ABOUT

Hey, I’m Issy.

Also known as Stark Raving Dad, and a home educating dad of four.

I write and make podcasts for parents raising their children without school. Ten years ago my family left the school system, and I’ve been working out (out loud) what that means ever since.

Get the weekly letter

Listen to the podcast →

Issy, smiling with his arms folded, outdoors

A child walking away down a garden path between tall hedges

HOW THIS STARTED

I wrote it down to get through it

Ten years ago we took our children out of a public school system that was, and there’s no other way to say it, failing them. While it was happening, I wrote down what I was thinking and feeling as we went.

Those words travelled much further than I ever imagined. Hundreds of parents wrote to tell me they felt seen, understood and validated. The truth is, their messages were doing exactly that for me.

“So I’ll say it again: I feel so seen. And so should you.”

I haven’t stopped since

Every week I send a letter that takes one question home educating parents wrestle with and works it through properly, and every week there’s a new episode in the Collection. If you’re here, you’re part of a growing number of families choosing to do things differently.

1M+

listens to the Life Without School Podcast

600+

five-star podcast reviews

600,000+

words written about life without school

5M+

people reached across Facebook, Instagram and this site

Kate holding one of our daughters in long golden grass

OUR FAMILY

Four kids, growing up without school

Kate and I have four children who’ve all grown up (mostly, except for an early experience while our kids were young) home educated. Kate was a teacher, and she left the profession to become a full-time guide for our own kids instead. Side-note, and contrary to popular belief - being a teacher has NOT helped us in this lifestyle 😅

We’ve (unofficially) graduated our eldest, who’s now 19. He’s studying towards a three-year degree without ever having sat an exam, and he’s top of his class.