How To Find Homeschool Groups Near You (Quick & Easy!)

How To Find ‘Homeschool Groups Near Me’

Whether you have recently started home educating, or you have been homeschooling your child for a long time, it is essential that you are able to find groups of other home educators (without endlessly Googling ‘homeschool groups near me’!) Home education groups are essential for supporting families.

If you feel that you would benefit from 1-1 support with me as your home education coach, do get in touch at adventuretravelfamilyuk@gmail.com and I will let you know how I can help you. Until then, read on to find out how this article will help you.

This article will explain how to find UK homeschooling groups including academic, social, special interest groups for home educated children, and home education support groups for parents and carers.

Personally I have found it invaluable to have a strong support network of likeminded families and as a single mum to three children who has home educated for 10 years, I couldn’t be without them!

Over the past decade I have written many posts about essential areas of home educating that have helped families find their feet in their new homeschooling life. My most popular posts that may help you are:

• Can You Home Educate On Benefits/ A Low Income?
• The #1 Best Home Education Resource Company (in my opinion!)
• The 6 Types of Homeschool Curriculum & My Favourite Resources
• How Much Does It Cost To Homeschool (inc. exact monthly figures)
• How To Start Homeschooling: A Beginner’s Guide
• What Is Unschooling & Who Does It Work For?
• How Does Interest Based Learning / Unschooling Work?
• How Do Home Educated Children Take GCSEs/ A Levels?
• How Do Home Educated Children Socialise?
• How We Home Educate: A Typical Day In Our Life (3 kids, single working parent)
• How To Home Educate Children Of Multiple Ages

Homeschooling groups in the UK vary from online Facebook groups to structured classes and from regular meet-ups to casual friendship groups.

My biggest support in our homeschooling journey comes from other friends who are also home educating their own children and with whom we meet up regularly for play dates, and occasionally for (adults only!) drinks and dinner. 

These people are the ones who will actually understand from a first hand perspective what it is like to home educate. They understand the 24/7 commitment, the seemingly unending quest to keep the kids fed, the too-often scrutiny from strangers.

They can relate to the occasional overwhelm that you feel as you start to type “maybe school is the answer?” into a Whatsapp message. 

If you don’t live near other homeschoolers, the Facebook support groups for UK homeschoolers can be a lifesaver. At the tap of a few buttons you can get help, advice, support and empathy from thousands of other people going through a similar experience to you, and this is absolutely invaluable.

I consider some people I have met on these support groups to be genuine friends even though I have never met them; we share the same values and lifestyles and that bonds people whether they are in physically proximity or not. 

Aside from the “how on EARTH do you keep your houses tidy while homeschooling?” and the “anyone know any good YouTube channels for a space-lover?”, UK homeschooling support groups provide a safe and knowledgeable space.

A space where home educating parents can ask for help regarding more serious issues- whether that is regarding homeschooling law, relationship problems or mental health. 

Knowing that you can go and ask more experienced homeschoolers for help and support is, in my opinion, invaluable and the homeschooling support groups are an essential tool in any parent’s home education toolbox! Here are quick and easy ways to find different types of homeschool group in the UK:

How To Find UK Homeschooling Groups On Facebook

To find your local UK homeschooling support group, type in “homeschooling XYZ” or “home educating XYZ” into the Facebook search bar (where XYZ is your local area or county).

This will pull up groups with other home educators who live near to you, and reaching out to people in this group to ask about meet ups or seeing if anyone wants a play date, is a great way to start growing your homeschooling social circle and support network.

You will also be able to ask about local academic, arts, sports and social meet-ups within these Facebook groups- there will often be extra-curricular type clubs specifically for home educators.

National home educating groups are also invaluable, both for finding resources that other parents may be using and connecting with other homeschooling families. These are groups that I belong to or have been recommended to me by other home educating families:

Home Education UK. This is the largest UK home educators’ Facebook group with plenty of activity; questions about homeschooling styles, resources, law and more. 

Home Schooling UK. This is currently the second largest Facebook group for homeschoolers in the UK and within its files are excellent and long lists of local groups by district in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are also lists of groups for special interests such as crafting, cookery and photography, as well as links to groups for children with special education needs. 

Homeschooling UK is another group with over 5000 members where people post questions and recommendations for homeschool parents. 

In each of the above groups there may be files where you can find local home educating groups, or you can post in the groups themselves asking for local connections. This is also where you can ask for recommendations for tutors, clubs and classes for your home educated child.

Special Interest Groups and Clubs for Home Educators

If your child has a hobby or special interest, there are often home education clubs for children. Sometimes children can also join after-school clubs, for example sports programs or choirs.

As a first port of call, ask in your local Facebook home education group- the families in there will already know what is available and accessible for home educated children. If not, it’s time to take matters into your own hands.

Google a local club and ask if they run a home education club- if they don’t, set one up! Home educators usually have to put more effort in that parents of school children when it comes to finding social events and hobby clubs, as society is simply not set up for us- but that shouldn’t put us off trying.

I personally have found Outschool quite a nice way for my home educated children to do clubs and meet other children- this is all online but after the last few years people have got much more used to online socialising, so do consider this for your child.

London Homeschooling Groups

Obviously London, being the capital of the UK, has a vast number of homeschoolers and plenty of London homeschool support groups, both casual and academic. Groups for home educators in London include:

South East London Home Educators

West London Home Education Group 

London Home-Ed Pre-“Schoolers”

South Croydon Homeschoolers

Caterham Home Education group

How To Find UK Homeschooling Groups Close To You Without Facebook

If you’re not on Facebook I really recommend you join even for a short while to connect with other homeschooling families; it is simply the quickest and easiest way to find other home educators.

Once you have done that you can find nearby meet-ups and start getting to know people in real life, and support circles often naturally emerge from there- home educators tend to know other home educators, it’s a small(ish) world!

If you don’t want Facebook at all, check in your local area to see if there are libraries, museums or other attractions that host homeschool sessions (a local art shop in our area runs one, for example) and go along to them to meet other homeschoolers. 

Creating Your Own Homeschool Support Group

Just as important as meeting up with other home educators for day to day socialisation and activities, is carving out time when home educating parents can connect on an adult level and offer each other deeper emotional support.

Homeschooling obviously means that we are with our children most of the time, and having evenings when you can enjoy a meal and talk about careers, relationships, dreams and struggles is really very important for homeschooling parents just as it is for any parent. 

Our local group of homeschool parents regularly meets up for meals and getting into this habit is a really good and valuable idea. You could take turns meeting at each others’ homes every few weeks, or book a table for drinks or dinner.

However you do it, make the effort to connect with other home educating parents on a deeper level than just your child’s friend’s parent. There are very few people who fully understand what homeschooling is like so these relationships are priceless!

I hope this post has given you some ideas for finding UK homeschool support groups; the chances are that no matter what you are going through, someone else will be going through it too so sharing your highs and lows really is beneficial for everyone.