Please see the sections below for weblinks you may find useful.
We are aware that there are also a wide range of online forums that we have not included links to, but, that you may wish to explore yourself.
Advice and guidance about elective home educating
Keeping your child safe online.
- Thinkuknow (advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online)
- Internet matters (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
- Parent info (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
- Net-aware (support for parents and carers from the NSPCC)
- Let’s Talk About It (support for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation)
- UK Safer Internet Centre (tips, advice, guides) - Free games, quizzes, films and advice to help you get the most out of the internet while staying safe online
- Online Safety Centre
- Report Harmful Content - We Help You Remove Content
- ProjectEVOLVE - Education for a Connected World Resources- Free resources related to online safety
Events and activities
- Home Educators • Paignton Zoo - Home educators are able to take advantage of reduced education rates for entry.
- Doorstep Arts - a non-profit arts education organisation based in Torbay that run 14 drama groups across Torbay. Doorstep Arts are the creative education company in residence at the Palace Theatre, Paignton. They also provide 14 drama groups across Torbay at key doorstep sites – youth clubs, church halls and schools. The young people who attend these groups range in age from 0-25. They write their own stories and songs, and they explore original ideas through drama process, play, and imagination. The groups provide safe educational spaces to experiment with what it means to be an artist and to explore your own voice.
- Paignton Library STEM Group - A regular event where the community can learn new skills within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and within a small community of enthusiasts that encourage the growth of local talent, increasing opportunities for employment. Held Second Saturday of the Month - 11am to 15:00 (open to all ages)
- Play Torbay Adventure playgrounds Free Play Sessions
- Fort Apache - open access adventure playground in the heart of Torquay
- Indigos - a place to build dens, slide, swing, toast marshmallows on a fire and generally ‘hang out’ in Brixham
- Orchard Forest School events and activities at Lupton House - For more info including costs of each event and how to book spaces please see Orchard Forest School - Home | Facebook or contact orchardforestsch@gmail.com
- Real Life English - Free courses in English for speakers of other languages.
- NCS | No We Can | National Citizen Service (wearencs.com)
- Front Page - Sound Communities
- Youth Genesis Trust
- Eventbrite - Discover Great Events - online and other events (costs given for each event)
Health related information
- School Nurse Drop-ins - free, confidential advice and support
- Mondays 3 - 4.30pm at Yes! Brixham, Brixham
- Wednesdays 3 - 4.30pmat The Beehive, Paignton
- Thursdays 3 - 4.30pm at Checkpoint, Torquay
- to help young people aged 11 + with all kinds of things including:
- Alcohol and drugs
- Anxiety
- Bullying
- Changes to your body
- Contraception & free condoms
- Diet
- Emotional wellbeing
- Exercise
- General Health
- Relationships
- Self-Harm
- Sexual Health
- Sleep
- Smoking / vaping
- Ice safety
Links to educational sites suitable for preschool children
- Home - BBC Bitesize
- Activity Village - free and subscription educational resources, colouring pages, crafts, puzzles, worksheets and other activities
- Twinkl Educational Resources - KS2, KS1, Early Years (EYFS), KS1, KS2, KS3 & KS4, - subscription
- Oxford Owl for Home: help your child learn at home - Oxford Owl - Activities and resources to help with English skills
- Save the date - World Book Day | World Book Day is a registered charity. Our mission is to give every child and young person a book of their own. - Activities and resources to assist with English skills (lots free to download)
- PrimaryLeap educational resources | primaryleap.co.uk - subscription educational resources for Early Years and Primary aged children
- Best Educational Apps | Educational App Store - lots of both free and subscription apps to download
- IXL | Maths and English Practice - subscription online learning platform for Maths and English covering the whole curriculum from Reception to Year 11
- Mathseeds - Online Maths Programme for Early Learners - Maths Made Fun! - subscription service that combines highly structured lessons with fun motivational elements to teach core math and problem solving skills
- Reading Eggs - Learning to Read for Kids | Learn to Read with Phonics | Free Trial - subscription service that makes learning to read interesting and engaging
- Making Science Fun for Kids (science-sparks.com) - Free Science activities using only equipment and materials commonly found around the home
- ChatterStars - The Vocab App helping to boost Vocabulary - ChatterStars Vocabulary App
- Sustrans Outside In - Sustrans.org.uk - To get children more active ‘Sustrans’ offers interesting educational activities designed to get kids moving about. Just sign up as a family and they send you challenges to complete.
