To those of us who educate our children through the state or private sector, home education is a bit of a mystery, an option we wouldn't contemplate because we think it is too time-consuming or that we're not qualified enough to pass on knowledge to our children.

Yet, although parents admit it is a huge commitment in terms of both time and effort, they don't have to be super-educated or have teaching qualifications.

What they do need to accept is the responsibility for keeping their children intellectually stimulated and culturally curious.

Recognising that children have individual needs is the main reason why Amber Griffiths withdrew her son, Jacub, from school to educate him at home.

He had been a pupil at a Steiner school until four years ago but it wasn't working out for him.

"It sounds an obvious thing to say but different children have different personalities and needs and Jacub just wasn't fitting in," says Amber.

With a sister who already home-educated, Amber knew it was an option.

"I thought I would give it a go," she recalls.

"It took a few weeks for us both to settle into a new routine but everything fell into place, Jacub seemed to spring to life."

Jacub responds well in a one-to-one environment and Amber thinks he would struggle in a class of 30 or more children.

Their school day starts at around 9.30am; sometimes they will do only an hour or two of academic work, covering all the key topics that children in mainstream schooling would learn.

Then they might go off to the beach for the day to study rocks and seashells, or go out into the garden to grow vegetables.

A network of other families who home educate mean that Jacub is not short of the company of other children. They will often meet up during the day for activities and Jacub sees other children when he plays football or swims later in the afternoon.

There is no financial support for parents who educate their children; like private education it is seen as a lifestyle choice. Amber currently relies on Key Stage Two books she buys from the High Street to teach core subjects to ten-year-old Jacub.

"To begin with I was very aware of what children of his age were learning at school but, as time has moved on and I understand Jacub's needs better, I'm not as anxious about him attaining targets set in the National Curriculum," she says.

"At the moment he is doing A-level biology quizzes on the internet."

Theirs is an arrangement that works well for them, but it is one which will probably change when Jacub is 14 when he is likely go to Cardigan College to study for his GCSEs.

But home education is working so well for the Howell family that 16-year-old Lisa is still being educated in her home environment.

Lisa and her sister, Anna, who is 11, start their academic day after breakfast. Their parents, Gary and Gaynor, will already have set their work for the girls so they will know what equipment and books they need to make a start.

This set work lasts for around 90 minutes. It is usually work they can manage independently but Gaynor and Gary, who both work from home, are on hand if they need help. After a short break, Anna might watch a schools television programme she has recorded which usually sets off a new train of thought.

"She might draw a picture or write a story related to that," Gaynor explains.

"We always encourage this process of learning simply because she is learning something that really interests her. For us, that's what home education is all about."

Lisa's work is much more structured because she is preparing for college. This allows less room for flexibility but she will often have a break during the morning to take some exercise or to help her sister with one of her creations'.

Their day is never rigidly bound by a timeframe because they never know when another home educator will drop in with their children. Or if the weather is good they will visit somewhere like Cenarth where the girls might paint or sketch.

"There are dozens of different ways to receive a good education that don't have to involve sitting behind a desk," says Gaynor.

There are also weekly get-togethers with other local home educating families to give the children the opportunity to play and share activities.

For the Howells the advantages of home education are numerous and the disadvantages few. Home education means parents and children being together 24/7; parents have very little time to themselves. "This wouldn't suit everyone but we're really OK with it and the children are happier too," Gaynor says.

"Finding the time to home educate is really a matter of all the family working around each other, to make sure that everybody gets to do what they have to do. Gary does most of the club' trips while I set a lot of the work for the term ahead. Lisa will help Anna with lower level work and Anna will do something for Lisa in return. We have to have teamwork for home education to work in our family."