Flexischooling children with special educational needs: Findings from a UK parental survey

There are significant gaps in the literature on the rationales, organisation and outcomes of flexischooling arrangements for children with special educational needs (SEN). This exploratory, survey-based study aimed to address these knowledge gaps by investigating the experiences and perspectives of parents and carers in England, Scotland and Wales who flexischool children with SEN. Findings indicated that, on average, participants’ children attended school three days per week and were home-educated on the remaining two days. The majority (94%) of the children in question were reported to have neurodevelopmental conditions, with autism being most prevalent (61%). Participants’ reasons for requesting flexischooling predominantly related to children feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or unable to cope in the full-time school environment. The majority of participants whose children had previously been registered for full-time attendance reported improvements in their child’s wellbeing, anxiety levels, behaviour, ability to attend school, participation in school, learning engagement and learning progress. Negative outcomes, particularly regarding quality of friendships, were reported for certain children who had 2.5 days or more out of school each week. Most participants indicated flexischooling to be a valuable arrangement for their child’s improved access to, and success within, the traditional school setting.