HUNDREDS of Westmorland and Furness children were educated at home in the last academic year, figures show.

Data suggests the number of home-schooled children has increased since the coronavirus pandemic across England, although figures are incomplete.

Department for Education statistics show around 280 children were voluntarily taught at home in Westmorland and Furness in the 2022-23 summer term.

Across the country, around 97,600 children were home-schooled. Separate figures from the Office of the Schools Adjudicator suggest there were 60,500 in March 2019.

But it appears Covid is not behind the rise – the largest reason for children being withdrawn from schools was for philosophical reasons, of which 15,800 parents had chosen to do so.

In Westmorland and Furness, most commonly parents opted to home-school their children for mental health reasons, with around 60 children doing so. The reasons for homeschooling were not known in 50% of cases.

The same was true for many other parts of the country, with 12,200 children taught at home for their mental health across England.

The data also shows older children are more likely to be taught at home across England – in Westmorland and Furness, 75% were in secondary school, compared to 21% in primary.