If being taught at school is not an option for a child, whether due to having been a victim of bullying, a long-term illness or a tendency to play truant or be disruptive in class, then being taught at home is a real alternative. What’s more, learning from home does not necessarily mean that parents have to be the teachers. Local authorities all over the country are already aware that studying from home at a virtual school can achieve positive results.

Learning at a virtual school, children can gain many of the benefits of mainstream schooling: experienced, subject specialist teachers and a structured timetable and curriculum. Although there are certainly parents who do put their all into their child’s home education, using an established virtual school can combine the positives of traditional schooling with those of learning from home.

Eileen Field Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire