It’s been a while since we blogged about home education and the provision that we run for this community, and with the Children’s Welfare & Schools Bill bringing some potential challenges to home educating families to the fore, we thought it was time to have a ponder about our experiences of working with home educated children over the last 12 years.
The headline here is that it’s been an absolute joy and a privilege.
We’ve been running full day, regular Home Education groups for over a decade and they have been part of the foundation of everything we do and everything we stand for. Some of these kids are being home educated because they had a really tough time in school, some of them are being home educated because their parents wanted to take a different educational approach to that which mainstream education offers, some of them have been travelling, suffered bereavements or are being home educated for a whole host of other reasons.
Whatever the reason, we welcome them into the woods with no pre-conceptions or judgements. We make no assumption about the child who is joining us, we meet them where they are and go from there. And watching where they go and the journey they take is simply fantastic!
Because of the regular nature of this weekly provision, over time (and often much sooner than you’d think!) we watch communities form as our attendees make friends, learn to work together as a group, navigate conflicts together and often embark on amazing long-term projects together. We see the beauty of mixed age groups as older kids often adopt a level of responsibility when it comes to the younger ones, helping and guiding them with a whole host of different Forest School activities. We see peer-to-peer learning as someone who is particularly adept at one particular thing shares their skills with the rest of the group. We see unlikely friendships form as they are free to interact without the segregation of classes that you sometimes get in a school setting.
Learner-led education is an important part of what we do and that’s why we introduced the concept of appointing a ‘junior forest school leader’ a long time ago. The kids take it in turns to choose what the activities might be and are an active voice in planning when our leaders are deciding what they might do over the coming weeks. Over the years we’ve seen this being manifested in so many different ways; from Dungeons & Dragons games in the woods to conservation projects, from writing and performing plays as a whole group to some delicious and very complicated campfire feasts, from nature walks to some incredible woodwork creations. When we let our attendees take ownership of what they’re doing, some awesome things happen!
But the best part? It’s watching the growth and development of the young people we work with as they attend over months and often, years. On countless occasions, we’ve had to take a moment to take stock and acknowledge the process our learners have made and at times, it can be a little emotional. Sometimes it’s a painfully shy child growing in confidence and finding their voice, sometimes it’s someone who struggled to compromise and work in a team becoming able to compromise and collaborate, sometimes it’s someone who felt a bit directionless discovering their passion and purpose. Whatever the situation, it’s such a privilege to be part of their journey and community.
As you can tell, we love our work with home educated children and we’re so glad to be an active part of their community here in Devon. Home education works, for thousands of children around the country, and we’re proud to stand alongside them and be part of their lives.
Author: Hannah Durdin, Content Officer & Forest School Leader
Date: Wednesday 5th February 2025
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