Top Tips for Home Educators

Home education in the UK is on the rise and there are lots of different reasons why parents see home education as the best option for their child. Whether or not you’re new to home education, you’ll probably recognise working with young children brings a unique blend of fun, curiosity and challenge. Primary education — especially the early years — are also really important for laying strong foundations for a child’s education.

This post looks at some tips and resources that are perfect for home educators. Read on to find out more.

Planning

One of the biggest draws to home education is the freedom that it gives you to be flexible. Home educators are not tied to a timetable or curriculum so can shape their child’s learning around their interests, pace and personality.

In the early years, many home educators lean into play-based approaches as children tend to learn best when they’re having fun. Building with blocks, dressing up or exploring the garden can all develop key skills without it feeling like ‘work’.

A great way to plan is to start with what your child is curious about. Are they fascinated by space? Obsessed with dinosaurs? Love caring for pets or planting seeds? You can build whole projects around these, with some literacy, numeracy and science along the way.

For example:

• A space-themed project might include reading books about planets, making papier-mâché models and observing the night sky
• A gardening project could involve measuring plant growth, drawing flowers and constructing food chains for the plants and animals that live in the garden

A bit of prior planning helps make sure you’re covering a broad mix of activities. Including creative time (e.g. painting, crafting, storytelling) can balance out more structured learning and keep things fresh. To improve fitness and boost mental wellbeing, you could also plan in physical activities, everything from coming up with themed dance routines to going on nature walks.

Clear goals (academic or personal) are always a winner too. Checking in on these goals regularly will help you track progress and help children stay motivated — they’ll get that feel-good rush every time they tick off a goal.

Covering the curriculum

Whilst parents educating their children at home aren’t required to follow the national curriculum, there are some topics that most home educators still choose to teach — such as numeracy and literacy. These core subjects are often seen as essential for further education and life beyond education.

CGP+ resources cover the curriculum for a whole range of KS1 and KS2 topics and our curriculum maps for Maths, English and Science can help you pinpoint resources for every curriculum point on the national curriculum in England. On the website, you’ll also find plenty of Early Years resources on a range of topics, topic pack schemes for KS2 French and KS2 History (for children aged 7 to 11) and English resources adapted for pupils with SEN.

If you’d like to find out more about our SEN resources, this blog post has more details.
 

Learning resources

For children, every task is a chance to learn. Everyday activities provide good learning experiences — for example, cooking, wildlife gardening and even simple DIY all pick up on aspects of Science and D&T. If your child gets involved in any of these activities with you, you can always get them to practise their literacy by asking them to write about what they’ve done. There’s also often lots of maths involved in D&T projects (e.g. weighing out ingredients, measuring for woodwork).

Don’t forget field trips either — visiting museums, zoos and natural places in person can really inspire young learners and give real world learning opportunities. And if entry is free, that’s even better! Some places now offer special workshops for home educators, so it’s worth doing some research. Libraries are of course great places to visit and as well as hugely expanding the variety of books your child gets to enjoy, some offer other things such as coding clubs, author visits or local history workshops.

If you’re looking for worksheets or teaching PowerPoints, look no further than CGP+. There are also assessments if you’d like to check how your child is getting on with a topic and a whole range of colourful videos and interactive games to make learning fun. If you need some bits to brighten up a learning area or do some planning, try our classroom organisation resources (including some lovely colouring pages and certificates).

And it gets better — if you’re after something specific and can’t find it, you can always request a resource and we’ll see what we can do.
 

Socialisation and support

It’s always important for children to connect with peers, to build friendships, and develop all-important social skills.

Joining local or online homeschool groups can be a great way for both children and parents to meet others in similar situations. These communities often share helpful tips, resources, and offer friendly support. Forest school is also very popular nowadays — you can look online to search for a provider near you. There are loads of outdoor activities suitable for forest schooling on CGP+.

There are also plenty of classes and clubs — from sports and music to art and drama — that provide ways for children to interact with others. Even online classes can be a great way to connect.

Exploring these options can make a big difference in your child’s social development and your own home education journey.

Tailoring Your Approach

Every child learns differently — some take in information easily through reading or listening, while others take better to hands-on, practical activities.

One of the great advantages of home education is the flexibility to work out what works best for your child. If your child is finding a particular topic challenging, don’t be afraid to switch things up. There are plenty of different resources on CGP+ with creative approaches to help make learning click. You can choose resources and teaching methods that suit their individual learning style, making lessons more effective and enjoyable.

And remember to celebrate progress — big or small. Recognising successes helps build confidence and grows a lifelong love of learning.
 

Home educating isn’t always easy — but it can be incredibly rewarding. Some days will feel like a breeze, others might be a bit more of a juggle (and that’s totally normal!). The great thing is, you get to shape learning in a way that works for your family. Hopefully, these tips give you a bit of inspiration and reassurance as you go. You’ve got this!