Ep 17: Leaving the School System: Why a Former Teacher Created a Forest School and Chose Home Education - with guest, Lewis Artwork

Honey should we homeschool?

Join us, Tom and Leah, UK based parents, on a deep dive into both the school and home education systems as we try and figure out which route is best for our children.We'll be exploring some of the most talked about challenges of both home and state funded education methods. Trying to take an objective view and using scientific research where possible. We will also be interviewing people from both sides of these drastically different worlds. Whether you're interested in potentially home schooling or just fascinated as to why people would, we look forward to sharing what we find with you.

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Honey should we homeschool?

Ep 17: Leaving the School System: Why a Former Teacher Created a Forest School and Chose Home Education - with guest, Lewis

July 14, 2025 • Tom and Leah • Season 1 • Episode 17

0:00 | 1:36:19

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Today we’re lucky enough to be joined by Lewis — a former teacher turned home-educating parent who now runs an alternative education space nestled among the trees.

Find Lewis on instagram - @theforestschoolpodcast
Check out the Forest School Podcast on Spotify

Note: I have added time stamps for the questions we asked but they’re not necessarily that helpful because, like all the best conversations, it branched off and flowed in many different ways!

Links Mentioned:

Revision Guides, Study Books & Study Guides | CGP Books

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Intro

How are you?!

How was your school experience when you were a kid?

What made you want to become a teacher and approach to teaching?

What age did you teach?

What were the best and worst bits of teaching?

Experience with Ofsted

Listener Question: What was it that made you realize you couldn’t make a change from the inside and that you needed to move away from the system and what was your most magical moment of incidental learning?

Do you think the local authorities involvement impacts how we feel pressure to teach numeracy and literacy and how important are they?!

How do we teach maths and literacy outdoors/do we need to?

Why did you decide to home educate your children?

How long have you been a forest school leader?

How many people run and attend the forest school?

Do your kids attend your forest school?

How do you approach your home education?

Why should we spend more time outdoors?

Sea vs forest

What is one outdoor activity you secretly dislike but pretend to enjoy?

Biotensegrity Tangent!

Is there anything kids can learn outside better than in a classroom?

Do you have a less hierarchical approach than in school?

How do you approach assessment or progress tracking in a forest school setting/How do you know they’re progressing well?

What are the best provisions to keep in your garden to promote learning?

If you could redesign the whole education system, what would it look like?

Do you have any tips or advice for families new to or in home education?

Leah

Co-host

Tom

Co-host