"My child had been struggling with the school environment from the start," Julie said. "She's autistic, has sensory difficulties, finds noise and lights difficult, but is academically clever.
"She found it so hard to navigate relationships with peers and her anxiety was so intense she was mostly mute at school.
"Her attendance started to drop and I was at risk of being fined and potentially having a criminal record because of it, which would have jeopardised my right to work in my field. The GP recommended that she be taken out of school, as she was biting all the inside of her cheeks and rubbing her tongue on her teeth till it bled. I had no choice but to remove her." Julie's daughter, now nine, has been home educated since, which Julie describes as "distressing" due to her lack of knowledge about teaching and home learning, and a lack of support.
A referral to an NHS occupational therapist resulted in her daughter being assessed as not struggling enough to qualify for specialist support, and since she was doing well academically in mainstream education, a special needs school would not be suitable, Julie said.
"We're left with nothing, it's terrible. I don't want to home school my child," she said.
The family finances have taken a big hit, as Julie has had to cut her hours to supervise her daughter.
However, despite this, Julie says there have been positives: "In some ways she’s better now than she’s ever been, and I would say she’s now finding her feet in sociale motional ways. Academically, she’s fine for the moment, and perhaps being able to self-regulate and develop confidence is more important for her future.”
Hundreds of parents from across the country got in touch with the Guardian via an online call out to share why they had taken their children out of school, with more than two-thirds saying they had switched to home education either this year or last.
While a majority said they had deregistered their children as a last resort because schools had been unable to support complex health needs such as autism or anxiety disorders, a significant number also said they did so because they did not feel a school environment enabled their children to thrive socially, emotionally and academically.
The number of children in England being home educated increased by more than 10,000 last autumn to 92,000 , with mental health increasingly cited by parents as the main reason, according to official figures.
Scores of parents of pupils with special educational needs told the Guardian their children had been traumatised by their time in school and there had been no other solution but to deregister them, as they had been refusing or unable to attend school regularly.
Matthew, a 45-year-old software developer from Suffolk, removed his son from school last year, in year 9, to avoid being fined for a week-long absence.
“After the switch to secondary school he started having anxiety attacks that slowly escalated,” Matthew said. “They were mainly related to tests, homework demands, and managing expectations. The chaotic and uncertain environment of frequent supply teachers, constantly shiftin...
"She found it so hard to navigate relationships with peers and her anxiety was so intense she was mostly mute at school.
"Her attendance started to drop and I was at risk of being fined and potentially having a criminal record because of it, which would have jeopardised my right to work in my field. The GP recommended that she be taken out of school, as she was biting all the inside of her cheeks and rubbing her tongue on her teeth till it bled. I had no choice but to remove her." Julie's daughter, now nine, has been home educated since, which Julie describes as "distressing" due to her lack of knowledge about teaching and home learning, and a lack of support.
A referral to an NHS occupational therapist resulted in her daughter being assessed as not struggling enough to qualify for specialist support, and since she was doing well academically in mainstream education, a special needs school would not be suitable, Julie said.
"We're left with nothing, it's terrible. I don't want to home school my child," she said.
The family finances have taken a big hit, as Julie has had to cut her hours to supervise her daughter.
However, despite this, Julie says there have been positives: "In some ways she’s better now than she’s ever been, and I would say she’s now finding her feet in sociale motional ways. Academically, she’s fine for the moment, and perhaps being able to self-regulate and develop confidence is more important for her future.”
Hundreds of parents from across the country got in touch with the Guardian via an online call out to share why they had taken their children out of school, with more than two-thirds saying they had switched to home education either this year or last.
While a majority said they had deregistered their children as a last resort because schools had been unable to support complex health needs such as autism or anxiety disorders, a significant number also said they did so because they did not feel a school environment enabled their children to thrive socially, emotionally and academically.
The number of children in England being home educated increased by more than 10,000 last autumn to 92,000 , with mental health increasingly cited by parents as the main reason, according to official figures.
Scores of parents of pupils with special educational needs told the Guardian their children had been traumatised by their time in school and there had been no other solution but to deregister them, as they had been refusing or unable to attend school regularly.
Matthew, a 45-year-old software developer from Suffolk, removed his son from school last year, in year 9, to avoid being fined for a week-long absence.
“After the switch to secondary school he started having anxiety attacks that slowly escalated,” Matthew said. “They were mainly related to tests, homework demands, and managing expectations. The chaotic and uncertain environment of frequent supply teachers, constantly shiftin...
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The Guardian (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 14, 2024