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Home Education In The UK Up 130% Since 2013.

Barnsley Borough Council reported the largest increase in the UK, with its home education population multiplying more than eightfold over…

Home Education In The UK Up 130% Since 2013

12th March 2020

Home Education In The UK Up 130% Since 2013

The number of children being homeschooled in the UK has more than doubled since 2013, a new study has revealed.

The research, conducted by Oxford Home Schooling using Freedom of Information requests, found that the number of students being taught at home increased by 130% between 2013 and 2018, from 24,824 up to 57,132.

Some local authorities, however, saw far larger rises than others.

Barnsley Borough Council reported the largest increase in the UK, with its home education population multiplying more than eightfold over the five-year period. The number of children registered as homeschooled grew by a massive 772%, from 65 up to 567.

It was followed in the list by two Welsh councils – Pembrokeshire and the Isle of Anglesey – which saw increases of 642% and 640% respectively. Overall, Wales saw the highest average growth of any UK region (206%).

Scotland, on the other hand, experienced the smallest increases, with an average rise of 82%. In fact, while only three UK councils reported decreases in home education, two of these – Shetland Islands (-16%) and North Ayrshire (-11%) – are Scottish.

The 10 councils which have seen the largest increases in home education since 2013 are:

1) Barnsley Borough Council (+772%)

2) Pembrokeshire Council (+642%)

3) Isle of Anglesey (+640%)

4) Bury Metropolitan Council (+523%)

5) Slough Borough Council (+441%)

6) Wakefield City Metropolitan District Council (+385%)

7) Blaenau Gwent County Borough (+375%)

8) City of Edinburgh (+308%)

9) City of London (+300%)

10) London Borough of Camden (+297%)

However, the local authority that has the highest proportion of homeschooled children is East Sussex, where 1.68% of students are taught at home. Over 1,200 pupils are taught at home, out of 74,000 school-age children.


The 10 councils which have the highest proportion of homeschooled children are:

1) East Sussex (1.68%)

2) Barnsley (1.67%)

3) Peterborough (1.64%)

4) Torbay (1.54%)

5) Norfolk (1.49%)

6) Somerset (1.26%)

7) Cornwall (1.25%)

8) Plymouth (1.24%)

9) Blackpool (1.22%)

10) Medway (1.21%)

Dr Nick Smith, principal at Oxford Home Schooling, said: “People choose to homeschool their children for all kinds of reasons. It could be because the student has special educational needs, has been bullied at school, or has other interests, such as sport, that make traditional education impractical.

“Homeschooling allows families to spend more time together, developing the parent-child bond, and gives students the kind of one-to-one attention that can sometimes be lacking in a school environment.

“The increases seen in our study are therefore unsurprising. The growth of home education reflects the UK’s changing educational needs.”

To see a visualisation of the data and to discover the councils near you that have seen the largest increases in home education, visit: https://www.oxfordhomeschooling.co.uk/blog/the-growth-of-home-schooling-in-england/

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