In 2023, as many as 305,000 children aged 5 to 15 were missing from education, a new analysis suggests.
The research (Crenna-Jennings et al, 2024) compares GP registrations with school enrolments and finds that up to 400,000 children and young people were not in school in 2023.
Of these, 95,000 were formally registered for home-education, leaving around 305,000 who were missing from education. This represents a 40% increase from 2017.
The number of children being formally home-educated has also risen by 100% since 2017.
The analysis warns that the number of students leaving the state system “rises significantly” through secondary school and peaks in year 10 before pupils sit their GCSEs. Around a fifth of all exits through the primary and secondary phases occur in year 10.
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