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Here's a glimpse across the pond: to homeschooling in Britain, which once was uncommon, but has been growing in popularity.
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Home educating has been rising sharply in England since the end of the pandemic lockdowns and mental health is being cited as the main reason. In 2024-25, 111,700 children in England were officially home schooled, up from 80,900 in 2022-23, an increase of 38 per cent. Of the 126,000 children educated at home during the autumn term last year, one in six cited mental health as the main cause, according to figures from the Department for Education (DfE).
Other causes include philosophical reasons (14 per cent), lifestyle (9 per cent) and dissatisfaction with schools such as bullying or special educational needs (SEN) provision (13 per cent). These numbers are believed to be an underestimate because home schooling does not have to be registered.
Tilly and her father said home schooling had allowed them “a softer approach” to learning. “I’m at work all day so I have to trust Tilly to get the work done,” said Pete, a plumber. She uses a mix of BBC Bitesize and Oak Academy, an online platform of free curriculum resources, and has some CGP GCSE revision books, which are widely used by schools. Her chosen subjects are “English, maths, science and art, but not the other ones because they just confuse me”... While home schooling is banned in countries including Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Sweden, the UK has some of the most relaxed rules in Europe. They state that parents must provide a “full-time, efficient education” from age five, suitable for their child’s ability and needs. Interpretations of this can be subjective, because home education does not need to follow the national curriculum.
...To withdraw a child from mainstream education in England, a parent must inform their school, which then notifies the local authority. Permission to deregister is not needed from the school or local authority. There is no statutory duty for local authorities to monitor the quality of home education on a set schedule, nor do they have statutory powers to routinely enter homes or inspect.
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This lack of regulation has been repeatedly questioned, most recently by an anonymous education official in the Times. You should most definitely take ANY anonymous report with a spoonful of salt, but I think this official makes a point worth considering:
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For some families, home education is the right choice, but I am extremely worried that taking children out of school has become a trend. Home schooling used to be for religious reasons or based on lifestyle, like wanting to go travelling around the world in a campervan. Now, though, many parents see it as an easier option than fighting with their children about going to school every morning.
Most of the parents I speak to say their children need to leave school for mental health reasons, something we’re seeing across the country. Department for Education (DfE) data shows that, of the 126,000 children educated at home during the autumn term last year, one in six cited mental health as the main cause.
Emotionally based school avoidance — a term that has been used since the 1990s to describe anxiety-driven non-attendance — has increased significantly. The risk of fines only adds to the pressure. Persistent absence (defined as anything below 90 per cent school attendance) can lead to penalties of up to £2,500, or court orders.
By comparison, while it’s still a big decision, deciding to home school your child is a fairly easy process. If the child is in a mainstream school, parents must send the school a deregistration email or letter. Current legislation is vague: parents have to make sure their child receives a full-time education, but do not have to follow the national curriculum, leaving a lot to interpretation.
My experience does make me wonder: are students confusing the normal feelings of adolescence and a lack of resilience with poor mental health? There are very distinct differences between diagnosed anxiety and feeling anxious about certain situations, but many parents and children in elective home education (EHE) are approaching them as the same thing.
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Sharing links to both pieces follow. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.
www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/home-schooling-blackpool-mental-health-z0f36ph9q
www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/home-schooling-uk-inspector-gx982bgd6
It’s my job to check on 700 home-school pupils. What I see is alarming
www.thetimes.com
Some have nothing but a textbook. Others are left to doomscroll. A growing number of parents are gambling with their children’s futures1 hour ago
“My experience does make me wonder: are students confusing the normal feelings of adolescence and a lack of resilience with poor mental health? There are very distinct differences between diagnosed anxiety and feeling anxious about certain situations, but many parents and children in elective home education (EHE) are approaching them as the same thing.” The author poses this question. I would ask the author to also consider the flip side. Are educational institutions and their employees ignoring “poor mental health” with what they deem “normal feelings of adolescence and lack of resilience?” On the one hand we have parents maybe treating “normal feelings” with a little more recognition than some deem necessary, and choose to homeschool. And on the other, we have institutions possibly ignoring real mental health problems they deem normal. I feel, without any expertise, so grain of salt and all, that one outcome has far worse ramifications, and it’s not the home schoolers.
I have 5 children, 4 of whom were homeschooled for some or most of their education. The 4 who I homeschooled for some portion have all graduated from college and 2 have masters degrees. Besides homeschool, we also utilized multiple public and private schools. It did take a great deal of time and expertise on my part - which I enjoyed - but parental involvement and resources are critical. From all that experience, I do think it’s extremely hard to ever make broad blanket statements about whether public, private, or homeschool is “the best” situation for a child - because there is such diversity within all those categories. Each individual public, private, or home school can be excellent, terrible, or many shades in between. Which makes it pretty impossible to do studies or make broad generalizations because you are comparing baskets made up of a dizzying variety of fruit. Homeschooling does require far more resources of money, time and focus than many parents expect. It’s not for everyone - and I do get annoyed whenever anyone claims that homeschool is the best for everyone. Nothing is the best for everyone. And in many situations, the resources and support available in the public school system are essential for children living in unstable or resource deprived homes.
There is no doubt in my mind that homeschooling is a trend both in secular and Christian circles. It’s also true that many parents are ill equipped, especially when they start out (#WellTrainedMind #sanitysaver). I do take issue with the assumption that public school conditions children to be resilient and that that necessarily prepares them to be successful thinkers, writers, workers, leaders, etc. By that logic I could argue a sea world tank conditions an orca to be resilient, but we all know those poor creatures are not as happy or healthy as their wild friends. Still, I think it is really important to ask myself: to what extent am I trusting the Lord with my child’s mental health, overall health, and education? How am I allowing my child to encounter difficult situations and relationships and coming alongside or behind to help him navigate? Homeschooling shouldn’t be a shield. It should be an armory where the child can learn to expertly use different tools to thrive in the real world.
This report is just so badly written. Yes, anyone can deregister but they do have to prove, when requested, that their child is in receipt of a suitable education and the authorities already have the powers to send children back to school should this not be the case. The culture over here at the moment is to attack EHE families rather than support. We have so many failings in our system right now that many are being left with no choice other than to deregister. The author of this article doesn't really understand home Ed in my opinion.
“I believe we need much stronger rules and a proper process for EHE — which gets me hung, drawn and quartered by EHE Facebook groups.” This made me giggle. I home educated for a period of time, in NE London. The local authority contacted me to verify that I was in fact HE. There were many organized activities and several groups that had weekly gatherings for field trips and tennis. It seems that the fines for non attendance may have backfired, at least for low income parents. I suspect that there will be even more growth in HE, as the closure of private schools continues.
Y'all, another release date sneaked up on me!
TODAY is the official publication day for the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Story of the World, Volume 1! And along with that, the 25th Anniversary Editions of the Activity Guide, Audiobook, and Tests.
The Story of the World was my first post-Well-Trained-Mind project, impelled largely by the fact that when my mother and I were putting together resources for recommendation, I couldn't find a world history program for younger students that I liked. So we suggested using history encyclopedias (which was fine as far as it went, just didn't give them the opportunity to read actual narrative history), and I started writing my own instead.
I was younger then. "Sure, I can write the history of the world!" I thought. But sometimes hubris yields something positive, and now I am constantly meeting adults who grew up reading the Story of the World and who still appreciate it.
This new edition gave me the chance to change up a few things I've long wished I'd done differently--like sticking to closer chronological order and paying a little more attention to Asian history. I think Rainbow Resource did a great job with their catalog copy summary, so I'm going to paste that below along with a few links. And if you have questions, post them here and I'll do my best to answer.
To head off the most obvious questions: we're revising the whole series, one set per year (so SOTW 2 in 2027, etc.); and yes, we're keeping the original series in print for the foreseeable future.
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From Rainbow Resource Center:
Main Text:
The hub of the curriculum, Volume 1 25th Anniversary edition Student Reader keeps the previous edition’d content essentially the same. You’ll first notice the reordering or dividing of chapters (to better fit a chronological timeline). This, in itself, makes this edition not compatible with the previous edition. Ten new chapters are entitled History-Makers. These mini biography chapters include an Assyrian warrior queen, Draco and Solon, Zhang Qian (of the Silk Road), Judas Maccabee, and more. Chapters still explain the start of each major world religion (content is nearly identical to the previous edition). The previous material on Jesus and the start of Christian religion has been retained. This content is no longer a separate chapter, but is included in Chapter 36, Israel Under Roman Rule. The content summarized from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, now includes 6 rather than 8 key points. Additionally, 2 new chapters add Asian history: China (Han and other dynasties), one on Korea and Japan. Finally, one additional chapter discusses the Northern Barbarians. Not compatible with previous editions. 414 pages, sc. ~ Ruth
Instructor Guide
The Story of the World 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition Volume 1 Ancient Times Instructor Guide is packed full of the tools you’ll need to direct your student’s learning. Now the Instructor Guide and Student Activity books are separate volumes. This guide is extremely user friendly. This newest edition is a significant and outstanding update from the previous editions’ Activity Book. The larger, easy-to-read font and layout make the program more pick-up-and-go. Key tasks, the steps to take, and supporting activities and newly updated and expanded reading options are simple to choose from. The teacher oral script for student narrations, the review questions, and mapping exercises are bolded. Answers are written in simplified italics. Icons identify the plentiful Interactive Activities, and whether they are adaptable for a classroom; are low-prep, or those that require physical activity.
