West Sussex County Council has called for a register of home-schooled children to be created. A County Hall meeting on Friday (July 20) was told that 1,007 children across the county were known to be taught at home – but the figure could be higher as parents are not currently required to register their child’s educational whereabouts.Richard Burrett, cabinet member for education and skills, told the meeting the figure had more than doubled in four years, with an increase of 110 per cent since June 2014.The council recently responded to a call for information from the Department for Education.The call was part of a consultation centred around the registration of children being educated at home, the monitoring of home education provision, and the support available for home-educating families.In 2013/14, the council knew of 468 children who were taught at home, 237 boys and 278 girls.The figure rose to 564 in 2014/15 (286 boys/278 girls), 620 in 2015/16 (326 boys/294 girls), … [Read more...] about Council appeals for register of home-schooled children
Home school children
Number of home schooled pupils in West Sussex rises
The number of home schooled pupils in West Sussex has risen sharply. A freedom of information request submitted to West Sussex County Council revealed that, in the last five years, the number rose by more than 90 per cent, from 477 pupils in 2013/14 to 917 in 2017/18. The biggest rise came between 2015/16 and 2016/17, when the number increased from 622 pupils to 800 – a rise of almost 30 per cent.A spokesman for West Sussex County Council said: “The numbers of parents/carers in West Sussex who have elected to home school their child/ren has echoed the rise nationally.” The number of school-aged pupils in West Sussex who are educated at home remains under one per cent. In 2013/4, 0.46 per cent of statutory school age children known to West Sussex were home schooled – a number which rose to 0.74 per cent in 2016/7. According to the BBC, the national average is 0.5 per cent. The figures also showed that more children of secondary school age are home schooled than … [Read more...] about Number of home schooled pupils in West Sussex rises
Thousands more children are home-schooled
England By Mariam Issimdar BBC News 26 April 2018 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Messenger Share this with Messenger Share this with Email Share Share this with These are external links and will open in a new window Email Share this with Email Facebook Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Messenger Messenger Share this with Messenger Twitter Share this with Twitter Pinterest Share this with Pinterest WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp LinkedIn Share this with LinkedIn Copy this link http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42624220 Read more about sharing. These are external links and will open in a new window Close share panel The number of children being home-schooled has risen by about 40% over three years, the BBC has found. Across the UK 48,000 children were being home-educated in 2016-17, up from about 34,000 in … [Read more...] about Thousands more children are home-schooled
Plans for database of home-schooled children in Wales
A DATABASE of home-schooled children in Wales could be created under plans announced by the Welsh Government. Education secretary Kirsty Williams has also announced a package of support for parents and others responsible for home-schooling, including help with exam registration, access to digital learning platform Hwb and support from Careers Wales. A consultation will also be launched on proposals to require councils to set up a database identifying school-aged children not in mainstream education. Although parents will not be forced to send children to school, councils will be able to assess whether the education they are receiving is suitable. Ms Williams said: “I fully respect the choice of parents to home educate their children and nothing I am considering or proposing changes that. "There are many valid, different and sometimes complex reasons why parents would choose to go down this route and in some cases this will be the best choice for the child. “But … [Read more...] about Plans for database of home-schooled children in Wales
Turpin family ‘torture’: How easy is it to home-school children in California?
Police have arrested two parents after they discovered 13 children "shackled" to furniture at their home in California, raising questions about how a home-school was allowed to operate at the address. David Turpin registered the house in Perris, east of Los Angeles, as a private school named the Sandcastle Day School in 2011. In the 2016 to 2017 school year it had six students, one in each fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12 grades, according to the California Department of Education website. It is believed all 13 students were David and his wife Louise Anna Turpin's children. The authorities were alerted to the abuse when a 17-year-old girl escaped from a window at the property and phoned the police. Officers discovered 12 of her brothers and sisters aged between two and 29-years-old at the property. The Turpins are being held on $9m bail and face torture and child endangerment charges. The case has shone a spotlight on the laws surrounding home-schools in California. Under state … [Read more...] about Turpin family ‘torture’: How easy is it to home-school children in California?