Why I didn’t send my child back to school after the pandemic: The Rise in Home Education
Duration: 1 hr 23 mins
Publication Date: 3 Mar 2026
Next Review Date: 3 Mar 2029
DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13843
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic catalysed a significant shift toward home education, revealing deeper systemic challenges within mainstream schooling. This study explores the psychosocial dimensions of this educational transition, with particular attention to families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and neurodivergent learners. Through a mixed-methods approach combining survey data (n=67) with in-depth Free-Association narrative interviews of four mothers, the research illuminates how the pandemic amplified existing educational inequities and mental health challenges across school communities. The findings, organised around four key themes—Lockdown as Catalyst, Shifting Sands of Power, The Inclusion Illusion, and Revelations—demonstrate that two-thirds of parents felt compelled rather than chose to pursue home education. Analysis through the theoretical lenses of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory reveals how school environments often failed to meet the fundamental psychosocial needs of vulnerable learners, before, during and after pandemic disruptions. This research advocates for a whole-school trauma-informed approach that acknowledges and addresses the complex interplay between mental health, learning needs, and family dynamics—recognising that both staff and children carry their own emotional burdens and traumatic experiences. By examining how home education functions as both a response to systemic failures and a pathway to meeting individual needs, the findings highlight critical implications for educational policy and practice. Meaningful inclusion requires a fundamental shift in how educational institutions understand and support the psychological well-being of all community members, creating environments where both staff and students can thrive.
Learning Objectives
A. To understand how lockdown experiences revealed systemic gaps in mainstream education's ability to meet the needs of vulnerable children, leading to increased home education.
B. To identify the critical elements of whole-school trauma-informed practice that benefits all stakeholders - including staff, children, and parents.
C. To evaluate the relationship between meaningful inclusion and mental health in educational settings, understanding how current practices may inadvertently contribute to psychological distress for vulnerable learners.
