‘It feels like we're out of the rat race’: Family reflections on traumatic school experiences leading to home education

Abstract

The rise in numbers of children experiencing school attendance difficulties in recent years makes this an important focus for UK school inclusion. Simultaneously, increases in school deregistration in favour of home education have caught media as well as regulator attention. These figures disproportionately include children on schools' special educational needs registers. This article presents findings from a doctoral study of families' reflections on their educational transitions leading to school deregistration and undertaking of home education. Through a UK-wide online survey and interviews with seven parents and six children, the research explored the experiences of 99 families. Participants described cumulative traumatic events and liminal experiences as they sought inclusive education, negotiating with under-resourced and/or underprepared professionals in unsupportive or even hostile systems. The study employed reflexive thematic analysis using an original Bronfenbrenner–Turner conceptual framework to understand the data. The framework underpins the research recommendations and has potential for policymakers and as a school inclusion tool to help educators and allied professionals recognise and support—rather than ostracise—vulnerable children and their families.