Sasha Jackson | The Home Ed Daily

About me. I’m Sasha Jackson. Welcome to The Home Ed Daily.

This platform is a labour of love. I’m a home-educating parent, writer, editor, and content creator, and I created The Home Ed Daily to give home educating families a positive, honest voice online. This is not a big business or a polished media brand. It is a grassroots project built with care, conviction, and a genuine commitment to our community. I run it because I believe home educating families deserve better representation, better resources, and a place where our stories can be told by people who actually live this life.

The site may contain some banner ads or affiliate links, but I always aim to be completely open about that. In reality, this platform costs me more than it earns. I keep it going because it matters to me. I want families to be able to find useful free support, thoughtful articles, trusted recommendations, and a more accurate picture of what home ed really looks like.

For me, this is not about self-promotion. It is about citizen journalism. It is about telling the truth about home education, challenging misinformation, and making space for the real experiences of families across the UK.

Alongside the website, I help run meet-ups and support home education groups across Devon. My hope has always been to create an online space where families can find knowledge, encouragement, and access to useful links and resources.

That feels especially important now. Home education is too often misunderstood in the media and misrepresented in public debate. At a time of increasing scrutiny and concern around legislation, including the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, I believe we need clear, grounded, pro-home-ed voices more than ever.

Who I am

I wear a lot of hats. I’m a photographer, digital artist, social media manager, content creator, author, editor, and mum to three sons. My family and I live in a small village on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon.

Before I had children, I worked as a graphic designer, photographer, and photo retoucher at Ealing Film Studios in London. These days, I use that creative background in a different way, through writing, design, digital resources, and projects inspired by nature, place, and family life.

I also create printable resources for Dartmoor Kin, my small family shop inspired by nature, folklore, and the rhythm of the seasons. My packs are designed to support gentle, meaningful learning and often explore themes such as moon phases, wildlife, seasonal observation, and the wheel of the year.

I have also self-published a book exploring the wheel of the year and the historical roots of pagan festivals in Western Europe.

Within the home education community, I manage social media and create content for Home Education Devon and other local groups, supporting a network of more than 7,000 members. I also help organise in-person social meet-ups and offer guidance and encouragement to families who are new to home education.

Our home ed journey

Our home education journey began after a long period of soul-searching. My son was six, and school simply was not working for him. Nothing dramatic had happened. His small rural primary school was lovely in many ways. But the system itself was not meeting his needs.

He was anxious, unhappy, and overwhelmed. The mornings were heartbreaking. He would sob and beg me not to leave him, and I would often end up crying in the car afterwards. It felt deeply wrong to keep forcing him into a situation that was making him so distressed. So I brought him home. It was one of the biggest decisions I have ever made, but I knew in my gut it was the right one. I did it for his wellbeing, but also because I could no longer ignore what it was doing to me as his mother.

That experience forced me to think much more deeply about education itself. The school system in the UK asks a great deal of children, often far too early. It places huge emphasis on testing, assessment, behaviour management, and narrow academic targets, while creativity, autonomy, emotional wellbeing, and genuine curiosity are too often pushed aside.

I worry that we are asking children to fit a mould instead of allowing them to develop as whole people. I worry that we are measuring the wrong things. I worry that happiness, individuality, and mental health are too often treated as secondary to results. These are not abstract concerns. They affect real children, real families, and real lives.

Home education gave us the space to step back and do things differently. It gave my son room to breathe. And within weeks, I saw a huge change in him. He was lighter, calmer, and happier. It felt as though a switch had been flicked. That change confirmed everything for me.

What home education has taught me

One of the most powerful things I have learned is that children often learn brilliantly when they are given time, trust, and freedom.

I remember being amazed by the books my son chose for himself after leaving school. They were far richer and more complex than the ones he had been given through reading bands. I realised I had underestimated him. Left to follow his own interests, he was reading confidently, making connections, and learning in ways that felt alive and meaningful.

That has happened again and again. A passing question can become an afternoon of learning. A sudden fascination with mythology, wildlife, space, or history can open up a whole new line of enquiry. Home education has reminded me that learning does not need to be forced to be real. Often, it is most powerful when it grows from genuine curiosity.

I do not believe there is one right way to home educate. Families do it in all sorts of ways. Some are child-led. Some are highly structured. Many, like us, sit somewhere in the middle and change over time. That flexibility is one of the strengths of home education.

In the UK, education is compulsory, but school is not. Families have the legal right to home educate, and they are not required to follow the National Curriculum. That freedom matters. It allows children to be supported as individuals, not simply processed through a system.

Why this website exists

The Home Ed Daily exists because I want families to feel less alone. I want them to find useful ideas, trusted resources, thoughtful articles, and a voice that speaks honestly about both the beauty and the challenges of home education.

I also want to push back against the lazy stereotypes and misinformation that still surround home education. Too often, public discussion reduces families to caricatures or assumes there is something suspect about choosing a different path. That needs challenging.

Home education is not one thing. It is not owned by one philosophy, one method, or one type of family. It is diverse, thoughtful, creative, and deeply rooted in relationship. For many of us, it is not an easy option. It is a deliberate one. This website is my contribution to that wider conversation.

So whether you are already home educating, thinking about deregistration, supporting someone who is, or simply curious, you are very welcome here.

I’m glad you found us.