Jo is a home-educating mother of three and co-founder of the Streams Learning Hub in Bristol. She is also an experienced mentor, offering one-off sessions and sustained accompaniment to parents on the home education journey. She took the plunge into the world of home education eight years ago, driven by her belief that school wasn’t allowing her children to flourish. Although she had read a little and met just one other home educator, Jo felt largely unprepared. She refers to it as like jumping out of a plane—terrifying at first, with constant wavering about whether to make the leap. But once done, she found it was exhilarating. Jo felt free, and maybe even a bit rebellious, which she secretly enjoyed. However, she discovered that during that free fall freedom, panic can hit with an overwhelming sense of there being no parachute and feeling very alone.

It took a year for Jo to find her wings and to realise she could fly. She slowly found friends and discovered the power of community in her home educating journey. She began co-creating learning opportunities with other families, and in this community saw her children re-discovering themselves and flourishing. Her personal journey into building ‘outside of school’ learning communities had begun.

Now, Jo is part of the core team at Streams Education, with the mission to encourage, equip, and connect home-educating families across the UK. In 2023 she co-founded the Streams Learning Hub; a co-learning space for teenagers in Bristol, with a mission to encourage, equip and connect young people giving them access to an ecosystem of real world opportunities and interest driven learning from a physical location embedded in a city wide network. 

As a mentor, Jo’s goal is to walk alongside parents who are either considering home education or who have already ‘jumped’ and are now experiencing that free-fall panic. She aims to help families grow in confidence as they navigate life outside the traditional school system. Jo acknowledges that she doesn’t have all the answers but has developed a skill for finding them. She knows who to connect with, how to build confidence in young people, and how to help parents discover they too have wings to fly.

Jo has had the privilege of supporting numerous families through their transition out of traditional schooling. She believes there is a rich life outside the conventional education system, where children can learn freely, driven by their passions. Jo reassures families that isolation and lack of socialisation need not be concerns. While there are challenging days, there are also days filled with deep connections, a vibrant community, and passion-led learning. She considers it a privilege to support families on this journey.

Read more about Jo here.