The rising number of parents in Lancashire 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 Lancashire being removed from school to be home educated since the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Freedom of Information request by the PA News Agency shows a growing trend over the last five years - with a 58% increase in children across the county who are educated outside of a traditional school setting.
Jenna Mackintosh is a former teacher who now runs Into The Ark forest school in Scarisbrick, West Lancashire. She's also previously home schooled her son: "We started offering sessions for home educated children about 3 or 4 years ago and over the years it's grown in popularity. More and more people are seeing it as a viable option to educate their children from home.
"Me and my partner are both teachers, so we've come from that formal education background and we know the constraints that teachers are put under. It's one of the reasons we came out of education to start this up. We wanted something better for our own children, but we also knew that other children needed an alternative to formal education.
"The school system hasn't changed in many years, it's almost gone back to what it was in Victorian times when pupils were just sat down and listening to a teacher. It doesn't appeal or cater to those children who need movement in their life, and need to be getting up and down to experience things."
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.
Jenna continued: "I think lockdown made parents realise how different children can be at home when the formality of the education system isn't there and the pressures have gone. Children changed and became happier and calmer. A lot of parents that come to us started during lockdown. They've seen a big change in their children who are a lot happier and more confident.
"The curriculum in schools is very narrow and it doesn't interest all children. When you're home educating you can really think about what the child needs and wants and I think that's why the forest school movement has really taken off within the home ed community - it's just grown and grown because children need that movement, they need to be outdoors, climbing trees, planting things, playing in the mud. It's child led and we focus on what the child needs and what they want to learn about.
"Obviously it's a hard thing to do financially when one parent has to stay at home to support the children; there's a lot of juggling that has to happen, but parents are wanting to do it much more now."
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."
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