Renegades to explore home education
The Renegades youth club, now in its sixth year, is to explore a new way of helping more school aged children and widen its commitment to the local community.
There has been a sharp rise in home education since the pandemic, with official figures for West Sussex showing a 46% rise since 2019 – meaning that 1544 pupils were being educated at home in August 2023 compared with 1056 in August 2019.
“In recent months I’ve become increasingly aware of the wide and varying difficulties that lots of children have experienced, many of whom had left traditional school, so I simply asked a question about home education on WhatsApp. I was literally inundated with an avalanche of heartfelt and often heartbreaking replies, with Renegades parents sharing my details with their wider circles,” says Group Leader Gareth Miller.
“I decided to organise four separate meetings to just try and understand what was happening, why and to then spend some time thinking about how the Renegades could help. The reasons for home education are numerous and complex but it was quite a shock to hear parents saying that they felt let down by the school system, and that they felt they had no choice because of their children’s mental health, and often their neurodiversity or unmet special needs.
“The parents told me what they are really looking for is a consistent offering of extra curricular activities, where their children can enjoy the wider social interaction they are not able to get at home. We are looking at offering these children canoeing, archery, carpentry, art & photography and cookery, and are trying to get funding for it to be a regular thing as there is definitely a large and growing need that is not being met,” he said.
Meanwhile, it’s been mad business as usual for the Renegades and its younger sibling, the Rascals, with enormous fun being enjoyed doing canoeing, cookery, drone flying, holding reptiles and archery.
The Renegades is a Registered Charity. Membership is free so contact Gareth on 07801 862550 for a taster session