Concerned parents in Scotland are withdrawing their children from the state education system in record numbers, opting to teach them at home instead. New figures reveal a dramatic 58 per cent increase in home schooling registrations over just five years, a trend that coincides with growing alarm over violence in classrooms and plummeting attendance rates.
A Dramatic Rise in Home Education
Data obtained through Freedom of Information requests shows a sharp upward trajectory in home schooling. In 2020, local councils registered 1,302 children as being educated at home. By 2025, that number had jumped to 2,062 registered pupils – an increase of hundreds of families choosing an alternative path.
MSP Miles Briggs, the Scottish Conservative education spokesman, commented on the shift. He stated that while it was impossible to pinpoint every family's reason, the declining standards and increased classroom violence under the SNP government likely influenced many decisions.
Violence and Truancy Create a 'Crisis' Atmosphere
The surge in home education unfolds against a troubling backdrop for Scottish schools. The country's classrooms are now reported to be the most violent in Great Britain, with teachers' unions repeatedly flagging incidents of serious misbehaviour, including attacks on staff and pupils.
Simultaneously, the nation is grappling with a severe truancy problem. Official statistics indicate that at least 73,184 children had an attendance rate below 50 per cent between the 2019/20 and 2024/25 academic years. Furthermore, over 6,000 pupils did not attend school at all during the last six years. The true scale is believed to be even larger, as half of Scotland's 32 councils could not provide complete data sets.
Overall attendance has also slipped, standing at 91 per cent in 2024/25 compared to 93 per cent in 2018/19.
Unions and Government Respond
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union suggested they would not be surprised if parents pointed to specific systemic failures. A spokesman noted potential reasons could include large class sizes, a lack of Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision, and rising levels of violent, aggressive, and prejudice-based behaviours disrupting learning.
In response, a Scottish Government spokesman emphasised its commitment to ensuring children are fully engaged in learning. He acknowledged that parents choose home education for many reasons and stressed it was vitally important for parents and carers to ensure children attend school, addressing the truancy issue directly.
The converging trends of rising home education, classroom violence, and chronic absenteeism paint a picture of a Scottish education system under significant strain, prompting a growing number of families to seek solutions outside the traditional school gates.
