Commenting on a new report by the BBC which shows that the number of families registering their children for home education rose by 75% during this school year, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“The government urgently needs to get to grips with this situation, and find out why so many more families are now choosing home education at this point in time. The concern is that many appear to have chosen home education because they have lost faith in the government’s approach to school safety during the pandemic. A combination of rising case numbers in schools, and the government’s decision to relax a number of the safety measures could mean that we see this trend continue unless the government does far more to reassure these parents.

“NAHT has long called for an official register of home educated children. The fact that there is currently no official source of data on the number of home educated children is a clear indication that the current arrangements are unsatisfactory. Without an officially maintained register, there is a potential risk of children becoming lost in the system."