Unschooled (the story of a home educating mother)

Unschooled is the story of one mother, who had no choice but to educate her daughters at home. Like so many families with children who don’t fit into mainstream schools, her daughters had become marginalised by an education system that is chronically underfunded. And unable to support special educational needs.

You have the legal right to educate your child at home. Order information from your local council. For outdoor classrooms, read our posts on pet-friendly gardens and wildlife-friendly gardens.

While still a school teacher, Caro had no alternative but to leave her job and take on a different role at home, as full-time educator and advocate for her wonderful girls. It was the obvious thing to do, because it was the only choice they had.

This is a searing memoir about the love and true grit, of a family forging its own path. With lyrical prose and unflinching honesty, Caro chronicles the relentless bureaucracy and isolation of being a single mother navigating a system that refuses to see her children.

Through her own story, Caro interrogates a society that nurtures conformity rather than difference, and a culture that continues to place the burden of childcare on mothers.

Being unschooled has become an ongoing act of resistance and a political statement, one that demands a more inclusive, compassionate education system that recognises and supports every child’s unique needs.

Caro Giles is a writer who won the BBC’s Countryfile New Writer Award.