About us
Broadleaf is a collaboration between experienced Home Ed parents and a team of wonderful, compassionate facilitators, who bring enthusiasm, knowledge and love to our community in the Forest.
We are passionate about collaborative working and have had the joy of running projects alongside Turner Sims Theatre, South Bank Centre, Countryside Education Trust, BBC Gardener’s World, Hampshire Music Service, University of Southampton and many more.
We believe education should be joyful, inspiring and whole-human, and community is a central part of this worldview. Broadleaf is our supportive community, offering care, friendship and information from experienced HE families.
Who we are
Home Education is a bespoke, private education
Home Education is a way of life, not just a radically different approach to education.
We are passionate educators, inspired by a broad variety of educational philosophies, and bring this richness of knowledge and experience to everything we do at Broadleaf.
We aim to inspire a love of learning, and a sense of wonder and curiosity in the world around us, through deepening connections and relationships as we explore.
We began as a home ed group in a village hall in 2010, running gentle, nurturing groups for children and their parents, a part of the welcoming, grass roots community which was the central core of home ed.
Over the years, Broadleaf has taken many forms, as it has grown to meet the changing needs of our own children and the HE community. We still base all our offerings on our neurodivergent-led, radically-accepting and consent-based foundations. Maintaining the traditional home ed ethos is central to what we do.
How we began
Research Collaboration
We are passionate about what we do, and about the success of our unique practice. We have been working with the University of Southampton for a number of years now, to validate our approach, with a particular focus on our offer for autistic teen girls, and the impact that attending Broadleaf has had on their - and their families - lives.
We are also proud to be Advisory Board members of ACoRNS Research Network and excited to be involved with a variety of projects with the team at the University of Southampton.
EOTAS/Alternative Provision
Alongside home ed families, we also work with local schools and LAs to provide Alternative Provision placements for children who are not currently accessing school, or those on reduced timetables.
We also have a number of young people using EOTAS packages to access Broadleaf. We specialise in supporting neurodivergent young people and those with EBSA.
