When something goes wrong This week, I have spent quite a lot of time talking to the police and CID while supporting somebody who was mugged at knifepoint for their clothes and shoes. That is frightening, and it is serious. I am sharing it with you via The Orchard Gate because something important came out as the police began taking witness statements and putting together what had happened. It became clear that one of the young men involved may not really have been happy about

11 September is Make Your Own Bed Day. It sounds like one of those slightly odd days that appears on the calendar and gives us something to smile about. However, at Orchard, it made us stop and think. Who actually makes your child's bed? And perhaps more importantly: why? It's not really about the bed We aren't particularly interested in perfectly tucked corners, matching cushions or whether the duvet is completely straight. We are interested in what happens when a child begi

Our Orchard Gate assembly — a moment to gather, reflect and wonder, wherever we learn. The Orchard Gate is our equivalent of a school assembly — a moment each week when we all come together, wherever we happen to learn. Every Friday, I’ll be posting a new Orchard Gate. It’s a chance to pause at the end of the week, look back at what we have achieved, celebrate the things that have gone well, think about the things that perhaps didn’t quite go to plan, and look ahead to what i

What a Changing Google Map Can Teach Us About Geography, Digital Life and the Way We See the World? If your child tells you this week that the United States is being renamed South Canada, don't rush to buy a new atlas. It is a joke. But like many good jokes, there is a real story behind it — and that story raises some surprisingly important questions about geography. So, who gets to name the world on the map? Who gets to name the world on the map? Last week, US President Dona

When children are small, it is very easy to concentrate on the next thing. Learning to read. Remembering number bonds. Writing a sentence that somebody else can actually read. Then suddenly they are twelve. Then fourteen. Then before we quite know how it happened, conversations begin to include college, apprenticeships, qualifications, jobs and what they might like to do with their lives. So what are we actually preparing our homeschooled children for? We are preparing them f

When families first start homeschooling, there can be a temptation to concentrate on the major three school subjects. English. Maths. Science. And those things matter enormously. A child needs to be able to read, communicate and use numbers confidently. They need enough scientific understanding to make sense of the world around them. But is that an education? Or is it just the beginning of one? Children need more than the three basic school subjects Imagine being able to read

It is relatively easy to see when a small child is making progress. One day they can't read a word and then suddenly they can. They count to ten, then twenty, then one hundred. Their first attempts at writing might need a little imagination to decipher and, before you know it, they are leaving you notes on the kitchen table. As children get older, progress can become much harder to spot. They are reading. They are writing. They are doing maths. So how do you know they are act

One of the worries parents often have about homeschooling is whether their child will spend too much time on their own. It is an understandable worry. After all, the word homeschooling rather suggests a child sitting at home. However, learning at home doesn't have to mean learning alone. In fact, some of the best homeschool learning happens when children have someone to talk to, someone to ask, someone to work alongside — and sometimes someone to disagree with. Meet your Stu

One of the strange things about starting homeschooling is that suddenly nobody is telling you what a school day should look like. There is no bell at 9 o'clock. Nobody says maths must last exactly an hour. You don't have to stop science because it is 11.15 and the timetable says it is time for English. That freedom is wonderful. It can also be slightly terrifying, so what should a good homeschool week actually look like? A good week needs some structure At Orchard, we don't b

Summer Fun with Games! Here is the last of our five summer games for this year's healthy August! Over the holidays, we’ve got five...