Around 420 children were being taught at home in Barnet as of the latest school term reports Will Grimond, Data Reporter
There were 111,700 children homeschooled across England this autumn term – (Credit – Radar)
Hundreds of children were being homeschooled in Barnet this school term, new figures show.
The figures come as the government has announced new plans to better protect homeschooled children.
Data from the Department for Education shows around 420 children were being taught at home in Barnet as of the latest school term.
Lifestyle reasons was the most common reason for homeschooling in the area, accounting for 320 children.
This was followed by dissatisfaction with the school, with around 50 children.
There is nothing in the government’s data to suggest these children are at risk.
However, House of Commons leader Lucy Powell said the government will be “imminently” announcing details of “stronger safeguards for children being taken into home education” after outrage over the death of Sara Sharif, who was taught at home.
The father and stepmother of the 10-year-old, who was taken out of school to be educated at home, were found guilty of her murder earlier this week.
Sara was beaten to death four years after taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, was awarded custody, despite accusations of abuse against him, jurors heard.
Maria Neophytou, acting chief executive of the NSPCC, said it was a “absolutely shocking case” raising “crucial questions” about child protection.
Number 10 has highlighted plans to introduce a child identifier, which will be like an NHS number, with a requirement for every council to have multi-agency child safeguarding teams.
It also outlined plans to introduce a duty for parents to have local authority consent to home-school their children, adding more detail would be set out in upcoming legislation.
This would be for specific cases where a “child is subject to a child protection plan,” the spokesman said.
The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel De Souza, also called for action to prevent children at risk of abuse from being homeschooled.
She told BBC Newsnight it was “madness” that children who were at risk of abuse at home should be taken out of school, which should act as a “safeguard”.
She said proper data sharing between schools and councils could also prevent harm.
Data collection on home schooling has improved in recent years, meaning previous years’ data may not be directly comparable for Barnet. Available figures suggest at least 380 local children were homeschooled at the same point in the previous academic year.
The figures also show there were 111,700 children homeschooled across England this autumn term, which the DfE says may be a significant increase from an estimated 92,000 a year earlier.
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month’s before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly
More Information about donations