The HEFA Podcast - The Heart Of Home Education (HEFA)

This week on the podcast I'm joined by the wonderful Lulu, a home ed mum from the South of England who is celebrating her 1 year anniversary TODAY of deregistering and starting the wonderful journey of home education with her youngest child! This week's episode has no minor or major swears so is fine to listen to around all children.

This week we explore the world of local authority contact. What can be asked of you, what can you refuse, and how should the LA behave?..These and more are answered in this week's podcast! Thanks to my guests this week, Rebecca, Sam and Nikki for sharing their thoughts and experiences! 

We are super excited to have the excellent Dr Naomi Fisher on the podcast for our end-of-season finale! Naomi joined me for a ramble all about home education. A few key points in this week's podcast - Naomi chats about her home ed journey, SEN and mental health, deschooling and recovery, the current school system and exams, and of course chats all about her new book 'A different way to learn - Neurodiversity and self-directed education' (being released on 21st June) Grab a cuppa, its a corker!

Dr Naomi Fisher is an independent clinical psychologist and EMDR consultant. She specialises in trauma, autism and alternative approaches to education. She works with children, adolescents and adults. She is the author of ‘Changing our Minds: How Children Can Take Control of their Own Learning’ (Robinson, 2021) and ‘A Different Way to Learn: Neurodiversity and Self-Directed Education’ to be published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in 2023. You can find Naomi here - https://www.naomifisher.co.uk/

What happens when the chattiest admin of HEFA crashes the podcast to interview the 2nd chattiest admin? This episode! This week Issy stole the mic and interviewed me! Join us as I probably rabble a whole tonne of semi-relevant chatter while Issy enjoys making me sweat under the interrogation lamp! I genuinely can't recall any swears, but, this is us so assume there are. 

This week I'm chatting to Graeme! Graeme is a home ed single dad from the West Midlands with some wonderful thoughtful experiences to share!

In this week's episode, I'm joined by my long-suffering husband as we chat about reluctance around home ed from both our perspectives- mine as the main educator and him as the outside of the house, worker. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by the wonderful Rachel from the East Midlands to discuss all things home ed and PDA. It is definitely a must-listen episode for many in our community!

This week I am joined by the lovely Craig, a part time working, home ed parent in England! Craig shares their wonderful wisdom and insights of their family choosing home ed as their first choice!

This week I am joined by the lovely Adam from Manchester who joins me to chat about home ed and how that works for his family. Adam chats more about what led to him changing employment and shares his top tips for other home ed dads out there!

New to home education? Have a listen to our September panic episode with ours top tips, do's and don'ts!

This week, I am interviewing Fred, a home-educating parent in England, about their experience with unschooling their three children, two of whom are teenagers. We discuss the reasons for choosing home ed, the challenges faced, and the different educational approaches.

Takeaways

• Unschooling can be a viable option for children who are not thriving in traditional school settings.

• Flexibility and individualised learning are key components of successful home ed.

• Community support and connections with other families can provide valuable resources and social opportunities.

• Societal expectations and pressure can negatively impact unschooling families, but it's important to prioritise the child's well-being and individual needs.

• Advocating for accommodations and support in higher education settings is possible for home ed children. Trust and believe in your children's abilities and give them the autonomy to direct their own learning.

• Provide support and resources, but allow your children to make mistakes and problem-solve on their own too.

• Find a supportive community of home edders who understand and share your approach.

• Recognise the developmental changes and challenges that teenagers go through and adjust your approach accordingly.

• Embrace the ups and downs of unschooling and appreciate the unique learning opportunities it provides.

This week on the podcast I have 4 wonderful guests who share their experiences of finding their groove as home educators! We have Jessica a structured home educator, Kate and Lana, Semi-structured home edders and Heidi, an unschooler. Join me as we chat about what their style of home ed means to them and how that looks in practice! 

This week I am joined by the wonderful George, a parent, carer and home educator in the south of England. George is a step father of a home educated child and offers super insight into this element of home ed parenting!

This week on the podcast we are talking home ed as a first choice, GCSEs and more with our wonderful Sarah, who despite no longer home educating, is still well and truly in the community with her help at a local home ed tutoring and exams centre! There are no swears in this podcast :)

It's our final episode of the season and so I thought it would be a great idea to hold a festive special...Do a group podcast they said, it'll be fun they said! Well, as you can imagine carnage ensued and I was officially broken by our admin team. Join us for fun, silliness and the case of the phantom fart...Listen intently from 20 minutes in, for clues! We will see you in the new year with a new season!   P.s. I gave up trying to count the swears- This episode is not for children's ears.

