DISTRAUGHT parents of bullied children are removing them from mainstream schools and turning to alternative education.
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They claim the system is failing their kids.
The government's Tasmanian eSchool, which offers live, online classroom learning from kindergarten to year 10, is experiencing a rise in enrolments due to "medical reasons". An education source said between half and three quarters of eSchool children were enrolled under the psychological criteria, with many of these due to bullying.
The Education Department said it had 199 full-time students, but has refused to release figures based on enrolment criteria, including illness, psychological, distance and pregnancy reasons.
More than 100 students are also enrolled on a part-time basis.
Tasmanian State School Parents and Friends president Jenny Eddington said anxiety, in some instances caused by bullying, was a significant contributing factor to eSchool enrolments.
She said some children left mainstream schools because anxiety made it impossible for them to attend.
The Tasmanian Home Education Advisory Council said a small number of its student cohort enrolled in home education because of bullying in schools.
THEAC chairwoman Jacinta Sinclair said parents would often use home education as an interim measure while a new school was found.
A Northern couple, who claimed their son has been the victim of systematic bullying in primary school, said they turned to home school after the school failed to resolve the issue.
They said their son had been punched, kicked, taunted and humiliated by various students and, in some instances, the school had not informed the parents of what was happening.
The father, who wished to remain anonymous, said the decision to remove their child from school was made after his son pleaded not to return.
"When I told him that he would not have to return I could see the relief drain from his face," the father said.
"Just to know that he wasn't going back to those bullies, to the school that wasn't helping him."
Schools deputy secretary Liz Banks said schools must develop their own policies to address bullying, and use a range of programs to create a culture of respectful and positive behaviour.
