The Vale of Glamorgan sees a rise in home education, driven by lifestyle choices and anxiety among parents.
Vale of Glamorgan: There’s been a big jump in parents choosing to home educate their kids in the Vale of Glamorgan. A council official, Amanda Geddes, shared that the numbers have really shot up over the last six years. But when you look at the whole of Wales, the figures here are still pretty low.
During a recent council meeting, they talked about why parents are making this choice. The main reasons seem to be lifestyle preferences and anxiety. Other factors include bullying, medical needs, waiting for a spot in a preferred school, and some parents just sticking with home education after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The council is reaching out to families who aren’t registered as home educators yet. Ms. Geddes mentioned that finding these families can be tricky. They work with the admissions team to identify kids in nursery who haven’t applied for primary school.
Interestingly, the number of kids known to the council as being home educated has jumped from 46 in 2018 to 176 in 2024. As of late November, that number was even higher at 207. Between 2020 and 2022, it rose from 87 to 134.
Even though it’s tough to connect with families who prefer to stay under the radar, Ms. Geddes noted that engagement has really improved over the years. Families that meet the legal standards for home education can also access grant funding to help support their kids.
This funding comes from the Welsh Government and is a big reason why more families are choosing to engage with the council. They do annual checks on the home-educated kids they know about, which can be in-person or virtual. Parents can also send in reports as part of these checks.