How home-educated teens can move from interest-led learning to IGCSEs or GCSEs
For years, learning may have felt quite natural.
Your child became fascinated by a subject and followed it as far as they wanted. A question about volcanoes turned into Geography, Science and documentary watching. An interest in Greek myths led to reading, writing and History. Maths appeared in baking,...
Taking home education to sea with Morning Star Trust
Have you ever thought about taking home education to sea?
For many young people, sailing offers something that is hard to recreate on land: real responsibility, practical learning, teamwork, problem-solving, and the chance to see the world from a completely different perspective.
How to help children fall in love with reading. The power of reading aloud.
Learning to read is hard, and none of us like doing things that are hard without good reason. So, if children don’t see the point in learning to read, they will be very reluctant to do the hard work involved in being able to decode the jumble of letters on a page.
Financial education for children: why money lessons need to start early
I was in my late twenties before I understood what an overdraft actually cost me.
Not in a vague "it's bad to be overdrawn" way. But actually understood it: the daily charges, the interest, the way it quietly erodes your account while you're busy just trying to get through the month.
How home educating families can make better use of the garden
When people picture home education, they tend to picture a table. A mother, a child, a textbook, a kitchen. Maybe a shelf of workbooks in the background. The image has stuck for years, and it misses most of what actually happens in a home ed family's week.
The garden is part of the curriculum. Whether you call it that or...
If your phone is anything like most home-educating families’, it’s full of photos that tell the story of your child’s learning. The nature walk where they identified six different birds. The papier-mâché volcano that actually erupted. In the afternoon, they sat reading for two hours straight and didn’t notice the time. All of it, sitting in a camera roll that nobody scrolls back through....
When I first began working with home-educating families, I was struck by how many parents described the decision as both daunting and deeply necessary. For those raising neurodiverse children, the choice often stems from a desire to prioritise wellbeing—after witnessing their child struggle with anxiety, overwhelm, or a lack of understanding in school settings.
For generations, parents in the UK have had the fundamental right to raise and educate their children in a way that aligns with their values, beliefs, and unique needs. However, this basic right is now under threat like never before. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (CWSB) represents the most significant government intrusion into family life and education since the 1870 Education Act...
Starting your home education journey can feel like stepping into an exciting, but uncharted, territory. The idea of teaching your kids at home brings up a mix of emotions: anticipation, excitement, and perhaps a bit of nervousness. But trust me, you’re not alone, and with the right approach, home education can be an incredibly rewarding experience. If you’ve decided to embark on this...
Written by and published with the permission of Poppy Coles .
I can’t imagine a life in which home education didn’t play a major part. Since 2012 my life has been inextricably linked with the home educating community; from beginning my own home-ed journey at the age of 13, to now supporting the community with educational resources and opportunities alongside my Mum. The decision my...
