More than one in 100 children in England were homeschooled last summer term, with many parents citing lifestyle or “philosophical reasons” for abandoning traditional classrooms.
New estimates by the Department for Education (DfE) show that 97,000 children were home educated in 2023’s summer term, an increase of 11,000 compared with the 86,000 home educated at the start of 2023.
The figures suggest the surge in numbers of children being homeschooled during the Covid pandemic is at risk of becoming permanent, with only 4% of parents saying health concerns over Covid were the main factor behind their decision.
Nearly one in four families surveyed by the DfE said “lifestyle choice” and “philosophical or preferential reasons” were their primary motivation to educate their children at home.
The DfE also published new attendance figures showing the number of children persistently absent from school remained stubbornly higher than pre-pandemic levels, especially among older children at secondary school and those with special needs.
The DfE’s statistics show that 20% of secondary school pupils in England were persistently absent from September to mid-January, an improvement on the 24% of students who were persistently absent the previous year but far above the 11% recorded in 2018-19.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said ministers needed to “look at the bigger picture” to get more children back to school.
“Schools alone do not have the time, resources or expertise to address what are sometimes deep-rooted social issues, yet vital services like children’s social care and mental health support have suffered cuts or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade,” Whiteman said.
“We need to see more boots on the ground, with visits to families to get to the bottom of issues with children’s attendance – but crucial local authority roles like education welfare officers have been decimated.”
The DfE said in autumn the overall absence rate was 6.8%, down from 7.5% in autumn 2022. But absences among those with EHCPs (education, health and care plans) were much higher, with 35% classed as persistently absent.
Catherine McKinnell, the shadow schools minister, told a conference of school leaders in the north-east of England that the numbers of children missing half their lessons had tripled in parts of the region such as Newcastle and Gateshead.
“Something has been going seriously wrong that so many parents don’t see the merit in their children being in the classroom. But the numbers speak for themselves,” said McKinnell.
Before the pandemic hit in early 2020, local authorities in England estimated that about 55,000 children of compulsory school age were educated at home. But the numbers jumped by 36% in autumn 2020, to 75,000.
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, is planning legislation that would create a compulsory register of children who are not enrolled in school, while the government has said it would support a private member’s bill with the same aim.
The moves are opposed by supporters of elective home education, who fear it could lead to further restrictions.
While ministers have urged schools to do more to improve attendance, school funding levels continue to suffer, despite increased support.
The DfE’s figures showed that, adjusted for inflation, funding for state schools in England this year and next would be the highest for more than a decade. It calculated that average funding was £7,450 per pupil this year, compared with the equivalent of £7,170 in 2010-11.
But school leaders said the government’s measure did not include the increases in staff salaries that would come out school budgets.
Julia Harnden, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It’s clear that many schools remain in a very difficult financial position. The chancellor must use the spring budget to invest in education, as the prime minister promised at the Conservative conference, ensuring schools can afford staff pay awards and the other rising costs they are faced with.”
The National Foundation for Educational Research said many schools had “deteriorating” finances, with 13% of local authority schools carrying budget deficits in 2022-23.
