And it's official. Today you'll meet your new Home Education Matters host and hear about her plans for the future of the podcast.   Enjoy the episode and thank you all so much for listening for the past two years!

It's my final episode as your host (but not of the show!) and I recorded this interview with Karem way back in Spring but, as I was recording it, knew I wanted to sign out with this podcast, so have held it back all this time. It was a tour de force of patience!   Karem and I discuss the importance of raising politically and philosophically engaged children and how home education is the perfect environment for these subjects. We talk about the who, what, how, why and when of incorporating Politics and Philosophy, and then more widely about home education as an act of love, freedom and defiance.    It's a wonderful episode for me to end my time as your host and do stay listening out for next week's episode where I'll be introducing your new host and we'll share her vision for the future of the podcast!

I am joined by Emmy from Arctic Terns as we discover the opportunities around the world for home educated children. From six weeks in Bansko for the whole family to a month of teen independence in the Netherlands, Emmy guides us through worldschooling hubs and what they can offer your home educating family.

Join Caroline and I as we discuss the benefits, pitfalls and procedure for applying to a non UK university. We roam around the globe discussing university culture, options for time abroad and applications procedure, as well as the all important topic of financing!

What a fascinating podcast we have today as I am joined by Lisa and Sam, visual stress assessors, to guide us through this much neglected condition.    We look at what it is, what the symptoms might be and how to support your child (or yourself!) if you think they might have visual stress.    Enjoy the show and do share it around with anyone who you think might be experiencing this condition!   https://www.facebook.com/share/g/pL8KqHrs9UkjM2ep/?mibextid=K35XfP    https://www.visualstress.net/   https://www.facebook.com/ColourCalm.VS/

In today's podcast I chat with some parents whose children have moved on from home education and away from home. Home education can be a particularly immersive way of parenting (for good and for bad!) and it can be a difficult adjustment to move from that intensity and connection to a quieter home when the children leave for college or work.    In this podcast we discover the joys, losses and surprises of an empty nest and how we have made that transition.

It was great to have Cheryl on to talk us through the process of giving information when requested to the local authority, what most of us think of as 'writing the annual report' (which is a bit of a misnomer as will be revealed in the podcast!).   Cheryl guides us through: When and whether to respond The ways to respond What to include What not to put in Frequency Issues Communication And so much more!   Educational Freedom is a great website for getting some really solid information and support: https://educationalfreedom.org.uk/   And don't forget, whilst this podcast is a labour of love, there are running costs and any contributions are very gratefully received! buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation

Join Amy and I as we make our way through the home education rules and regulations, as they shift and change, in Wales.   We talk about: Deregistration Reports  Exams Additional Learning Needs Changing government legislation / statutory guidance It's a complicated and very quickly changing environment but involves changes that everyone in home education needs to be aware of, whether you're in Wales or not. A register brought into one area of the UK can very often have ripples that spread widely.   Check it out and do share around with any home ed bods.   Fancy supporting the podcast: buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation Or just sit back and enjoy the episode. No pressure!

Join Emma, busy home educating mum of 7, to discuss home educating in Scotland and how it differs from other parts of the UK.   Together, Emma and I discuss deregistration, LA checks and reports, as well as exams and home educating children with additional needs.    If you enjoy the show, do like and subscribe or leave a comment, wherever you are listening to us and share it around with any of your home ed friends.   I definitely don't do this podcast for the money ;) But you're always very welcome to support what I do by buying me a virtual cup of coffee! buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation    

Today's podcast looks at making that transition from home education to university and I am joined by Ossie, a recent graduate from Cambridge who pit stops with us before going on to do his Masters.    We talk about making that move from autonomous home education to the more structured university life, as well as talking about workloads, perception of home education and, of course, 'socialisation'!   This podcast is about giving something back to the home ed community. But you're always very welcome to support what I do by buying me a virtual cup of coffee! buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation

Fancy a maths GCSE that you can split into parts and retake at your leisure? Yeah, me too!    In this podcast, we talk about the new modular maths exam at GCSE level and discuss its benefits and disadvantages, as well as what to expect and how to book onto it.   Next week's podcast is a look at the university experience from a home educated person's perspective so stay tuned for that.   Don't forget that this podcast is brought to you with love and lots of cups of tea! If you'd like to keep me supplied in Rooibos while I chat to our guests, you can now buy me a cup at: buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation

For our last episode in our mini series "School's Out", I talk to Vicky about her daughter's experience of bullying at school. It's a shocking but ultimately hopeful episode as we learn about their journey from school trauma to the amazing restorative power of home education.   Next week, we'll be back to our usual mixture of episodes starting with a podcast on the new modular maths exam. Intrigued? Stay tuned for next Sunday's show!   This podcast is a labour of love but if you would like to support the show to continue broadcasting the wonders of home education, you can now Buy Me a Coffee here:  https://buymeacoffee.com/homeeducation

