‘The school system is broken’: Why more parents are home-educating their children

BBC Two children sit around a circular table with textbooks, paper, a clock and a teddy bearBBC

“Toby was so tremendously unhappy in school,” says his father, Daniel. “We were standing outside the classroom door for an hour every morning and he just didn’t want to go in.

“[It reached the point where] we thought ‘this doesn’t work.'”

Daniel says he tried everything to settle him. Toby, who is now eight, was allowed into the classroom before other children arrived and his teacher also arranged for him to hand out books, but nothing helped.

So, in May 2023 his parents decided to withdraw him from school.

They are not the only ones. Government statistics released on Thursday found that a growing number of parents have withdrawn their children from mainstream education in England. An estimated 111,700 children are being home-educated, based on a census taken this year – marking a 20% rise since last year.

Around 23% say their reasons for home-educating are a result of lifestyle, philosophical or preferential choices, such as religious or cultural beliefs or a rejection of an exam-based education: something that has long been the case.

But 13% of families now say they made this decision because of school dissatisfaction, including a lack of support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and school bullying.

In addition, 14% say it is due to their child’s mental health.