Over the past five years the number of children homeschooled in Northern Ireland has tripled, according to the Department of Education (DE).

In the[hidden]school year, 287 children were recorded as home educated by the Education Authority (EA). That number increased by about 175%, to 796 children in 2021-22. Of these children, 329 are of primary school age and 467 are of post-primary age.

The true figure could be much higher as parents are not legally required to register with the EA. However, the law does require that they ensure their child receives full-time education at home.

Parents choose to educate children at home for a variety of reasons such as religious beliefs, dissatisfaction with the school system, special education needs or for “philosophical reasons,” according to guidelines published by the EA.

During the Covid pandemic the majority of children in Northern Ireland were taught remotely from March to June 2020, and again from Christmas 2020 to Easter 2021. The DE figures do not analyse whether these periods of remote learning has led to the rising number of parents deciding to educate their children at home.

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