The number of newly registered home-schoolers increased by 154% in September, says Kent County Council.

One Canterbury mum says Covid-19 seriously disrupted the education of her son who is dyslexic and has autism. Lockdown helped them to realise home education was healthier for him.

Having home educated her son before in year four, Sarah Vaughan says it wasn't unusual for him to feel completely overwhelmed by school.

They managed to get through the difficult transition into secondary school, but by March her son's birthday wish was to have some time away from school.

Lockdown was announced the day before he turned 12. The mother-of-three said: "We had a lot more time at home and he was like a whole different child. He was eating, he was sleeping, he wasn't anxious, he was learning.

"We got to September and he was allowed to go back to school - he managed a day and a half. It was like a step back a million miles. He was ill straight away, he was not coping, he was anxious, wasn't sleeping and wasn't eating."

Covid-19 regulations meant her son had his school routine completely turned upside-down and some support had to be taken away - such as access to other areas of the school for a quiet moment or staff he trusted.

"For a person with autism it was just too much and he wasn't going to learn in that situation.

"I thought, I can't make him do this anymore. I had to have him signed off school by the GP with anxiety. He's fine at home and he's doing really well."

Staying on roll for now until his education and health care plan is ready, the family is still looking for a more suitable school. If they can't, Sarah and a tutor will teach her son until the end of his GCSEs.

Many parents like Sarah have taken a similar route this year. In November 2019, a total of 2,559 children were registered on Elective Home Education (EHE). This year it was 3,232.

Kent County Council saw 596 new registrations for home schoolers in September 2020 after children were allowed to return to school from five months in lockdown. This is a 154% increase from the 235 new registrations in September 2019.

Similar numbers were seen in October, with 131 registrations in 2019 rising 60% to 210 in 2020.

Medway Council have observed the same pattern, with 13 new registrations in September 2019 rising to 84 this year.

Between January and October 2020, 197 new registrations were processed by the unitary authority - compared to just 91 in the same period last year.

As a qualified teacher and founder of the learning resource website, The Do Try This at Home School, Sarah has noticed a great shift in the home education community.

The 40-year-old added: "The home schooling community is growing so quickly. Some people pulled their children out of school because they were really scared of Covid. There's a lot of parents who are shielding and can't have their children in school for health reasons.

"I'm really relieved my son is not in school. At the moment, the school is completely shut down because they had too many cases of Covid. As a parent, that fear on top of keeping your child safe, mentally well and physically well was too much."

Though there were reports of the number of children being home schooled increasing in 2019, the pandemic seems to have caused a significant leap this year.

Craig Chapman, Kent County Council’s interim head of fair access, said: “The increase in numbers of Kent families who have removed their children from a school roll to home educate them is reflected nationally.

"We would recommend that parents discuss the options available to them with their child’s school as part of their decision making process, as once a child is removed from a school roll, should a parent wish for their child to return to school at a later date, the school place may no longer be available to them, even if they only intend to home school for a short time.

"KCC’s Elective Home Education Support and Advice Officers are on hand to support parents through the process and signpost them to access useful resources and local home education groups.”

Chris Kiernan, Medway Council’s assistant director for education and SEND, said: “We have seen an increase in the number of children who have been formally registered as educated at home and not enrolled in a local school.

"Parents and carers may choose to educate their children at home for a number of reasons, including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We will continue to provide advice and guidance to parents and carers who are educating their children at home.”

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