Today's episode is a personal story from Martine who shares her experience of witnessing her son's traumatic school journey and then embarking on the healing journey of home education.   Martine's story is both shocking and emotional, and yet from it her and her family have repaired themselves and come out the other side stronger and wiser.   * This episode contains some distressing descriptions and therefore if you or your child have experienced school based trauma, you may find this a difficult episode *

Today I am joined by Dr Robyn Koslowitz, expert in trauma and author of upcoming book on Post Traumatic Parenting.    In this insightful episode we will talk about how school can cause trauma and the ways in which home education can uniquely heal those wounds. Robyn also guides us in how to differentiate trauma from the usual childhood ups and downs, and gives her advice on healing those trauma wounds in our children.    Often, the act of removing your child from the mainstream education system and having witnessed their distress can have an extremely traumatic effect on us as parents and so Robyn has some great advice for how we can go about healing our own parental trauma.   It was great to have Robyn on the show and next week, as part of our 'School's Out' series, we will have an interview with a parent for whom school was hugely traumatic both for them and their child, so watch out for next week's episode.   And for those interested in the episode mentioned on the podcast on supporting your anxious child and how the school system is uniquely manufactured to create anxiety, here is the link to the episode with Dr Naomi Fisher from last year: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-w2tkg-14253c5   This podcast is a labour of love but if you would like to support the show to continue broadcasting the wonders of home education, you can now Buy Me a Coffee here: buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation

Welcome to our summer series - School's Out! Where we'll be shining a lot on some of the issues within the education system which has led many of us to opt out.   Whether it was an ideological choice, a responsive choice to school or even an imposed decision due to your school situation, we've all come to this because we feel this is a preferable route.    In this podcast, Helen gives us her honest perspective on school and home education. This episode, from a self-titled 'homeschool slacker' has everything, running the gamut from prison yards to unwanted erections. It's a no holds barred look at Helen's encounters with education, both at home and at school.   And next week, we'll start exposing stories of negative school experiences and allowing individual traumatised children to have their stories told.   And yes, it's not all schools and all teachers and all children. But it's enough of them to make it worth passing comment, and a home education podcast feels the perfect place to showcase these stories. We're opting out and speaking up.   If you'd like to support the podcast, we now have a Buy Me a Coffee page to do exactly that https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation No obligation and we love having you with us every episode, coffee or no coffee, but lubricating the vocal chords is also very much appreciated!

Join Ash and I for the last episode following her journey into home education. And this month we look back at July but also take a wider look at the things she has learnt, the rewards and challenges of the last year, plus what she's looking forward to in the future.   I know we've all loved the monthly chats with Ash and it's been such a joy to follow her and Ismael's journey this year through a process that ultimately was a restorative and healing one for the whole family.   And who knows maybe this is just au revoir rather than goodbye ...

Home educating through exams can be difficult to navigate so, in this podcast, Julie Barker from Faregos guides us through the procedure for access arrangements.   We cover what they are, how to get them, what they're not, top tips and advice and much more.    Check it out and share around with any fellow home educators who may be wanting access arrangements for their exams!

Today we talk through the nuts and bolts of the exam process with Paul Turner from the very popular exam centre 3A Tutors in Bristol.    It's a long one so skip to the bits that are relevant to you or settle down for everything you ever wanted to know about exams as a home educator!   TIMINGS - 5:45 Exam sittings 11:30 Registering for exams 13:00 Fees 14:15 Access Arrangements 24:15 How the process works 25:45 Exam entry codes and booking exams 31:30 Timings of exams and what to do if you’re late 34:30 Exam subjects and IGCSES vs GCSES 40:30 Oral exams and MFL subjects 43:15 AS levels and modular GCSEs 47:30 On screen and online exams 51:15 Practicals for exams 56:15 Coursework 59:15 Exam rules 1:10:30 Special Consideration 1:16:45 Cancelling exams 1:19:00 Grade boundaries 1:22:30 Results and Certificates 1:25:20 Appealing grade results / Review of marking 1:29:30 Post exams 1:30:45 Resits   And keep an eye out for our Access Arrangements deep dive coming up next week ...

Today's podcast dives into the world of online learning. Myself and the fabulous Mary Middlebrook discuss: How to get the best out of online resources Where to find top quality online education What to look for and what to avoid Creating a pick and mix global online education to support self study And much much more. Enjoy the podcast! And don't forget that if you'd like to support the work we do to bring these episodes to you every week, you're now able to donate to the show and help to keep us free and airing into your homes every week: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation

When you home educate you get used to people saying "oh I could never do that, we'd all get on each other's nerves so much". So today we will be discussing conflict and how to handle it if you home educate (and if you don't!).   Sven Lauch guides us through his 4 step approach and explains why conflict need not always be avoided but instead can be used to further healthy communication and connection.   [This podcast is very much a labour of love, but it's also both a costly and time consuming process ... if you'd like to Buy Me a Coffee - no obligation at all! - you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HomeEducation]