The chief inspector of schools has called on ministers to tighten the rules on home education, claiming they are being exploited by a growing number of illegal schools across England.

More than 100 suspected unregistered schools have been uncovered by inspectors in the past five months. At some of them children are being taught in “unsafe and unhygienic premises” by staff who have not been properly checked.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, who heads the schools watchdog Ofsted, said many of those running unregistered schools were “unscrupulously” exploiting the freedom parents have to choose to home-educate their children.

A crackdown on unregistered schools began in January with the launch of a specialist taskforce made up of seven experienced inspectors, who are said to be deeply alarmed by what they have uncovered.

Suspected new cases are being reported each week, and Wilshaw said the schools revealed so far were likely to represent only a small proportion of the problem.

In a letter to the education secretary, Nicky Morgan, on Monday, Wilshaw wrote: “Evidence inspectors have gathered over recent weeks has reaffirmed my belief that there is a clear link between the growth of unregistered schools and the steep rise in the number of children recorded as being home-educated in England over the past few years.

“I have previously voiced concern that many of those operating unregistered schools are unscrupulously using the freedoms that parents have to home-educate their children as a cover for their activities. They are exploiting weaknesses in the current legislation to operate on the cusp of the law. Many are charging parents thousands of pounds to send their children to these unregistered schools.

“In doing so, many are providing a substandard education, placing children at risk and undermining the government’s efforts to ensure that all schools are promoting British values, including tolerance and respect for others.”



He said latest evidence suggested there were many more children in unregistered schools than previously thought.

In April inspectors issued seven warning notices to suspected illegal schools in London, Birmingham, Luton, Wolverhampton and Staffordshire. In total around 350 children were found on the schools’ premises.

The inspectors found serious fire hazards, unchecked staff and volunteers, and unsafe premises. In one instance, chemicals and chemistry equipment were found in an unlocked cupboard in a room where pupils ate their lunch.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government was taking steps to ensure that the system governing home education was robust, but said the rights of parents to decide how and where to educate their child had to be protected.



“Nothing is more important than keeping children safe, and councils have clear powers to take action where there are concerns regarding a child’s wellbeing,” the spokesperson said. “We have given new resources to Ofsted to investigate unregistered schools, and to prepare case files for prosecution by the CPS.”

The department has consulted on plans to better protect children in supplementary schools offering intensive education out of school hours, and is expected to make an announcement shortly.

On home education, the DfE spokesperson said: “Parents may choose to home-school their children and many do a good job, but that education must be of a suitable quality. We are taking steps to ensure the system is as robust as it can be when it comes to protecting young people, while at the same time safeguarding the rights of parents to determine how and where to educate their children.”

A BBC investigation last year found a 65% increase in the number of children recorded as home-educated in the UK over a six-year period, but any figures for the total number being home-educated is likely to be an underestimate.

When parents withdraw a child from school, that child is registered as being home-educated, but children who never start school may not be feature in the statistics. There is no legal obligation for parents to send their children to school, but they have to provide a “suitable education” at home.

The shadow education secretary, Lucy Powell, said the government had allowed worrying and potentially dangerous practices to evolve in the schools system. “The Tories’ education policy has led to a fragmented schools system lacking robust local oversight to spot and tackle serious problems early on,” she said.



“As a result, many children are dropping off the radar or ending up in illegal, unregistered schools for months or years, where they are at risk of being exposed to harm, exploitation, or the influence of extremist ideologies.

“We urgently need the government to take tough action and instil a robust system of local oversight and accountability of all local schooling, regardless of type, so that communities can work together to improve standards and stop children from ending up in harm’s way.”

On Monday the British Humanist Association launched a website, Faith Schoolers Anonymous, to enable pupils who have experienced difficulties at faith schools to share their experiences and in some cases to act as whistleblowers.

A former pupil at an illegal Charedi school said: “A lot of good work has been done in recent months to bring attention to the plight of children still trapped in illegal religious schools, as I once was, and that momentum has to be built upon if these places are to be shut down once and for all.

“Faith Schoolers Anonymous will be a vital tool in ensuring that the desperate experiences of these children stay on the agenda and do not go on being ignored.”