The amount of children being educated at home has boomed since the pandemic, figures show.
More than double the number of children in Dundee were removed from schools for home education purposes in the last academic year, compared to the previous year.
In Perth and Kinross, the number of children recorded by the council as homeschooling increased by more than four times, in the same year-on-year comparison, and in Fife those figures rose by 48%.
Amanda Daggett says she considered home education for her 14-year-old daughter in the past but it was the pandemic which gave her the courage to try it.
The 37-year-old, from Crail, in Fife, said: “My daughter was struggling in school and she was not getting the support she needed.
“Then Covid pushed me to homeschool and suddenly it seemed more of an option.
“It gave me the thought that I could do it. I’m not trained as an educator and I was unsure if it would be possible before but Covid forced my hand and I felt more capable.”
Amanda made the decision to officially remove her daughter from school and provide her with alternative education at home, following a curriculum.
Rising trend
There were 78 kids in Dundee being homeschooled in the last academic year, compared to 34 the previous year.
In Perth, 53 children were removed from mainstream education to be educated by other means during the same period – a huge jump from the 13 children removed in 2019-20.
And in Fife, 37 children were newly recorded by the council as educated at home, with 25 children leaving school for home education the year prior.
‘It started as a bit of an experiment’
Elizabeth Lil has been homeschooling – or home educating as it is officially called in Scotland – her two children for more than 16 years.
Elizabeth, known to her friends as Lil, from St Andrews, says she is not surprised by the increase.
She said: “All sorts of people have been at home more recently and realised how much kids can learn at home.”
Lil, 56, who originally trained as a music teacher, made the choice to home educate her daughter when she was approaching school starting age.
She added: “I had previously worked as a teacher and I loved education, but I felt like the system had my my hands tied behind my back.
“It started as a bit of an experiment but by the end of the first year I was amazed with how much she had learned by me doing far less than I would have with my teacher brain on.”
Lil had given up teaching a few years earlier to pursue a full time career as a professional singer and choir performer and found alternative education suited her lifestyle perfectly.
She added: “Every time you take them out to a museum or something you are chatting and they are learning – it’s much more holistic.”
Her daughter is now 18 and studying at the University of St Andrews – having first attended mainstream school at the age of 16 to complete Highers.
Lil’s son, who is 16, will start school for the first time in August, also to complete Highers, having gained GCSEs and a National Level 5 at home.
Both children took part in numerous clubs, such as film making and horse riding, allowing them to socialise with children in and out of mainstream education.
And they regularly attended activities with other home educated children and participated in ‘skill swaps’ with other families.
Lil says there are as many ways of doing home education as there are home educators.
She said: “Not everyone thinks the same. Even within the community (of home educators) we all have different reasons for doing it and all sorts of different angles and expectations.
“One of the real benefits is that you can tailor you approach to your own child’s individual needs and interests.
“If we all learn the same then everyone has the same small quantity of stuff but there is so much more to be learned, why do we want everyone to know the same thing?”
