Home school children

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

Harrogate has the second highest number of home-schooled children in North Yorkshire. According to figures obtained by the Harrogate Advertiser, there were 44 children being taught at home instead of school at the end of the last academic year (to July 2014). This figure is up from 32 in 2013 and 26 in 2012.This puts Harrogate second in the list of districts in the county, behind only Scarborough where there were 70 children being home-schooled when last recorded, and ahead of York and Leeds.NYCC executive member for schools, 16-19-year-old education, and early years provision Coun Arthur Barker said: “There are lots of benefits in having children in formal education, not least that they can socialise with other children and learn social skills as well as educational skills. “The other way round I fail to see any benefits.”Coun Barker added, however, that 44 home-schooled children is a relatively low number when set in the context of the number of children in … [Read more...] about Home-schooling levels put Harrogate second in North Yorkshire

There has been a stark increase in the number of families opting to pull their children out of school in favour of home education, figures reveal. In August 2017 there were around 430 recorded cases of home-educated children in Bucks, a staggering 57 per cent increase from August 2013. The county figures reflect a national spike, which has prompted the government to review the way home education as assessed across the country. However the number of cases is likely to be higher, as is not currently a requirement for parents to declare they are home-schooling their children – which poses challenges for councils to keep track of education being provided to children in Bucks, according to Bucks County Council (BCC) officer, Vivian Trundell. The government also fears the lack of compulsory registration could result in increase in unregistered schools and radicalisation of pupils. Speaking at a meeting of BCC’s children’s social care and learning select committee yesterday … [Read more...] about Shocking rise in Children being home schooled

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