West Midlands sees sharp rise in homeschooling since pandemic
New figures show hundreds more children are being homeschooled across the West Midlands since 2018/19.
Hundreds more children across the West Midlands are being homeschooled compared to levels from before the pandemic.
Here is a list of councils in the West Midlands that provided data for the number of children registered in elective home education (EHE) in the August of 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.
- Dudley: 308, 304, 403, 448, 440
- Sandwell: 336, 363, 518, 525, 662
- Walsall: 336, 332, 368, 399, 466
- Wolverhampton: 296, 314, 435, 447, 506
- Shropshire: 149, 182, 321, 418, 531
Ellie Pirrie, Senior Policy Officer at the NSPCC, said: "We support parents' right to home educate their children, especially in instances where the school system is unable to meet a child's needs.
"However, there is currently no requirement for families to tell their local authority that they have decided to home educate their children. Our concern is these new figures are likely to be the tip of the iceberg and that there may be many children and families, unknown to the local authority, in need of support.
"That's why it's vital that the Government implements a register of children not in school at the earliest opportunity. This would mean that all children who are home-schooled are known to their local authority and can receive the right support where necessary."
Systems and methods for recording the number of children in EHE are not consistent across all councils. Many record the number in EHE on the last day of the month, while others record the figure at the start of the month.
The cohort of children in EHE fluctuates throughout the academic year as cases open and close.