A parent has spoken out in favour of Government's plan to impose tighter restrictions on home schools after claiming that her experience of the alternative schooling was a bad one.

The mother, who works in a public school but who did not wish to be named, said she put her daughter in a home school for a year but eventually decided to take her out because the class size was too big.

She said she believed Government needed to set limits on the number of students allowed in every home school, depending on how many teachers there were.

“I believe that home schools should not be allowed to have 12 students because they simply don't get the one-on-one attention that they are promised,” said the mother.

“If you put more children in a home school, then they get the same problems as the larger schools. “Where my daughter was, there was a problem with stealing and we all got called to a meeting about it.

“I know these kinds of issues arise in all areas of schooling, but my point is that with smaller groups, the teacher will know where all of his of her students are and will know who is causing the problem.”

The woman said she ended up placing her daughter back into public education after the alternative schooling did not work out.

She said Government was right to limit the number of students, but suggested that the size of the property also be taken into consideration.

The woman spoke out after home schools said they were going to petition against a Government policy that states home schools have no more than four students.

From September this year, any home school with more than four students must become a licensed institute or face closure.

Government said while it believed in parental choice, it had a responsibility to ensure that every child was educated properly, and in a safe and secure environment.

The policy has led to a number of complaints from parents and teachers, who claimed their schools would no longer be viable with only four students and some schools would have to ask pupils to leave.

But this disgruntled woman said home schools, where other people's children attended, should be kept in check. The woman did not single out any home school in particular.

She added: “I know parental choice is important, but school environment is important. It's a child's life we are messing with.

“Because these home schools don't have to follow regulations and rules, and they don't have to answer to Government, they can do whatever they want. I think the children and the parents need to be protected.

“I really don't see why they need to have 12 or 14 children in a home school. I was paying $600 a month to get my child home schooled, but she was not getting the individual attention I thought she would.”

Another parent, whose child went to a home school, said she had many concerns about the lack of regulation.

Not only did she send her son to a home school, but she assisted in one, and she said she was not happy with what she found.

She said: “There should definitely be more regulations in place, not just for academics but the whole school environment.

“The Government needs to ensure that students have enough fresh air circulating, and that they are getting the physical education they need.

“It's a very big concern to me. A lot of students are going into home schools with behavioural problems, yet a lot of the school facilitators are not qualified to deal with it, and don't have the time.

“At the moment there is no control in the home schools and there should be.”

General Secretary of the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) Mike Charles said the issue had not yet been discussed by the union, and so he could not speak to it from a professional point of view.

However, Mr. Charles, a former primary school teacher said, from a personal point of view, he had always considered home schools as being where a parent stayed at home to teach their own children.

He said: “My information has always been that a home school is ran by a parent for their child or children. I did not think a home school was a business.

“From the little that I have read about this in the press this week, it seems that these people are wanting to carry on a business.

“My own personal opinion is that when it becomes a business, there are things that we have to abide by.

“I think it moves into another realm. Once you start taking people in from outside, then I think we are looking at a private school.”

Mr. Charles said his other question would be how many children are there in a class to one teacher.

Where there were more than one teacher to a school, then other issues should be considered.

The mother said she appreciated that home schooling did not work for everyone, and said she realised hers had been a particularly bad experience, however, she said she was not alone.

“I have talked to three parents who had similar experiences. I just think the whole story should be told, and not just one side,” she added.

“In my case, some of the children's work was not even being sent away.”