The rising number of parents in Greater Manchester opting to home educate their children
More and more children are receiving their education at home since the pandemic.
Figures have revealed a sharp rise in the number of children across Greater Manchester being removed from school to be home educated since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Seven of Greater Manchester's 10 boroughs responded to a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request by the PA News Agency. The results show a growing trend over the last five years, with a 67% increase in children who are educated outside of a traditional school setting.
Nicola Farrell is a former teacher who now runs Kids Go Wild forest school in Stockport. She's recently taken her 5-year-old daughter out of school: "The school system is so formal now and so academic and results based that children don’t have any, or very little, time to play. That has such a big impact on their mental health and their wellbeing because that’s how they learn all of their social skills and how they get their emotions out.
"What we were seeing in our daughter is a common theme that runs through all of the families that I speak to at forest school; children were masking things throughout the school day and appearing like the model pupil, but then having huge melt downs when they come home. It's called restraint collapse where basically they've been trying so hard all day to conform and do exactly what the staff are asking, and then she was really hungry, tired and hyper when she got home."
Councils say the pandemic allowed some families to experience home education for the first time, whilst other parents are choosing the option because they believe 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.
Nicola continued: "A lot of families I've spoken to have sent their children to school for a few years and seen a decline and then pulled them out, usually around age 8 or 9. They have their individual reasons, some children have been bullied and school hasn't dealt with it appropriately, but everyone is on a very similar page that we don’t feel school can meet the basic needs of our children.
"Mainstream schools just aren't equipped to help some children and it's not their fault. I really loved my daughter's school and thought it was brilliant, and I still do. The head teacher was fantastic but it's the system as a whole that you can't change. Teachers are doing their best with what they've got but money is a barrier, they haven't got the budgets for things that they need, like help and support for children with additional needs.
"Your child's mental and emotional health has got to come first, and it has to come before English and maths."
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said it was "incredibly sad" if parents are home educating because they feel their child is not getting the support they need in school.
He called on the Government to invest in education to ensure this is "never the case" and schools have the resources they need to help all pupils to thrive.
Mr Barton said: "It is a real concern that there has been such an increase in home education following the pandemic. The reasons for this are numerous and complex but major factors are likely the worsening mental health among young people and the growing number of children with unmet special educational needs.
"The crisis in Send funding is limiting the amount of specialist help that schools are able to offer, while cuts to children's services mean there are often long waits for external support."
The boroughs that responded to the FOI request were: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
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