Hundreds of Blackburn with Darwen 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.

Department for Education statistics show around 290 children were voluntarily taught at home in Blackburn with Darwen in the 2022-23 summer term.

Across the country, around 97,600 children were home-schooled.

Councillor Julie Gunn, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said: "We have seen a growing number of families in recent years that have decided to educate their children at home, and this aligns closely with the national trend of rising numbers.

"We respect parents and carers rights to educate their children in this way, and work very closely with families, initially to understand the reasons and to provide information and support should this be necessary, but also to explain the way in which we will fulfil our responsibilities to ensure that children receive a ‘suitable’ education.

"We have formed positive and productive working relationships with our home educating families and in this way we are able to ensure that children continue to receive the most appropriate education throughout their school age years."

Separate figures from the Office of the Schools Adjudicator suggest there were 60,500 in March 2019.

The largest reason for children being withdrawn from schools was for 'philosophical' reasons, of which 15,800 parents had chosen to do so.

In Blackburn with Darwen, most commonly parents opted to home-school their children for lifestyle reasons, with around 50 children doing so.

The reasons for home schooling were not known in 31 per cent of cases.

Meanwhile, many parents chose to educate their children at home for their mental health, including 12,200 across England and approximately 30 in Blackburn with Darwen.

Olly Parker, head of external affairs at children's mental health charity Young Minds, said schools "can and should be supportive environments for young people".

However, he warned "anxiety, bullying, academic pressure, difficult relationships and a lack of support" can lead to some children avoiding school.

Mr Parker added: "Young people should be able to access support for their mental health when they need it, including in schools.

"Currently, mental health support in schools is a postcode lottery and the Government must commit to ensuring young people can access support in every school in the country."

The data also shows older children are more likely to be taught at home across England.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 62 per cent were in secondary school, compared to 38 per cent in primary.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said home education is a "big undertaking" and parents should think very carefully before taking their child out of school.

He said schools have very robust policies on bullying and take the safeguarding of pupils extremely seriously, and encouraged parents to work through issues with schools.

He added while home school seems to have increased, we do not know the definitive figures as the Government has not introduced a register.