More pupils educated outside mainstream school

The Welsh government has published data showing the number of pupils being educated outside school, including at pupil referral units, have risen to record levels.

Young people whose main education was not at school was at the highest ever, at a record 2,279.

This is more than twice what it was in 2009 to 10 and almost 30 per cent more than before the pandemic.

Students in elective home education have also increased since last year. Ceredigion (a country in west Wales) had the highest rate, with 26.1 of every 1,000 pupils in elective home education. The most common age for home educated pupils is 15.

The vast majority of those educated outside mainstream school are also classed as having additional learning or special needs.

The Welsh government said since the pandemic there had been an increasing demand for the provision of education other than at school. There was also a widening gap between pupils from more deprived and less deprived backgrounds. The rate of education outside mainstream school was more than 11 per 1,000 pupils eligible for free school meals compared to just over three per 1,000 for those not eligible.

The children's commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, said the figures showed a "clear trend and societal shift following the pandemic" and more work needed to be done directly with children to understand their perspective.