It is estimated that there are now over 50,000 and perhaps as many as 150,000 children between the ages of 5 and 16 who are educated at home. There is every indication that this number is growing.

Families who choose to educate their children at home do this for a number of reasons. Some feel their children will benefit from a more individual, flexible form of education.

When children are taught alone or in small groups at home they can receive far more individual attention, working at their own pace and following their own interests. Some parents of children with special needs choose to teach them at home for this reason.

Some choose home-schooling after a negative experience of school. It may be that a child has not fitted in to the routines and systems of school, or he may have become school-phobic, perhaps from being bullied or from other bad experiences.

If you do decide to home educate, there is a wealth of support material available. Type in 'Home Education' to any search engine and you will be bombarded with links, ranging from sites offering materials and learning packages to family-run home-educating sites showing how they do it.

Many sites are American, as Home Schooling (as it is often known in the US) is also becoming popular there, especially amongst strongly Christian families.

As far as suitable resources go, families starting out as home educators often choose to follow a set package, as it provides a 'safety net'. Some packages even include a personal tutor in a particular subject.

Other resources include CD-ROMs on most academic subjects, text books and general interest books, and online learning via sites such as BBC Schools and the wide range of resources found in BBC Learning.

Examinations like GCSEs can be prepared for in several ways:

Based on an article by Lorna Smith

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