Davyr, I wonder how long it is since you had first-hand experience of the education system. I have four children, ranging in age from 26 to 9, and 2 grandchildren and have never experienced any problems. In fact, when my eldest daughter (now 24) developed ME whilst preparing for her GCSEs, she was given a huge amount of support and encouragement. The system is constantly improving and, especially in deprived areas and "sink" estates, one of the most important aspects is changing the attitudes of parents to education. If parents have no respect for the system and are not prepared to become involved, for instance as classroom assistants or governors, then how can you expect the children to approach education with the right attitude.

Home education is simply not an option for the vast majority of people and, ion my opinion, is not the way to produce well-rounded and socialised adults.