About us
We are a small group of dedicated home educating parents. Between us, we volunteer over 120 hours every week in order to create a space for our children and young people to access opportunities, friendship and community.
We invite other children, young people and parents to join us for the same exciting possibilities, encouraging them to become part of our welcoming community.
Who we are
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.
We began as a home ed group in a village hall in 2010, running gentle, nurturing groups for children and their parents.
The home ed community pre-Covid was very different from what exists today - we were a tiny minority group, where connections were strong and groups brought families together across vast geographic areas.
Everyone knew everyone, and we walked the complexities of educating outside of the mainstream together.
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 of skill-sharing is key to what we do.
