Home Education

(asked on 15th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of school-age children in England whose parents have elected to educate them at home; and what the sources are for that data.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 23rd September 2020

The Department does not collect statistics on the number of children in home education.

In relation to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department is working closely with local authorities to encourage a return to full attendance in school and is monitoring the situation. Initial conversations with local authorities indicate that the majority have noticed an increase in enquiries from parents about home education. Where parents are anxious about the safety of their children returning to school, local authorities and school leaders are reinforcing that it is in the best interests of pupils to return to school.

Reticulating Splines