Articles

Free maths app for home education: Help test BrightWren

Help shape a new maths app for 7 to 11-year-olds It’s called BrightWren. It covers Years 3 to 6 and is now in free beta.

I'm Matthew, a dad and product designer with 15 years’ experience, and for the past few months I've been building a maths app with my son Albie as chief tester. It's called BrightWren, it covers Years 3 to 6, and it's now in a free beta. I'd love home educating families to try it and...

Full story

How to make art a regular part of home education when you don’t feel artistic

Simple ways to build drawing and creativity into your home education week

"I'm not arty!"

I've lost count of how many times I've heard those words from parents over the years. Usually followed by something like, "I can't even draw a stick figure!"

Before Artventure, I ran my first little business teaching children's art lessons. I loved watching children discover what they...

The Share Foundation offers free access to performing arts programme for home educated young people

The Share Foundation offers free performing arts places for home educated young people

Six free Stepping Forward places for home educated learners

Youth charity The Share Foundation is inviting home educating families to try its online performing arts programme, with free access available for the first home education network or up to six individual learners who get in touch.

Stepping Forward: Explore the Performing Arts is a flexible online series designed to introduce...

My home educated child is lonely: what can I do?

Home educated child lonely? How to help them make friends Understanding friendship struggles, social anxiety and loneliness in home educated children and teenagers

You can spend an extraordinary amount of time and petrol getting your child to home ed groups, clubs and activities, only to find yourself worrying that they still haven't made any proper friends. Perhaps they enjoy the activities...

How to reduce home education prep and save time

Spend less time preparing: simple ways to reduce home education prep

There is a quiet, sneaky myth in home education: the idea that the success of a learning day depends on how much time you spent prepping for it the night before.

Whether you follow a structured curriculum, let your child’s interests lead the way, or take a piecemeal approach like the rest of us, it is ridiculously...

Free Let’s Talk Safer Families webinars and resources for parents and carers

Free online safety webinars for parents and carers

Free online digital safety and family support sessions for home educating parents

Talking to children and teenagers about online safety, relationships, AI, exploitation and the things they encounter online can be difficult. It can be even harder when the risks seem to change every five minutes. Let’s Talk Safer Families is a free online programme designed to give parents and carers practical...

Art is more than creativity: why it matters in home education

Why art belongs in a whole education

Art education is most often “sold” as the best way of building creativity. I am not even attempting to go there, because I don't believe that is why art should be included in every child’s education or life. People, especially children, are naturally creative, unless we stop feeding them with impulses that challenge their minds, feed their souls and care...

Young people taking part in the first EngineerED Lab in Ashbourne with STEM Venturi founder Holly Da

Free engineering courses for home educated teens in Derbyshire

Fully funded EngineerED Labs for neurodivergent home educated young people

A new fully funded engineering programme is giving neurodivergent home educated young people in Derbyshire the chance to get hands-on with electronics, CAD, coding and product design.

STEM Venturi has launched its new EngineerED Labs programme following a further £15,000 of funding from the Sanjay Mortimer...

Home educated teenager with no motivation? What can help

What to do when your 13 to 16-year-old teen seems interested in everything except education, from gaming and screens to motivation, GCSE pressure and growing independence.

There is a particular kind of home education panic that seems to arrive somewhere in the teenage years. Your child used to have interests. They made things. Asked questions. Read books. Watched documentaries. Became briefly...

The cost of homeschooling in the UK in 2026

How much does home education cost in the UK? 2026 Guide

The real cost of homeschooling in the UK, from books, groups and days out to tutors, GCSE exams, travel and the income families may give up.

One of the first practical questions families ask about home education is also one of the hardest to answer properly: how much does it actually cost? You will find wildly different answers online. “Almost nothing.” “About £800 a year.” “Thousands.” All...

There is more than one route after 16 for home educated teenagers

What can home educated teenagers do after 16? UK guide

College, apprenticeships, qualifications and other routes. A practical guide to post-16 options for home educated teenagers in England, including college, A levels, vocational courses, apprenticeships, Functional Skills, work and continuing home education.

One of the worries that creeps in as home educated children become teenagers is what happens at 16.

When they are eight or nine,...