More Scots parents choose home education

Daily Express, 12th August 2008

GROWING numbers of parents are deserting Scotland’s failing state schools to educate their children at home.

Home education charity Schoolhouse has reported an upsurge in enquiries ahead of the new school year from those wanting to take their children out of the classroom.

The move comes amid falling standards, with Government figures for 2006 showing half of all Scots 14-year-olds are failing to achieve basic competency in reading, writing and maths.

Schoolhouse yesterday claimed issues such as bullying in schools and a lack of support for children with special needs are contributing to the demand.

Amid the credit crunch, worried parents are also looking for an alternative to paying thousands of pounds in fees for private schools.

Alison Preuss, convener of Schoolhouse, said the charity had received just under 100 enquiries from parents in the first week and a half of August, which is almost equivalent to the average number of calls in a full month.“Many people have had a summer where their children have been much more relaxed and are learning quite happily autonomously at home,” she said. But as the school term looms again they start to panic.

“Some people are home-educating their children because their children have special needs or because they have been bullied.

“That saddens me, as it should never have had to happen. Schools don’t have the resources and they are struggling with a system that isn’t working.”

Latest official statistics show the number of children being schooled at home in Scotland rose by two-thirds between 2001/2 and 2006/7, from 451 to 703. In eight out of ten cases the child had been withdrawn from the classroom and the remainder had never attended a local authority school.

However, Ms Preuss claimed the true number could be much higher, as many home-educated youngsters would not be included in the official figures. She said: “There are people considering it because it needn’t be hugely expensive, certainly not as much as paying private school fees.

“Home educators are incredibly resourceful and there are lots of free things out there for sharing of information and networking.

“I think people are looking much more at ways they can cut corners financially.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Council of Independent Schools said: “Certainly last year we have seen an upturn in our numbers both in day and boarding in contrast to local authority schools, so we are wondering whether the credit crunch will have an impact.”

The Scottish Government last night said the number of children being educated at home was “very small”, at around 0.1 per cent of the five- to 15-year-old population.

A spokeswoman said: “No matter where a child is educated, its interests must be paramount. We issue guidance to help parents at home develop positive relationships with local authorities.”