Welcome to series 3 of the HEFA podcast and this series, I need your help. What would you like this series to focus on? Please do leave either a comment or voice note to assist me in where you would like us to focus this time! Send a voice message to my podcast, HEFA- The Heart Of Home Education: https://anchor.fm/hefa/message

This week I'm joined by Claire, one of our admins and a home-ed mum to 3 younglings, to chat about what home-ed can look like in the early years! Spoiler, it involves a lot of play! 

This week, I talk to Mel as she shares her experience of home educating her 13-year-old daughter. *please note there is mention of self harm in this episode* Mel explains that her daughter had always struggled with school, particularly with social anxiety and the rigidity of the school environment. After a series of seizures and a decline in her mental health, Mel decided to home educate. Join us as we discuss how they started with a structured approach but eventually transitioned to a more relaxed style and her daughter's interests in history, art, and psychology. Mel discusses how home ed has had a positive impact on her daughter's mental health and overall well-being, and we explore the flexibility and benefits of home ed, particularly for teenagers who have experienced trauma.

This week I am joined by Megan who shares her experience of home educating different ages. Megan decided to home ed because her children were unhappy in their school settings and she noticed that each child had different needs and learning styles she felt could be better met at home. She follows a child-led approach and advises families considering home ed to take the leap and embrace the chaos, as it can make a huge difference to the family!

In this week's episode, we discuss various topics related to home education as we answer questions from listeners!

We have a range of questions this week from changing a child's behaviour regarding social interactions, tackling math when the parent is not good at it, to dealing with concerned family members.

Takeaways

• Respect a child's boundaries and allow them to interact in their own way, as long as they are not being dangerous or intentionally rude.

• Model the behaviour you want to see and offer choices to encourage social interactions.

• Focus on numeracy rather than traditional maths, and make it relevant to everyday life.

• Address concerns from family members by asking specific questions and responding confidently.

• Remember that home ed allows for personalised learning and the development of essential skills beyond academic subjects. Be confident in your choice to home ed and don't feel the need to justify yourself to others

• Find a community of like-minded home edders for support and connection

• Avoid comparing yourself to other families and focus on what works best for your child

• Adjust your approach to accommodate your child's special educational needs

• Prioritise your child's mental and physical health in your home ed journey

00:00 Introduction

02:45 Navigating Social Interactions in Home ed

30:08 Dealing with Concerned Family Members

38:53 Navigating Family Concerns and Building Confidence

40:55 The Value of Finding a Home ed Community

51:50 Overcoming Guilt and Comparison in Home ed

57:20 Home Edding a Child with Special Educational Needs

01:01:59 Prioritising Mental and Physical Health

Join me for a bonus episode as I ramble about the summer holidays and how that can look as home educators.

Join me this week as I chat with Louise, who has been home-educating for just 6 months. My word does she have a lot of top tips and wisdom to share about these first few months of home education! No major swears that I can recall for this episode. 

This week we are chatting to the infamous Frilly Nikki, a home educator from the Sussex area! Many of you will know Nikki's straight talking style from the HEFA group and this episode is no different! There are no minor or major swears in this episode and so it is safe to listen to around children.

This week I'm talking about how to deal with friends and family and their opinions, worries and fear about your decision to home educate.

This week we are tackling the queen of questions regarding home ed- Socialisation! Are home-ed children isolated and given fewer opportunities to socialise? Join me as I chat with two lovely parents, Katy and Diane about exactly that! 

A quick trailer of what to expect on the new HEFA podcast

In this week's episode, we enjoy our first question time with my new co-hosts, Craig and Cheryl!

We discuss how to gauge a child's learning and progress, explore setting boundaries in the first few months of home education, the experience of being an admin on a home education group, how to avoid imposing beliefs on children, starting the home education journey and more!

00:00 Introduction and New Format

02:33 How to gauge how much your child is learning and progressing

16:28 Setting boundaries in the first few months of home education

30:57 The Parent's Perspective

32:43 The Experience of Being an Admin on a Home Education Group

37:03 Avoiding Imposing Beliefs on Children

48:57 Starting the Home Education Journey

54:52 The Philosophy of Home Education If you are looking for a transcript of the podcast, these can now be found in the HEFA group guides under this week's podcast.

This week on Home Ed 101 we are diving into the EHE Guidelines. What are they? How can I understand them? No, really...Why are they written so I CAN'T understand them? Why are they important? Join me with my lovely guest, long-term Home Edder Katherine, as we have a rant and a ramble around the ever-confusing world of guidelines for home education. 

This week I'm joined by the wonderful Natalie from Cambridgeshire discussing how she came to home ed and managing home education with a feral toddler in tow! Just one minor swear in this episode so safe to listen to for all ears.

