School's Out

tecThe prevailing stereotypes of parents who educate their children at home would probably include wealthy toffs who can afford private tutors and woolly-minded hippies who take a dim view of the soul-destroying 'System'.

Both images, however are well wide of the mark and fail to take account of the growing number of disillusioned parents who feel that traditional schooling gets top marks for tests, targets and peer pressure but 'must try harder' for education, education, education.

Exact numbers are unknown but some estimate that 1.5% of the school age population is now home educated - that's 150,000 children who will never experience the dubious delights of school dinners and detention. And the number looks certain to grow.

A recent poll conducted by Vauxhall Motors found that a staggering two thirds of British parents do not trust the education system and one third would like to teach at home instead. And according to Education Otherwise - an organisation advising home educators - enquires are soaring as parents cast around for a viable alternative to bells, boredom and bullying.

Not Another Brick in the Wall

Like many home educators, Karen Englebrecht's decision to remove her children from school was motivated by both a negative reaction to the failings of the school system and a positive belief that her children would do better if she educated them herself.

"I'm not against schools as such," she notes. "I have six children, three in and three out of school. The decision depended on the individual. I took two out of school because of trauma - there was an accumulation of unpleasant incidents and then one enormous incident on the school bus and after that they just didn't want to go back".

Initially daunted - "I was scared silly thinking I couldn't manage it" - Karen says she relaxed when she developed a better understanding of what she did and didn't have to do. "Basically, I realised that I didn't need to create a school room in my house, I just needed to provide a friendly environment in which the children wanted to learn".

There is a degree of formality in their typical day, she says, but this is supplemented by a range of activities and interests that the children enjoy. "We spend a certain number of hours every week on maths and English but we also do lots that isn't on the national curriculum: visits to local historical sites, trips to museums, arts & crafts activities, swimming and walking and so on".

Untroubled by the fact that she's not exactly an expert in maths and science Karen takes a fairly relaxed view of exams and assessment: "We do use workbooks for SATS and GCSEs but it's not pushed down their throats.

"If they want to take exams they can - my eldest daughter returned to school to do her GCSEs and I know some home educators use correspondence courses - but it's not essential. My other daughter decided to stay at home and learn more about what she wanted to do - which is work with children. I have two toddlers so that seemed sensible."

Home Front

Education Otherwise, which has built up a network of over 70 voluntary local contacts, reckon Karen's case is fairly typical: "Once you start "home" educating, you will find that you can work on just what you want, when you want, that it isn't expensive, that the children don't get lonely, that it is possible for exams to be taken if you wish, and that it is possible to educate children with special needs".

Advocates of home education now have some impressive research findings to back up their position. Two years ago Paula Rothermel of Durham University surveyed 100 home educating families and revealed that 64% of the home-educated children scored over 75% in maths and literacy tests compared with only 5.1% of children nationally.

Rothermel also assessed the social development of the home-educated children and dealt a resounding blow to the argument that these kids, cut off from their peers and the socialising influence of school, would exhibit significant behavioural problems: "Results," she says, "show that home-educated children demonstrated high levels of attainment and good social skills".

"Common to all families involved," Rothermel concluded, "was their flexible approach to education and the high level of parental attention received by the children. Children benefited from the freedom to develop their skills at their own speed.".

A Third Way?

Rothermel's results are supported by Ronald Meighan special Professor of Education (now retired) at Nottingham University. Meighan argues that schools are outdated institutions developed in the nineteenth century to meet the needs of rapidly industrialising society. In a post-industrial world the regimented system created by Victorian Gradgrinds is no longer appropriate.

"We have gone into a new century with the same model of education with which we started the old century - the 'tell them and test them' model. It is rather like basing modern transport policy on the coach and horses. The system is riddled with domination - it is mass rather than personal, coercive rather than invitational, schooling rather than education".

Home educators, Meighan claims, have been "trailblazing many of the techniques" that will eventually be used to replace the industrial model. And he believes that the first nation to create a more modern education system will "give its people enormous advantages in the future".

Perhaps. But in the meantime Home Educators, left to shoulder the burden, would probably favour a middle way. Rothermel notes that that many would opt for "something between home and school if they could" and proposes "registered learning centers free of any compulsory adherence to standardised assessment or imposed curriculum".

Sounds great, and the Third Way should appeal to New Labour - but in truth a Government so obsessed with targets and audits would be unlikely to sanction such a sea change.