Councils claim schools are 'coercing' parents to home-educate children in a bid to avoid excluding them - as number of UK pupils rejecting classroom hits record high of 52,000 last year

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Councils across the country have claimed that schools are 'coercing' parents to home-educate their children in a bid to avoid exclusion.   

A total of 52,770 children across all 152 local authorities were reported as being electively home educated in the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) annual report for September 2017 to August 2018. 

The figure shows an increase from a survey in 2015-16 that estimated about 37,000 school children were registered as being educated at home, reports the Guardian.

A total of 52,770 children across all 152 local authorities were reported as being home-educated, a report has found (file picture)

In 2016-17 48,000 children were being home educated in the UK, reports the BBC.

However parents do not have to register their child as being home schooled so the number could be even higher.

In the report Chief Adjudicator to the Secretary of State for Education, Ms Shan Scott, said local authorities were most concerned about children removed from school over their poor behaviour or attendance.  

Ms Scott said: 'Local authorities were clearly worried that many of these children were unlikely to receive sufficient education at home and that any existing problems were likely to be exacerbated. 

'One local authority told me that 78 per cent of its unplaced children were those seeking to return from what was ostensibly elective home education.'

She explained how one authority reported that parents had told them 'they have been coerced to become electively home educated' with some schools preparing a letter for parents to sign advising of their intention to electively home educate. 

Ms Scott said she was told that there tended to be an increase in moves towards elective home education during the key stage four years.

Key stage four covers Year 10 and Year 11 when children, usually aged 14 to 16, are preparing for and taking their GCSE exams.

Although this wasn't the only reason found in the report for children to be home educated, 'off-rolling' - where schools move pupils on without using a formal exclusion - was apparent.

Some parents told Ms Scott that they'd been advised by their child's school to home school them to avoid a permanent exclusion on their record. 

Other reasons local authorities were told parents had chosen to remove their children included not getting a place at their chosen school, being worried about bullying and their child's special educational needs not being met. 

Several local authorities referred to increases of between 40 to 70 per cent in recent years in the numbers of children electively home educated.

One local authority had registered an additional 100 children in the previous month alone. 

Another said that it had received over 1,000 new registrations in the academic year to date (28 June 2018) and that, 'many of these are instantly identifiable as inappropriate.' 

Some parents told Ms Scott that they'd been advised by their child's school to home school them to avoid a permanent exclusion (file picture)

The report also showed local authorities were concerned that parents were deciding to take their children out of school without knowing what home education involves.

One authority said: 'It is felt to be too easy for parents to elect for Home Education. This is often done by parents who have no idea of what Home Education involves, often done in haste after a minor falling out with the school.' 

Any parent can take their child out of school and educate them at home.

The Government's website explains that parents have to write to the headteacher to inform them of the plan if their child is currently enrolled in school. 

The headteacher has to accept if the child is being removed completely but they can refuse if it's only going to be part time.

Parents must make sure their children receive a full-time education from the age of five but they don’t have to follow the National Curriculum. 

The council can make an ‘informal enquiry’ to check the child is getting a suitable education at home and can serve a school attendance order if they think the child needs to be taught at school.

If this order is given parents have 15 days to provide evidence that they're providing an education. If they don't a fine of £60 could be given.