to cater for the needs of lots of children."

Rebekah, a mother of four, said her decision was "to do with enjoying the freedom that came in the early years of allowing them to learn at their pace".

Mac Heath, from the Association of Directors of Children's Services, acknowledged that home education was rising.

However, he said: "I would really urge that if we're ensuring that our children get the best opportunity to thrive, both socially, academically, that we continue to recognise that for most of our children schools are the best place for them."

Mac Heath, from the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said school was best for most children

Figures for home education are likely to be under-estimates, based on children known to have been withdrawn from mainstream schools.

Most councils reported substantial increases to the BBC, although not all were able to provide 10 years of data.

Dorset Council reported a rise from 15 to 285 children, Oxfordshire County Council's figures rose from 177 to 522 and Wiltshire Council saw an increase from 228 to 952.

Only Bracknell Forest Council reported a fall, from 91 children in 2021 to 87 in 2023.

Government plans for a register of out-of-school children were put on hold when the Schools Bill was scrapped in 2022.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We support the right of parents to educate their children at home but all children should receive a suitable education regardless of where they are educated.

"We remain committed to legislating for statutory... registers at the next suitable opportunity."

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