Rising fears among parents and teachers about the safety of schools amid a surge in Covid-19 infections is contributing to an increase in the number of children being educated at home with potentially significant long-term consequences.
The recent rise, which has been recorded by education and local government leaders, has also come to the attention of Ofsted, whose chief inspector Amanda Speilman recently warned of the long-term impact being out of school for lengthy periods could have on a child’s academic and social development.
The number of children electively home educated (EHE) has been on the up for the past five years as parental relationships with schools have come under strain due to a high-pressure academic culture. Figures published in November by the Local Government Association for its Children Missing Education report estimates that the number of children missing out on full-time education could be anything from 282,000 up to 1.14 million, depending on how this is defined.
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