More Islington families are taking their children out of school and teaching them at home, with many saying the school system let them down.
The number of children being electively home-educated in the borough has risen by 10% in a year, from 342 to 377. That is 1.5% of Islington’s school-age children, slightly above the national average of 1.4% and well above the inner London average of 0.9%. The rise mirrors a trend seen across the country.
Some families choose home education for philosophical reasons, said Councillor Sheila Chapman, Executive Member for Children, Young People & Families. But a significant driver is problems at school, where parents feel their concerns have not been properly dealt with. The issues cited most often, she said, are “where inclusion hasn’t happened and needs have gone unmet, and, you know, things haven’t worked out, people have come out of school”.
The council is now contacting home-educating families to offer support and help solve problems, with the aim of getting children back into mainstream education where that is appropriate. Cllr Chapman described reaching out to families saying "please, you know, we’d be happy to have conversation with you and support you around re-entering the mainstream, and, you know, what support would you need, and here, you know, what, how can we help broker that?”
Secondary pupils have a route back. Under the borough’s elective home education protocol, they can return to their last school if their home education is found to be unsuitable, or if their parents want them back in mainstream education. This process involves joint working with headteachers through the secondary Fair Access Panel. Pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4 are often readmitted with a tailored support package and a reintegration plan provided by New River College.
Scrutiny of home education is also about to increase. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 will require every local authority to keep a “Children Not in School” register from 2027. The aim is to make sure every child gets a suitable education, whether at home or in school.
Islington has also set up an Elective Home Education Multi-Agency Strategy Group. It brings together education, social care, health and housing to oversee and coordinate how the council safeguards home-educated children, and it is working to find and fix gaps in provision and support. The meeting identified a gap where home education is “not a positive choice”. The group’s goals are to “identify gaps and how to close them” and to “prevent as much EHE as possible where it isn’t a positive choice”.
Further details on the council's approach to safeguarding and children's services can be found in the Public reports pack for the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.
