I used the performance indicators in primary schools’ baseline assessment on the home-educated infants. While these children made slower progress than their school counterparts, they were more advanced than their peers from the start, and most were still ahead of school-educated children at the end of the year.

This information indicated that a nationally-recognised assessment was used. It also implied that while the children progressed at a slower rate during their fourth year, their headstart and finish may have been the result of learning gradually from birth in an informal setting. This finding has implications for current ideas surrounding the age at which children enter formal education.

Paula Rothermel. School of education. University of Durham. Leazes Road, Durham