Redcar and Cleveland Council report 19% rise in home-schooled children
The council say they have seen an almost 20% rise in the number of home-schooled kids since 2021/22
Redcar and Cleveland council reveal an almost 20 percent rise in the number of kids being home-schooled since the 2021-22 year.
They suggest the latest figure is around 245 students.
Figures included in a recent performance report by Redcar and Cleveland Council’s director of children and families’ services Kathryn Boulton showed that between the autumn term of 2021/22 and the same period last year the number of youngsters in this category increased from 194 to 231 and was up in every quarter.
The latest figure is approximately 245.
There was previously a spike in the figures during the covid-19 pandemic, thought to be in part due to anxieties among both children and parents about the return to classrooms.
Forty four children were newly home schooled in the borough in the first six weeks of the 2020/21 academic year, a figure described at the time by one councillor as “astronomical”.
Parents can opt at any time to teach a child themselves at home and do not need to follow the national curriculum.
For their part local authorities are only required to carry out cursory checks to ensure a child’s education in this way is adequate.
In January last year the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed how mum Emma Jennings, from Normanby, was home schooling her then 11-year-old son Kian because there were no secondary school places available in the area.
Mrs Jennings had opted to remove from him Laurence Jackson school in Guisborough because of an alleged bullying issue, but subsequently discovered there were no waiting lists for a place in any of the borough’s schools with the exception of Huntcliff in Saltburn, which she said was too far to travel.
The council has developed a forum to improve communication with home schooling parents and advise them of the support available for returners to mainstream education.
Education officials have said Redcar and Cleveland is not an outlier in terms of the numbers and increases have been seen in many other areas also.
In a statement a council spokeswoman said: “Parents have the right to educate their children at home and we can confirm that the most recent figures show there has been an increase in the number of students learning at home in the course of the current academic year.
“The council’s education officers provide advice to families considering making this decision, and also discuss with schools, alternative options or support which may keep their child in mainstream education.
“We send parents of home educated children a newsletter every term to keep them updated and informed, including about any possible opportunities for their children.”
She added: “Parents and guardians have the option to return their child to mainstream school with all the advantages that offers, including learning from a variety of professional teachers with deep understanding of their subject, socialising with other children and ensuring a wide range of subjects tied to the national curriculum.
“The door is always open for any child to return to school.”