| 1 | 1 | | Britain is experiencing a huge teach-your-own-children boom. In 1977, a mere 10 |
| 2 | | families educated youngsters at home; today, more than 12,000 children from 5,000 |
| 3 | | families are being kept off school by parents who believe they do a better job than |
| 4 | | teachers. |
| 2 | 5 | | Experts believe the number of children who [id:72334] will increase even more |
| 6 | | dramatically. Roland Meighan, professor of education at Nottingham University, said: |
| 7 | | 'Some children always do better in school, but others benefit from home education. Any |
| 8 | | child doing badly at school is a candidate. Once taught at home their confidence grows, |
| 9 | | they get motivated again and are keen to [id:72335] |
| 3 | 10 | | Next weekend, hundreds of parents will meet in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, |
| 11 | | to share their experiences as home teachers. Rita de Selincourt, a former science teacher, |
| 12 | | educates her two sons - Michael, eight, and Martin, six - at home in St AIbans: 'They went |
| 13 | | to a small nursery school and were very happy, but they [id:72336] their large primary |
| 14 | | school. They got bored and restless. |
| 4 | 15 | | 'They caught nits and worms and, because they are not fond of sports, they hated |
| 16 | | playtimes, when there was nothing for them to do. And they were suffering academically |
| 17 | | because many pupiIs couldn't speak English.' |
| 5 | 18 | | Jade Lowe of Education Otherwise, a support group for home educators, says there |
| 19 | | are two groups: 'The biggest is parents who have [id:72337] to work outside the school |
| 20 | | system. It could be that their children were pestered, it could be low standards, it could be |
| 21 | | ideological. A growing number are opposed to compulsory testing. The second group is |
| 22 | | parents who can't get their children into school.' |
| 6 | 23 | | Mrs Lowe insists you do not have to be a professor to educate your children. 'Nor do |
| 24 | | you have to have had further education yourself. What you do need is [id:72338] to help the |
| 25 | | children learn. It is not true th at home education is only for the middie-class and wealthy.' |
| 7 | 26 | | Research in the US shows home-educated children perform as weIl academically as |
| 27 | | school attenders. There is [id:72339] some evidence in Britain th at points to the success of |
| 28 | | home schooling, with children obtaining excellent results at the official exarninations. |
| 8 | 29 | | Caitlin Moran, Observer Young Journalist of the Year in 1990, was educated at home |
| 30 | | with her six brothers and sisters. 'School is about learning their way, and we wanted to |
| 31 | | learn ours. [id:72340] my parents decided we would do better at home.' |
| 9 | 32 | | ' I sat back and thought out what I wanted to do and cut out those things |
| 33 | | that [id:72341]. So I worked on grammar and spelling, but didn't do maths, and abandoned |
| 34 | | hockey with those horrible tight shorts. School gets in the way of your social life - mine is |
| 35 | | much better than th at of people at school.' |
| 10 | 36 | | Caitlin, now 17, is working on her second novel - her first reached number three in |
| 37 | | the bestselling charts and is soon to be filmed, from her own script. |
| 11 | 38 | | Not all children are at home because they dislike school. A growing number are |
| 39 | | taught by parents because schools [id:72342]. Richard Ford, aged 15, has spent only one |
| 40 | | term at secondary school. His parents, John and Cynthia, are desperate that Richard, like |
| 41 | | his six brothers and sisters, should attend the local comprehensive. But Gloucestershire |
| 42 | | County Council thinks he should attend a special school. |
| 12 | 43 | | John Wright, director of the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice, fears |
| 44 | | heads and governors will not accept pupiIs with special needs and those thought |
| 45 | |
[id:72343] in order to keep up their reputation. Schools fear they will loge pupils and |
| 46 | | therefore cash. He says: 'Last year we dealt with over 100 parents with children excluded |
| 47 | | from school.' However, no child with special educational needs should be [id:72344] |
| 48 | | according to the panel. |
