Work from home but go to the office party. That’s a real thing that was said by the leader of the country this evening. Merry Christmas.

a loophole

clearly something happened or it didn’t

Hi Russell Brand We are coming to see you in Portsmouth tonight. What time are you on? I wrote down 5pm. Guildhall website says 5.30pm. Ticket master says 5.45pm. Very confused. Help! Don't want to miss a minute of you..

New motherhood is being asked to do a job you’ve never done before on less sleep than you’ve ever had before in a bleeding body recovering from a nine month marathon whilst everybody informs you how you must enjoy every single minute of these happiest days of your life

Every day I talk to home educating parents who live in fear of being told they must send their children to school. They think that professionals they meet won't understand them & will find them lacking. Here's what every professional should know about home education. 1/

Many (perhaps most) home educated children have some sort of special educational need or disability. This is because many parents start home education when it's clear that their child won't thrive at school. These needs can be managed very differently at home. 2/

Home educated children learn in a different way to schooled children, and their developmental trajectory will look different. They will often play for longer, and can learn to read at a wide range of ages. You cannot directly compare them with schooled children. 3/

Many home educated children have experienced trauma, either at school or elsewhere. A trauma-informed approach means starting with relationships & emotional security rather than 'learning'. This 'deschooling' period can go on for a while, but is essential for future learning.4/

Home educated children develop socially in a different way to schooled children. They spend more time in their families and they tend to spend time in age-mixed groups.A group of 30 age-matched peers is only a thing because of school, it's not an ideal. 5/

There is no evidence at all that home educating parents are more likely to be abusive than schooling parents. The tragic high profile cases of children who died whilst out of school were schooled children whose parents stopped sending them towards the end of their lives. 6/

Home educating parents often choose not to assess their children or compare them with others. This includes diagnostic assessments if they are not necessary or wanted. For home ed children, a lack of dx or report doesn't mean you can conclude no SEND or neurodiversity. 7/

Some home educating parents feel forced into it by being let down by school, others have chosen it from the start - there are many routes into home education. Some families have children who go into school for a while and then come out again. 8/

Home education is typically individualised and interest-led, which means that when children decide to learn things, they learn very efficiently. This is why you can't compare progress with school. They may play for years and then do 8 years of maths in 6 months.9/

Ultimately home education is a fascinating insight into how different education could be, and how children learn when they aren't forced. If you are lucky enough to work with a home educating family, go in with no assumptions and you'll learn loads. Prepare to be challenged.10/

So it’s official! Today I got formally elected as Southampton’s new Council Leader! Myself and the Labour Team are excited, committed and raring to go… 🌹

Schools Bill is a direct attack on home schooling families: mandatory registration, increase in fines & imprisonment when it comes to school attendance. It fails to tackle the root cause which forces many families to Home Ed who'd rather not: Improve provision for SEND children!

Home educators are not the problem and the evidence backs this up. A register is unwanted, unneeded and an insult to caring parents who are achieving more with their children than the system ever could. James Fletcher #homeeducation