'PARENTS are the experts in their own children", Stacy Matheson tells me, adding, "and know what they need to thrive".
Matheson is the Scottish administrator for Educational Freedom - a non-profit organisation providing home education information and support for parents and carers across the UK.
She is also one of thousands of parents across Scotland to home educate her child. Through her role and her participation, she sees more families choosing to home educate for philosophical reasons but also because they feel forced into it as schools fail to recognise and accommodate needs for their child.
One local authority in Scotland has seen an increase of more than 204% since 2020 and reasons since 2018 included “family beliefs”, “children anxious within school setting”, “travelling community”, and “Covid pandemic”.
Matheson herself chose to home educate her nine-year-old in 2021. Her child was in an additional support needs (ASN) classroom for one year before Matheson advocated for a different approaches in his teaching, with her concerns for his wellbeing increasing.
"I was told it wasn’t possible, despite schools claiming to follow a GIRFEC [Getting it Right for Every Child] approach. The longer my child was in school, the more anxious, withdrawn and tired they became," Matheson shared.
"After being told I was the problem, not the school, I withdrew them in order to home educate them instead. Within weeks, it was clear my decision was the right one and they’ve thrived ever since."
It isn't just parents calling for different approaches, as figures released in December showed teacher numbers have dropped to 53,412 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers, down by 621 from last year.
The vast majority of the fall was among primary school teachers. The overall pupil-teacher ratio is the lowest in the UK despite the additionality provided by the Scottish Government of £145.5 million.
After 18 months home educating, Matheson said she and her child found a stride and routine that meets both their needs, describing the experience as a learning curve for her as much as anything.
"We’re trained to think that school methods are the only way to learn, so initially I was trying to get my child to complete worksheets and follow the KS1 curriculum. I quickly realised that school hadn’t worked for them for a number of reasons, and following a set curriculum was one of the reasons.
"I also discovered that so much of the curriculum is pointless activities and information that has little to no relevance outside of the school environment.
"My child learns best when following their interests and needs."
Matheson feels schools might claim to follow GIRFEC "but they don’t".
She explained: "If school was suited to every child, there would be no need for PBS [Positive Behaviour Support] systems to be put into place because children wouldn’t need bribed with 'golden time' or 'head teacher’s award' in order to produce their best work and behave their best.
"The two systems are incompatible and don’t actually provide a 'suitable education' as defined in law. Home education gives me the chance to genuinely meet needs and provide a bespoke education that exactly suits my individual child."
Home education myths debunked
During the pandemic, families were able to step into the home education world.
Since, children have found the return to the classroom challenging, with more than 40% of Scotland’s secondary pupils persistently absent from school.
Figures released by the Scottish Government in December showed a small reduction in the number of pupils in secondary schools who have been absent for 10% of the school year in 2023-24, falling from 41% in the year before to 40.6%. But compared to the 2012-13 school year, the figure has risen from 26.7%.
A common misconception of home education is that home education can isolate a child and hide them from society, Matheson explains.
She suggests can provide the right amount of socialising for each individual child.
"There are weekly, fortnightly and monthly meet-up options available within the local home ed community, indoor and outdoor, particular activities or just meeting up to play and chat.
"Home educated children aren’t hidden away as a general rule."
Matheson believes another misconception is that families need permission to opt out of the school system, and that home education is "somehow a new and radical approach".
She added: "School leaving age was only raised to 16 in 1973, and schools as we know them have only been enshrined in law since 1918, so it’s schools that are the experiment in society rather than home education."
How can home educated children sit exams?
Matheson and other home educators find the current exam system difficult to navigate outwith schools, describing it as "pretty impossible".
The Scottish Government’s flagship education reform Bill which replaces the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) with a new body called Qualifications Scotland and establishes an independent inspectorate.
MSPs from across the political divide told Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth in December during a debate that a change of culture is needed, as well as systemic change.
Gilruth told Holyrood the Bill is the start of change and not the final step, and said she agrees a change in culture is also needed. There is hope that with the upcoming changes to the SQA, home education examination could become easier.
There are two current options; find an exam centre that takes home educated children or access college, potentially through a 14-16 provision, or 16+.
Exams can be sat at any age and spread out over several years.
"Many colleges like home educated teens because they’ve already learned how to study independently and don’t require as much guidance as teens coming straight from school," Matheson explained.
She added: "Home educated teens can also only sit subjects that interest them, instead of sitting exams in subjects they have no interest in".
