The number of children in home education has soared by 21 per cent in just one year, with 1.4 per cent of the pupil population now learning at home.
According to new data published by the Department for Education, 111,700 children were in elective home education on the day of the October census this year, up from 92,000 in October 2023.
And 153,300 were home educated at some point in the last academic year, up from 126,100 in 2022-23.
That rise of 21 per cent compares to an increase of just under 14 per cent between October 2022 and October 2023.
It means that 1.4 per cent of the pupil population is now educated at home, up from 1.1 per cent in October 2023 and 1 per cent in October 2022.
Since last autumn, there has been a slight rise in the proportion of cases where mental health was the primary reason for home education (13 to 14 per cent), and a slight decrease in “philosophical” reasons (16 to 14 per cent).
However, there was a slight rise in the proportion citing “lifestyle” (8 to 9 per cent), and a decrease in those citing general school dissatisfaction (8 to 7 per cent).
The proportion citing dissatisfaction with school over bullying and over SEND remained the same, at around 3 per cent.
And more children missing education entirely
The government has also reported a big rise in the number of children considered “missing” from education entirely.
Children missing education are those of compulsory school age who are not registered at a school and not receiving a suitable education elsewhere.
Those receiving a suitable home education are not considered missing, but those awaiting a school place or receiving unsuitable education are included.
The DfE said local authorities reported there were 39,200 children missing education on October census day this year, up from 33,000 last year, an increase of almost 19 per cent.
An estimated 149,900 children were missing education at some point during 2023-24, up from 117,100 the year before, a rise of 28 per cent.
However, a recent report from the Education Policy Institute warned the actual number missing could be closer to 300,000, over double the DfE’s own estimates.
The think tank used both education and health data to estimate the number of children missing, whereas the DfE uses only submissions from councils.
Call for more support for families
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said the “worrying numbers of children missing in education demonstrate the importance of the government’s planned register of children not in school, including those who are home-educated, coming into effect as soon as possible”.
“Where a child is not receiving a suitable education this not only creates concern for their learning but can also put children at increased risk of harm or exploitation.
“It’s also vital that families receive more support to address issues in their lives and help ensure children can engage in education – and that means far more investment in vital services underfunded under previous governments, like social care, mental health and special education needs.”
Information sharing a ‘frequent’ barrier
The government has also published the outcome of a call for evidence on children missing education.
It found “inconsistencies across areas in the application of the definition” of missing education.
Information sharing and access to information was “frequently raised as a barrier for local authorities and schools when carrying out their responsibilities for CME”.
Local authority and school respondents “also raised challenges in integrating CME into education provision”.
Local authorities said that “lack of school spaces, particularly for specialist places, prolonged the period of CME. Some said they were unable to secure a place for CME due to schools being reluctant to accept certain cohorts, such as those with behaviour challenges or entering year 11.
“Some local authorities and schools faced additional challenges due to families being unwilling to engage in the process of integrating their child into education.”
