Having a vision never occurred to me when I first started home educating. I was just trying to get through the day, surviving, firefighting, doing what needed to be done. At first, that was enough. We had all been through so much. The transition out of school was messy, emotional, and uncertain. I was simply trying to keep everyone calm and safe. But as the months went by, I realised we were drifting. Every time something went wrong, every wobble or doubt sent me spinning. I

We live in a culture that tells us to trust the system but not ourselves. We’ve spent years being rewarded for following instructions, waiting for permission, and learning that the safest thing is to do what we’re told. So when we step outside that system, when we choose home education, we suddenly find ourselves standing in unfamiliar territory without the feedback or validation we’ve been trained to rely on. This isn’t about distrusting teachers or education itself. It’s ab

When we moved house, there was an outbuilding at the bottom of the garden. It was nothing special, just a rough space with potential, but the moment I saw it, I knew it was going to turn it into something special. For years I’d dreamed of running a creative centre that celebrates children, something big and impressive. I’d spent hours brainstorming and sketching ideas, but the vision never got much further than the page. I thought I needed a perfect building, funding, and a f

During lockdown I realised the real learning wasn’t happening on the screen but in the garden. This is what my children taught me about curiosity, courage, and what education really is.