It is estimated that there are now over 50,000 and perhaps as many as 150,000 children between the ages of 5 and 16 who are educated at home in England and Wales. There is every indication that this number is growing in a trend which has been called "the quiet revolution".. "Elective home education" is the term used by Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to describe parents’ decisions to provide education for their children at home instead of sending them to school.