The Instructor Guide allows you to easily customize this course to your family or classroom needs. Yet, the key components are straightforward and easily implemented. Core Exercises will alternate between review questions and narration questions. Each chapter includes map work and student review cards (found in the Student Workbook). Activity options are labeled by type, and include math and science related, coloring pages, field trips, etc.
Sections are clearly identified: Read & Review; Narrations, Map Work, etc., with clear steps, supplies needed, etc. Additional History and Literature readings are updated and include brief descriptions. Newly updated, the annotated literature choices range from Christian to secular, so you can choose to meet your family’s needs. For activities, exercises, “Read and Review,” the parent’s script and answers are included. Typically, there are storytelling activities, games, memory work and more, providing additional ways to engage with history. Certain chapters provide a culminating activity (Celebrations).
If you are wanting to dive deeper and tailor the course specifically for you and your learners, detailed appendixes will resource you quickly—super user friendly. Briefly, these Appendixes include:
Appendix One: Creative writing prompt instructions
Appendix Two: Instructions for optional memory work activities
Appendix Three: Supplies needed (those frequently used and also products by chapter needed)
Appendix Four: Activities by Type (quick activities; art, chapter celebrations; classroom activities; cooking; craft; field trips; games; Low and No Prep; make a mode; math; memory work; movement’ picture study; and research skills.
Appendix Five: salt dough recipe
Appendix Six: suggested schedules (2-day; 4-day; co-op/classroom scheduling; and ends with a detailed 36-week schedule
I personally found this Instructor’s Guide very user friendly and simple to implement. Non-reproducible, 435 pages, sc. ~ Ruth
Student Workbook:
This consumable student workbook begins with a large-lined Narration page with space for illustrating. Students are regularly recommended to give oral or written narrations of chapter material. Maps, coloring pages, activity and game resources also fill this text. The material here will help your student process and engage with the content he or she is learning. Additional ideas for learning engagement are included in the Instructor Guide. While many of the activities are similar to the previous edition, the page order has been significantly changed. While reproducing is allowed for your family use, purchasing a book for each additional student may be well worth your time.
Reproducible for household use only. Classroom license available from Welltrainedmind.com. 146 perforated pages, sc. ~ Ruth
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welltrainedmind.com/c/subject/history-geography/
www.rainbowresource.com/catalogsearch/result?q=story%20of%20the%20world%20expanded%20edition
21 hours ago
My 22yo son read SOTW on repeat for years. I called them his emotional support volumes. And, we both call you “Story of the World Lady.” Hope it comes off like the compliment it is! He just started grad school in a humanities program, so I’d say it worked. I bought him The Golden Thread and told him it’s SOTW for grownups. 😂
Just got mine today! I only just started my Story of the World journey with my first grader this year, and made the decision to slow it down and take three years to get through the first two books so we can be better caught up with the (hopeful) release schedule! I loved the old material and am so excited to jump into the updated version tomorrow ☺️
We loved this new edition and the audio recording. I'm going to be ordering the SOTW2 in 2027!
Yay! Now please finish the last volume in your history books for older kids (and their parents!) 😊
Congratulations!!! Did Jim Weiss do the audiobook? It is no exaggeration to say that my eldest son became a reader listening to Jim Weiss read the SOTW and following along in the books. I cannot thank you enough! (I hope the binding of this new edition is stronger than the binding of the old edition! The pages are of high quality, but after many readings, they tend to fall out! 😕)
Taking a year off world history next year (finishing vol. 1 this year) to do US history so we can be on track for the new editions! Very excited, especially for volumes 3 and 4!
Aaahhh! We are just halfway through Book 4 (new edition), and the changes scared us. We've got into the swing, but the new version sounds fantastic!
We loved your Story of the World! One of the highlights of our homeschooling. Great perspective for my kids.
Victoria Bungart
