http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/Home-learning-expected-to-boom.3667000.jp
Home learning expected to boom
By Tim Booler
Up to 40 children a year are taken out of Wearside schools to be taught at home, it was revealed today.
Yet parents do not have to be qualified teachers or give reasons for opting to educate their sons and daughters around the kitchen table.
Figures obtained by the Echo today showed parents removed 121 children from Sunderland Local Education Authority between 2005 and 2007, to teach them at home.
Research by Durham University estimated that 150,000 UK children are taught at home, a figure expected to triple over the next decade.
There are no official statistics to show why families pull their offspring out of the system, but studies have suggested the main reason was bullying, followed by dissatisfaction with educational standards in school.
“Parents may decide to exercise their right to home educate their child for a wide variety of reasons,” said Elaine Matterson, enforcement and performance manager at Sunderland Council.
“Sometimes they may choose to do from a very early age so the child may not have been previously enrolled at school.
“They may also elect to home educate at any other stage up to the end of compulsory school age.”
The 1996 Education Act says: “The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude.”
However, the law does not state that parents have to be a qualified teacher to educate their sons and daughters at home.
Neither do they have to observe school hours, have a fixed timetable or follow the National Curriculum.
Some experts have claimed these policies mean home-taught youngsters do not get a suitable education or social skills to cope with adult life.
However, Durham University research found students educated at home were socially adept and achieved above-average results in national literacy tests.
Ms Matterson said: “It is important to recognise that there are many, equally valid, approaches to educational provision and the type of educational activity provided by parents can be varied and flexible.
“Home educating parents are offered support to ensure that the education they are providing equips the child for life.
“Sunderland follows the national guidelines on elective home education and works in partnership with home educating parents to provide advice, support and guidance to the 40 parents in the city who are currently educating 46 children at home.
“But this represents less than 0.001per cent of Sunderland’s pupil population.
“Parents also have access to the well-established Regional Home Educators network group.”
Home schooling is not a barrier to success, certainly not in the literary world.
Playwright and musician Noel Coward was educated almost entirely at home, and author Agatha Christie, creator of Poirot and Miss Marple, had no formal schooling before the age of 16.
Two blogs about this news article:
Homeschooling
By Charisse Marie(Charisse Marie)
Roland Meighan’s 1995 estimate was “almost 10000”, [11] and in 1996 the London Evening Standard stated that 15000 families home-educating in Britain was a 50 percent increase from the previous year. [20] …
and
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/newscomm/?p=1303
No Reason was given, but OK homeschooling expected to “boom”
Home learning expected to boom,
14 January 2008, Sunderland Echo, Sunderland, UK
Figures obtained by the Echo today showed parents removed 121 children from Sunderland Local Education Authority between 2005 and 2007, to teach them at home.
Research by Durham University estimated that 150,000 UK children are taught at home, a figure expected to triple over the next decade.
There are no official statistics to show why families pull their offspring out of the system, but studies have suggested the main reason was bullying, followed by dissatisfaction with educational standards in school.
…
Playwright and musician Noel Coward was educated almost entirely at home, and author Agatha Christie, creator of Poirot and Miss Marple, had no formal schooling before the age of 16.
Despite the accolade for home ed provided by Noel Coward and Agatha Christie, the majority of the article had the flavor of raised-eyebrow tsk-tsking throughout.