Big rise seen in the number of home-taught children

Published on Friday 21 November 2008 21:02

A RISE of 67 per cent in the number of children being educated at home since 2001 may just be the tip of the iceberg, it has been claimed.

New Scottish Government figures have revealed that 756 children were registered as being taught at home in 2007-8 for reasons other than health problems. This was an increase of 53 from 2006-7 and 315 from 2000-1.

But Alison Pearson, the convener of Schoolhouse Home Education Association, said the number was probably much higher, because councils were often unaware of all the children outside the school system.

She said home education was on the rise for a variety of reasons, including bullying and a lack of confidence many parents had in the school system.

"The trouble is that the one size fits all mentality of our school system does not serve our children's individual needs very well," she said. "We find more and more parents are contacting us, especially in the P1 year group, because they are horrified with what they have found when their child starts school."

She added that new regulations introduced last year – which made it easier for parents to choose home education while giving the council six weeks' notice of withdrawing their child from a school – had also contributed to the increase.

However, parents who chose this option were still faced with "significant opposition" from councils, she added.