Thousands of children home-schooled in Lancashire as figures suggest national rise

Dozens of councils in England have seen a sharp rise in the number of children being removed from school to be home educated since the Covid-19 pandemic, figures reveal.

The number of children in elective home education (EHE) has increased in many areas of the country in the last five years – and in some councils, it has more than doubled since 2019, an analysis has found.

More families have opted to formally remove their children from school after the pandemic allowed them to experience homeschooling, councils have said.

But a growing number of parents are now choosing home education because they feel the current school system cannot meet the needs of their children – especially those who have mental health issues or special educational needs and disabilities (Send), according to charity Education Otherwise.

The figures – obtained by the PA news agency using Freedom of Information requests – show that dozens of councils in England also saw the number of children registered in home education rise last year.

Around half of councils in England – 72 out of 152 – provided full data to PA showing the total number of children registered as EHE in August 2019, August 2020, August 2021, August 2022 and August 2023.

How many children are home-schooled in Lancashire?

Data has only been included for the local authorities that returned comparable monthly figures for all five academic years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23).

The figures show the total number of children known to be in home education as of August in the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Blackpool: 251, 247, 323, 366, 356

Lancashire: 1216, 1176, 1625, 1746, 1967

Department for Education statistics show around 290 children were voluntarily taught at home in Blackburn with Darwen in the 2022-23 summer term.

It comes as politicians, council leaders and headteachers' unions have called for a national register of children not in school to ensure local authorities know how many young people are being educated at home – but many home educators oppose a register as they fear it could lead to interference.

Wendy Charles-Warner, chair of home education charity Education Otherwise, said the Covid-19 pandemic led to more homeschooling as parents "dipped their toes in the water" and became aware of a different route.

Traditionally lifestyle choice was the main motivator for home education, but in the last year she said there has been a "dramatic change" in the reasons given by parents as to why they are withdrawing their child from school.

Ms Charles-Warner told PA: "A really high proportion of parents are now telling us that they're coming to home education because schools are not meeting their child’s needs."

She added: "We use the term 'elective home education' and some of these parents will get quite cross about that because they're not actually electing to home educate. They feel forced to do so. It is very worrying."

The Department for Education (DfE) said parents have the right to educate their children at home, but "all children should receive a suitable education regardless of where they are educated."

"We are continuing to work with local authorities to improve their non-statutory registers as well as supporting schools, trusts, governing bodies and local authorities to identify pupils who are at risk of becoming – or who are – persistently absent so they can receive regular and consistent education whether that be in school or at home," a spokeswoman added.