When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower – Alexander Den Heijer
So often, families come to home education after watching their child struggle to thrive in school. They’re told their child is behind, too distracted, too sensitive, too slow, too much. But what if the problem isn’t the child?
Oscar Wilde wrote, “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.”
Many of us come to home education through a quiet act of disobedience. We’ve said no to a system that doesn’t serve our children. We’ve stepped off the expected path - not out of...
Learning doesn’t follow a straight line What I used to think learning should look like: Workbooks. Steady progress. Timetabled ‘learning’. Educational apps. A clear beginning, middle, and end. What does it actually look like? Messy bursts of curiosity. Half-finished projects. Sudden leaps after long lulls. Ideas that spark, fade, and sometimes return months later - or not at all.
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.
Do you worry about socialisation? Home educated children thrive through hands-on experiences and mixed-age friendships - learning together, not just side by side.
But how do they socialise?
It’s one of the most common questions we get - and one of the most frustrating myths about home education: that our children must be lonely or isolated. It usually comes from a kind place (...
Why UK home educators are losing trust in their local authorities – 2024 report findings
A major report from Educational Freedom published last September, exposed how many UK home-educating families are being let down, misrepresented, or actively harmed by their local authorities (LAs). Drawing on 818 survey responses, Freedom of Information requests, and nearly two decades of...
Actions to take against the Children's Wellbeing & Schools Bill
I know many families don’t have the time or capacity to get heavily involved in the protests - but signing and sharing a petition takes just a couple of minutes, and it does make a difference.
Our voices must be heard. We need to make it harder for the government to ignore us, and easier for them to be held...
How to customise ChatGPT for your home education style
Using the “ Customise ChatGPT ” settings can make a real difference to how useful and relevant the responses are. For home ed parents, this means support that better reflects your values, your child, and the way learning actually happens in your home. Taking a few minutes to personalise the settings helps ChatGPT understand your...
How LLMs like ChatGPT can transform learning at home
Artificial intelligence is quietly becoming a helpful tool for home ed families. Used with care, it can support learning in ways that feel personal, flexible, and rooted in real life. AI can help you reflect on what your child is already doing, build on their interests, and make sense of learning as it happens. You do not need to be a tech...
Home educating as a neurodivergent adult comes with its own challenges, and overthinking it spirals...
I frequently worry that I’m not doing enough with my demand-avoidant youngest son. Or I have a ton of great learning ideas, but can't focus on one to actually do.
My mind jumps between random, hyper-focused rabbit holes—yesterday’s included mantis shrimps, growing lavender, and...
