The decision to remove children from traditional schooling is becoming a reality for more families, driven by increasing rates of school refusal and a growing comfort with homeschooling, particularly in the wake of pandemic-related remote learning. Caro Giles, a single mother of four, recounts the heart-wrenching experience of her daughters' severe distress at attending school, leading her to transition them to homeschooling.
Emmie, one of Giles's daughters, would resist going to school, wedging herself into the car and protesting loudly. The school environment, with its sensory overload and social complexities, was making her ill, according to Giles. This led Giles to pull Emmie out of school permanently. Emmie's older sister, Matilda, had a similar experience, having stopped attending school at age six due to her inability to tolerate the classroom environment. Giles has been the primary educator for Matilda, now 18, for 12 years, and for Emmie, now 13, for four years. Another daughter, Ada, then 15, was largely homeschooled until 2018, partly due to not being sufficiently challenged and partly for practical reasons with multiple children at home. The youngest, Tess, also experienced distress about attending school and was homeschooled for a year between the ages of eight and nine before gradually returning to mainstream education.
Nationally, figures from the NSPCC indicate 171,000 children were recorded as 'school refusers' in England in 2025. The number of families opting for homeschooling has more than doubled in the past five years. Experts attribute this rise to an increase in childhood mental health issues affecting school attendance and a greater parental familiarity with homeschooling practices adopted during lockdowns.
Giles's approach to homeschooling diverges from the national curriculum. Instead, she encourages Matilda and Emmie to pursue subjects based on their interests. Younger years involved activities like board games and role-playing. Matilda has focused on art and textiles, while Emmie has explored Greek language and literature. Mathematics and sciences are taught through practical, real-world applications. This approach means neither Matilda, who was diagnosed with autism in 2019, nor Emmie, diagnosed with autism and selective mutism last year, have pursued traditional GCSE qualifications. Giles, who previously worked in primary and special education, has tailored their education to their individual needs, noting that special schools might not suffice and that specialized schools for autistic girls are geographically distant.
While Ada aims to study medicine and Tess has returned to a local primary school, Giles acknowledges that her daughters miss out on the social aspects of school. She notes the pressure from Local Education Authorities regarding exams, emphasizing that parents often feel they are not treated as experts on their own children's needs. This frustration prompted Giles to write a book, "Unschooled," detailing the realities of parenting children who struggle with conventional schooling. Giles believes that a greater emphasis on project-based learning and less focus on exams in classrooms could benefit children like hers. The book aims to support other parents in similar situations and to offer insight to those unfamiliar with the challenges of school refusal and alternative education.
IMAGE2 IMAGE4 IMAGE5 IMAGE3 IMAGE6