Parents across the country have been homeschooling their children(Image: Getty Images)

Number of children homeschooled increases by 89% in Tyne and Wear in five years

There are 786 more children being homeschooled in Tyne and Wear in the 2022/23 academic year than there were in 2018/19

by · ChronicleLive

Concerns have been raised as more and more families in Tyne and Wear are choosing to homeschool their children, according to newly released data.

Freedom of information requests have revealed that in the past five academic years (between 2018-19 and 2022-23), there are 786 more homeschooled children in the county; an 89% jump. The numbers in South Tyneside have almost tripled, too, rising from 113 homeschooled children at the end of 2018-19 to 327 at the end of 2022-23.

More than 150 children in Sunderland have been homeschooled in the past three academic years, causing suggestions by some that this is a consequence of the Covid pandemic. Conservative councillor for St Chad’s in Sunderland, Dominic McDonough, is worried about the growing trend seen across the board.

He told Spark Sunderland: "I'm very concerned by the growing number of children who are being homeschooled in the city, a trend that is creeping up each year. It does appear that initially Covid was an issue as children struggled to go back to the classroom environment but unfortunately this problem seems to be growing.

“The answer is not a simple one but it appears that many children are simply not being educated properly as a result. As a council I feel that we need to do more to support schools but would also urge the government to give the council powers of enforcement to ensure that even more children are put back into school.

"A good education is so important and many children are simply missing out on this."

A spokesperson for Sunderland City Council offered some insight as to why families may choose to homeschool their children. “Parents may decide to exercise their right to home educate their child for a wide variety of reasons,” the spokesperson said.

"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.

"Parents are not required to specify reasons as to why they wish to home educate. Sunderland follows the National Guidelines on Elective Home Education and works with home educating parents to provide advice and guidance.”

There were 133 more homeschooled children in the borough of Gateshead in the past five academic years, with the numbers climbing from 192 all the way to 325. The sharpest rise came between 2019-20 and 2020-21, which was the first academic year to be wholly disrupted by the Covid pandemic.

A Gateshead Council spokesperson said: “Like many other local authorities across the country, we have seen a significant rise in parents and carers choosing to homeschool their children following the Covid pandemic. There are many reasons for this across our communities, including the increase in online educational resources and teaching methods.

"Whether educated at home or at school, we support all young people to thrive. This includes providing detailed advice and guidance to all parents and carers considering homeschooling and the evidence they are required to provide us regularly, as well as tailored support for those who may wish to put their child back into mainstream education."

And in North Tyneside the data aligns comfortably with what has been seen everywhere else - numbers are on the up. From 91 homeschooled children at the end of July 2019, to 163 at the end of July 2023, there has been a 79% surge in these numbers.

Coun Steven Phillips, Cabinet Member for Inclusion, Employment and Skills at North Tyneside Council, said: “Ensuring children receive the best possible education is extremely important to us, and whether their learning takes place in school or in other settings, we have support in place to help children in our borough thrive. Every parent has the right to choose how to educate their child, and over recent years we have seen an increase in the number of parents who are choosing to educate their children from home.

"It’s undeniable that the education landscape has changed in the last few years, and this is reflected in these figures. We’ve always had a small number of children who were educated from home for a range of reasons, and the pandemic created a move to online and virtual learning which has made home education more accessible for many families.

"As an authority we work with these families to ensure the children are receiving the education their parents want them to have." Newcastle’s figures have almost doubled, as well, with a sizeable jump between 2020-21 (288) and 2021-22 (373).

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: "The number of children who were electively home educated in Newcastle rose between 2021 and 2023 in line with other local authorities. Families choose to educate their children at home for a wide variety of reasons, including philosophical reasons, health/emotional health, or their preferred school not having a place.

“We continue to support and advise parents and carers who make the decision to electively home educate their children and have found that in some cases children return to school following a period of home education.”

And a South Tyneside spokesperson added: "The number of pupils who are educated at home has continued to rise year on year and there was a significant spike during Covid and the period immediately after this. However, as life begins to return to ‘normal’ many children are struggling to meet the demands that are being placed upon them both at school and within society as a whole.

"We have carried out a parental survey to identify why students are being removed from school. This is currently in the process of being developed further with the aim of creating a partnership with the parent/carer forum to gain a greater understanding of how we can better support families who make the decision to educate their child(ren) at home.

"For those families who decide to home-school, we provide ongoing support and advice. Information is shared regularly with the Home Educators Facebook page which is run by parents and annual contact is made with parents to discuss the work that each pupil has completed and support and advice is offered during this meeting.

"As the pupil gets older, Connexions are involved to offer specialist advice on future plans. Throughout the process, agencies may become involved and multi-agency meetings are held where appropriate to support the pupil and often the family."

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