This week’s column comes from Sian Goodspeed, founder of Chesham-based tuition company Flying Start Tuition:

When I tell people I home educate my children, reactions range from admiration to disbelief.

The fact that I was a teacher and now run a successful tutoring company seems to make my decision to home educate easier to understand.

However, you do not need to be a teacher in order to home educate your child and growing numbers of UK parents are now seeing it as a viable alternative to school.

It is estimated that around 60,000 children of compulsory education age (age 5-16) are being home educated in the UK and this figure is growing rapidly. The reasons for this growth are many and varied.

Some parents choose this route long before the child starts school because of religious, philosophical or cultural reasons.

Other parents, who enjoyed teaching their own children during the early years, are keen to continue this journey when the child turns five.

There are also the children who have tried school but it didn’t work out for some reason. Maybe they didn’t fit in, were bullied, suffer from an illness or have special needs.

Others may simply have been switched off from learning or struggling to keep up in a “one-size-fits-all” mainstream school environment. Increasingly, many parents also worry about the stress of constant testing and exams on their child.

A huge appeal of home education, especially with the ever-increasing pressure on school places, is that parents have the flexibility to create a ‘tailor-made’ education for their child.

This means an education that suits the child’s own pace and style of learning without concerns about fitting in, being held back by others or moving too quickly.

Consequently, home-educated children often develop into very resourceful adults because they’ve learned (with support from adults) to think for themselves and make their own mistakes. There is less of a ‘conveyor belt’ approach and more focus on the individual.

On the flipside, though, it takes a lot of time and effort on the part of the parents and many parents fear they’re not qualified to teach their children.

But if you’re a home educating parent who wants some professional support you can get in touch with me on 01494 772 898 or email hello@flyingstarttuition.co.uk.