I loved being home schooled (apart from my mum’s sex ed lessons). But are new methods too radical?
Elle Hunt
‘Free-schooling’ is far removed from my experience – and likely to provoke strong views, as one TikTok influencer discovered, says freelance journalist Elle Hunt
May 2024
Vulnerable children in England ‘safer at school’ than being educated at home
Review of serious safeguarding failures finds young people from abusive environments ‘less visible’ to agencies
April 2024
Hunger, homelessness and gang grooming: just a normal week at one London academy
The Guardian spent time at Oasis Academy Hadley, where more than half of pupils are in poverty but ambitions are high
March 2024
‘Children are being failed’: why more English parents are home educating
Fines, health needs, and a poor learning environment are among the reasons for the rise in children taken out of school
February 2024
Parents in England: have you recently switched to home education?
Number of children home schooled in England rises by more than 10,000
January 2024
England homeschooling surge could become permanent, data suggests
Department for Education estimates 97,000 children were home educated in 2023 summer term, 11,000 more than previous term
Yes, parents have the right to educate their children at home. But children have rights too
Sonia Sodha
Labour has proposed more rigorous oversight of the system, but it should go even further
Labour plans to tackle school absence in England with home-school register
Legislation would put legal duty on councils to keep register of children not in school amid historically high absence levels
December 2023
Lack of home schooling oversight ‘obvious danger’ to children, experts say
Republicans tout ‘school choice’ as issue to attract parents across party divide
September 2023
Other lives
Sarah Guthrie obituary
Other lives: Co-founder of London’s first lunchtime theatre who became an expert on home schooling and worked as a cartoonist
June 2023
Children’s special educational needs are not being met
Letters: Angela Lee-Foster on the struggle by her and other parents to get the support their children need
May 2023
More children than ever are being home-schooled in England, data shows
Ministers want to identify those at risk of missing out on education, especially if they are of compulsory school age
February 2023
Other lives
Margaret Copley obituary
Other lives: Social worker who helped to introduce a home-visiting educational service into Liverpool, and then further afield
March 2022
No one knows how many children in England, says children’s commissioner
Poor council records mean some young people have no contact with education system, Rachel de Souza finds
February 2022
Lifting of Covid rules in England ‘will lead to rise in home schooling’
Fears over ‘forced exclusion’ of vulnerable pupils whose families will be too scared to send them to school
DfE is ‘criminalising parents’ in England, say families still shielding from Covid
Parents facing prosecution for home schooling say vulnerable children and relatives’ safety comes before school attendance
Parents in England who fail to register home schooling could face sanctions
Government is planning compulsory national register but details of penalties are yet to be determined
January 2022
Up to 10,000 pupils in England missed whole autumn term last year, analysis finds
Figures from education research group estimate 128,000 children withdrawn from state education in year to January 2021 lockdown
