By Gavin Mackintosh And Lucy Caulkett-
As pupils across the UK prepare to sit this year’s GCSE exams, new research has been released about the rising numbers of home schooling in the UK. mostly in the years leading up to the GCSE’s.
They reveal a growing trend in parents who bone up for home schooling their children, rather than leaving them in school where they fear their children will not e adequately trained for their GCSE exams. This is because many state schools in the UK are not perceived to efficiently prepare their pupils for the high standard GCSE exams which often sees no more than 55% pupils scoring a strong pass in Maths Or English, and in fact the statistics are weaker most years.
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Many academics suggest the stats are reflection of the high standard of the exams, even taking into account grade boundaries regularly used to re-align the grades with previous years when the assessments have been deemed too challenging or students have not performed as well. This realization has led to more parents home schooling their children, yet it seems to just about maintain the percentage of strong passes. Already, there are predictions that this year’s GCSE results will be lower than previous years.
Lots of parents have home schooled their children themselves right from primary school, especially during the pandemic.
Statistics published by the Department for Education (DfE) showed that 92,000 children were recorded as being home schooled on one day last term, compared with 80,900 at the same point in autumn 2022.
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GCSEs are exams taken as part of a two-year course, often in Year 10 and 11, consisting of several subjects which sometimes vary across different schools.
Some schools offer more subjects, but all pupils can access more subjects than those available in their schools.
Students will sit these exams between 6th May and 21st June, where they will be taking often over 20 exams! After sitting these, students’ papers will be marked, and they can only hope for the best grades until results day, on the 22nd August
Last year saw a not so bad 50% strong pass in English, which whilst reflecting the high standard of the exams, called for more teaching support and expertise to help more pupils pass very well.
Naz Rina, a researcher and teacher in Maths and English, told The Eye Of Media.Com: ”A lot of parents in the past two years have chosen to home school their children because they have attended the parents evenings where apart from discussing their child’s academics, they are all often told of the high standards of the exams and reminded of the historic pass rates .
‘More parents try for their children, but not all home schooled children eventually agree to the the exams. Most children will assess their chances based on their performance in the mocks. Some will get put off and ack out, others will persevere.
‘It often depends on how well the parents work with the children and how well the children work with the appointed tutor. Many pupils gain tremendously from private tuition on a home schooling basis, but some still do not succeed n their GCSE’s.
”It often depends on the quality of the tuition. The British government has injected funding to several boroughs to support tuition, so some children have been able to get daily tuition. But not everybody has access to the funding, usually because not enough schools or parents are even aware of it, but many of them are.
Those who fall under this category or who suffer other eligibility issues pay for their children’s tuition themselves. High costs of living has recently made it difficult for many parents to maintain the normal priced tutor at £25 an our, let alone highly priced tutors.
In some cases, parents take on the task of privately teaching their children’.
The further rise in home schooling across several counties of the UK shows where concerned parents take on the responsibility of home schooling their children due to dissatisfaction in the standard of education in British state schools.
Researchers spoke to parents and children from twenty schools in the UK, gathering statistical information about the various practices of parents towards their children’s education.
Other reasons for higher rates of home schooling includes bullying, discontentment with some of the ideals taught in schools regarding the transgender controversy, sex education, and objection by religious groups to the promotion of equality in the context of gender orientation.
Our findings also indicate that 55% of home schooling parents are either self employed or unemployed parents with a degree who take on the task of coaching their children at home.
Of that figure, 35% of such parents are women, 20% are men.
62% of those have either a reliable source of ongoing income from their partners, or have an inheritance which they use.
A high 40% hire tutors to coach their children, and the outstanding 5% give their children direction to study on their own, and monitor their progress.
The research was sponsored by a business woman analysing the various factors that influence GCSE and A level performances.
According to a survey conducted across 15 councils in the south of England, spanning the years 2013 to 2023, the trend of home schooling has seen a sharp increase, prompting discussions about the reasons behind this phenomenon and its implications for the education system.
It was drawn from 53 state schools in the UK in collaboration with head teachers who assisted in conducting the survey.
It adds to an earlier research conducted in 2023, particularly in Hampshire County Council, where the number of home-schooled children surged from 623 to 3,593.
Similar patterns were observed in other regions, with Dorset Council reporting a rise from 15 to 285 children, Oxfordshire County Council’s figures increasing from 177 to 522, and Wiltshire Council witnessing a significant uptick from 228 to 952.
However, amidst these upward trends, Bracknell Forest Council stood out with a slight decrease, from 91 children in 2021 to 87 in 2023.
Exploring the driving forces behind this surge, it becomes evident that parents’ dissatisfaction with the traditional school system plays a pivotal role.
Many parents expressed concerns that schools were unable to cater to their children’s individual needs, leading them to seek alternative education options.
One parent lamented, “I believe that the school system is very much a cookie cutter approach and unfortunately our daughter didn’t sit within the cookie cutter shape.” Another echoed similar sentiments, stating, “I think some people, probably for similar reasons to me, want to spend more time with their children. But also the school system, I think, is really struggling to cater for the needs of lots of children.”
Mac Heath, co-chair of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services South East region, acknowledged the rising trend of home education but emphasized the importance of recognizing schools as the optimal environment for most children.
“I would really urge that if we’re ensuring that our children get the best opportunity to thrive, both socially, academically, that we continue to recognize that for most of our children schools are the best place for them,” Heath commented.
However, amidst the debate surrounding the efficacy of home schooling, questions arise regarding its impact on academic outcomes, particularly in standardized exams such as GCSEs and A-levels.
While comprehensive statistics on the performance of home-schooled children in these exams are limited, anecdotal evidence suggests that many home-educated students excel academically.
Some parents attribute this success to the personalized attention and tailored learning experiences that home schooling affords for many children. According to research, 55% of homeschooled children studied in the past five years generally had strong GCSE’s by the end of their schooling years.
Furthermore, concerns about the commitment and cooperativeness of home-schooled children towards education have been raised.
Critics of home schooling argue that without the structure and social dynamics of traditional classrooms, home-schooled children may lack motivation and interpersonal skills.
However, proponents of home schooling argue that the flexibility and individualized approach of home education enable children to develop a deeper passion for learning and foster autonomy in their educational journey.
Despite the controversies and challenges surrounding home schooling, it remains a viable option for an increasing number of families seeking to provide their children with tailored educational experiences.
“Home schooling has provided us with the flexibility to tailor our daughter’s education to her unique needs and interests, allowing her to flourish academically and creatively,” shared a parent who chose to home school their child.
“While traditional schools have their merits, the one-on-one attention and personalized learning approach of home schooling have empowered my son to excel academically and develop a love for learning,” echoed another parent, highlighting the benefits of home education.
A representative of UK’s BEST SCHOOL’S GUIDE told this publication
”Some children home school because they don’t want to go to school for various reasons.
There is a hybrid version of home schooling available. Some children prefer their children to do it online whilst their parents supervise them.
Others use online tutors to regularly accomplish academic learning. Some tutors teach in person in order to familiarize themselves better with the pupil.
Th success rates vary from school to school, but there are many good schools with high number of home schooled children due to a range of reasons including bullying, low self esteem, anxiety, and sometimes, just a desire for parents to have their children be educated under what they consider the best setting for complete focus.
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