Welcome to the first-ever HEFA podcast! In our first episode, I'm chatting to the owners and founders of HEFA, Paula and Pip! We talk about all things HEFA, how Paula and Pip found home education, their styles, and more! The podcast is generally suitable to listen around younger ears, however, there are 2 uses of a major swear and a few minor swears. 

In this bonus episode Elen chats about those first few weeks of home ed. She discusses the process of Deregistration for England and Wales Mainstream school and what to expect, as well as all the emotions and feelings you will likely experience in those first few weeks too! A must listen, for those considering home ed and new to home ed!

Join Craigy, Cheryl and Elen as we have another round of answering questions from the HEFA community!

This week we discuss surviving the summer holidays, dealing with judgement from others, teaching subjects we arent comfortable with, core subjects and much more!

Join me this week as I chat about friendships in Home Ed.

Welcome to another week of Home Ed 101! This week I'm joined by the wonderful Katie who is quite the fountain of knowledge when it comes to GCSEs and all things exams as a home educator. Join Katie and I for a relaxed chat about her experience of GCSEs with her four children. 

For more on exams head to the exams Wiki https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/HE_Exams_Wiki

Katie in her wisdom also wrote an amazing Guide to taking GCSEs - sort of a step-by-step version of the Wiki above. You can check that out on the link below and its FREE! But do please consider donating to Katie's hosting costs if you are able. - https://learnwhatyoulive.com/product/the-home-educators-gcse-survival-guide/

This week, I'm on a ramble all about that ever contentious issue...screentime! What do we mean by screentime? Should there be rules around it or not? Join me as I share my thoughts around this area of home ed and how I've unpicked my own thoughts around technology.

This week, I'm joined by Lana to chat about home edding when we have disabilities and chronic health conditions. Listen out for our special surprise guest, Lochie, Lana's snoring Frenchie!

This week, I am joined by Natalia, a home edder living in Scotland to talk about how we can approach education when we dont feel our child is able to engage in learning. We chat all about the difficulties involved in home edding when there is neurodivergence, PDA, trauma and more.

This week Elen, Cheryl and Craigy answer more questions from our HEFA members.

00:00 Introduction and Lego Version of Craig

02:44 Taking Time Out for Yourself When Children Are Around 24/7

13:44 Involving Children in Activities While Having Personal Time

20:26 The Role of Exposure, Motivation, and Play

26:48 The Benefits of Handwriting and Cursive Writing

31:38 Seeking Support for Struggling Readers and Writers

39:28 Understanding Homeschooling Education Standards

44:56 Navigating the Dynamics Between Home Educators and Local Authorities

45:26 Asserting Your Rights as a Home Educator

53:05 The Importance of Community Support in Home Education

01:09 Education Starts from Birth: Debunking the Ideal Age Myth

For this season we are focusing on home-ed dads! Join me as I chat with Luke, a home-ed dad who shares his excellent perspective and thoughts on what it is like to go from a reluctant home-edder to a strong advocate of home ed, who won't be sending his youngest child to school!

Welcome back and happy new year! For this new season, we will be sharing all the joy from our guides in HEFA, with guest appearances from our members, home educators just like you! This week I'm joined by Chelsie, Christina and Mandy- 3 parents who share their experiences of deregistering from school. We talk about how deregistration works. how it should work, the difficulties that can sometimes happen when registering with an EHCP and deregistering from a special school too. 

This week we are back with more of your questions! Join us as we discuss child-led learning and the challenges of adapting to a child-led approach, the importance of understanding education as a continuous process, concerns of one parent regarding their child's education and the pursuit of specific career paths such as becoming a vet, the challenges and strategies for imaginative play in children, as well as the topic of socialisation for home-educated children and more!

Takeaways

• Understanding education as a continuous and holistic process
• Balancing structured learning with child-led exploration
• The importance of adapting to a child-led approach
• Exploring career paths and educational choices for children
• The role of play and silliness in child development.
• Parents can support imaginative play by asking children to teach them and engaging in child-led play.
• Socialistion for home-educated children can involve informal meetups, community activities, and everyday interactions.
• Parental involvement and support are crucial for facilitating socialisation and providing opportunities for children to interact with others.
• Understanding the child's preferences and comfort level with socialisation is important, and parents should be open to communication and feedback from their children.

Grab your earphones for this one friend, as this week I'm chatting with our very excellent Issy Speller! Issy is a home ed mum, and social worker of 25 years and is no stranger to the odd rant. So, if you've been feeling disempowered recently this episode is a must-listen. Contains several major and minor swears so do listen responsibly however that looks for your family.