'Shocking' rise in number of home-schooled children

There has been a "shocking" rise in the number of children being taught at home in recent years, a council has heard.

The number of home-schooled children in Powys has risen to 473, compared to 154 in March 2022.

Councillor Angela Davies asked the learning and skills committee what the council was doing to prevent more children leaving school, while James Gibson-Watt told the meeting the numbers were "shocking".

A senior officer said a new act would make registering children as electively home educated (EHE) a legal requirement.

A new act from the UK government, which would require EHE learners to be on a register, received royal assent in April but needs secondary legislation laid before the Senedd before it can become law in Wales.

Davies, a Liberal Democrat representing Rhayader, asked whether parents were choosing to take their children out of school because they believe "what is on offer" does not suit their child's needs.

Fellow Lib Dem Gibson-Watt - the cabinet member for education - said: "We have to make our schools more attractive and a better environment for young people and their families.

"There is an issue around the capacity of secondary schools to deliver particular to children who find the school environment difficult and that is a resource issue."

Sarah Quibell, service manager for education support services, said families could work with family liaison officers and pastoral staff in schools and a "range of support" was put in place to keep them in school or entice them back.

Education-other-than-at-school co-ordinator Aysha Waghorn said the authority was asking families what went wrong for the child at the point where they were "unable to cope in school".

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