- Pixilart - Free online pixel art drawing tool
- Google Earth - The world's most detailed globe - free
- YouTube Kids - An App Made Just For Children - contained environment that makes it simpler and more fun for children to explore on their own, and easier for parents and caregivers to guide their journey as they discover new and exciting interests along the way.
- NASA Kids' Club - Lots of free Space themed activities and downloads
- DK Find Out! - Free Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History, videos, quizzes and more!
- Chat, Play, Read formerly Hungry Little Minds Campaign - Learning to talk | 3 to 5 years | Start for Life (www.nhs.uk) - features tips and practical activities, for children under 5, that you can do at home with children to support their early learning
- BBC Tiny Happy People - Children's language development and parenting advice - Explore our simple activities and play ideas
- Words for Life | National Literacy Trust | Words for Life - learn and play activities selected by age group (0 - 12 years)
- Chatterpack – Free Home Learning Resources List for Schools and Families
- BookTrust - free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
- Learning Games for Kids - american free learning games
- Talkingtales.org - resources page featuring rhymes, songs, stories and related storytelling activities – from play-rhymes for babies and toddlers and their grown-ups to stories for children and young people.
- Duolingo - free app to work on foreign language skills, or try a new language.
- Little Crafters - Educational kits and access to certification for children aged 3- 14 (and beyond!) - includes "learning through play" STEM Craft Subscription Boxes, Children's University hours, AQA accreditation with parent support workshops, computational thinking lessons, an online community
Links to educational sites suitable for Primary aged children (aged 4-11)
- Home - BBC Bitesize
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/dailylessons
- The Oak Academy – online classroom offering free access to nearly 10,000 video lessons, quizzes and worksheets
- Activity Village - free and subscription educational resources, colouring pages, crafts, puzzles, worksheets and other activities
- Alison | Free Online Courses & Online Learning
- Twinkl Educational Resources - KS2, KS1, Early Years (EYFS), KS1, KS2, KS3 & KS4, - subscription
- The UK's Favourite Educational Books | CGP Books - Subject workbooks to buy
- Free English language resources | Cambridge English
- Oxford Owl for Home: help your child learn at home - Oxford Owl - Activities and resources to help with English skills
- Save the date - World Book Day | World Book Day is a registered charity. Our mission is to give every child and young person a book of their own. - Activities and resources to assist with English skills (lots free to download)
- Conquer Maths - subscription online tutor service
- MyMaths - subscription activities and resources
- Math is Fun (mathsisfun.com) - free activities and resources
- Crickweb | Welcome to Crickweb - free educational interactive teaching resources and activities & games for children aged 4 - 11
- PrimaryLeap educational resources | primaryleap.co.uk - subscription educational resources for Early Years and Primary aged children
- Lego Design technology workshops for home school groups. Lego Workshops (brickideas.co.uk) - Tech Lego workshop provider
- Math Antics | Basic Math Videos and Worksheets - free video lessons in maths (including arithmetics, fractions, geometry, percents & basic algibra)
- Periodic Table of the Elements, in Pictures and Words (wlonk.com) - Science (periodic tables, particals and attomic orbitals in words and pictures free to download and print)
- Best Educational Apps | Educational App Store - lots of both free and subscription apps to download
- IXL | Maths and English Practice - subscription online learning platform for Maths and English covering the whole curriculum from Reception to Year 11
- Mathseeds - Online Maths Programme for Early Learners - Maths Made Fun! - subscription service that combines highly structured lessons with fun motivational elements to teach core math and problem solving skills
- Reading Eggs - Learning to Read for Kids | Learn to Read with Phonics | Free Trial - subscription service that makes learning to read interesting and engaging
- Cedarwood Montessori Primary Education (wordpress.com) - Primary workshops and ideas from Montessori
- GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program - free Photo Editing/Digital Art package
- LEARN GIMP IN 30 MINUTES | Complete Tutorial for Beginners - YouTube
- Making Science Fun for Kids (science-sparks.com) - Free Science activities using only equipment and materials commonly found around the home
- ChatterStars - The Vocab App helping to boost Vocabulary - ChatterStars Vocabulary App
- SENECA Free Homework & Revision for A Level, GCSE, KS3 & KS2 (senecalearning.com)
- e-Bug - free resources to Help your child learn how to prevent the spread of infection.
- Sustrans Outside In - Sustrans.org.uk - To get children more active ‘Sustrans’ offers interesting educational activities designed to get kids moving about. Just sign up as a family and they send you challenges to complete.
- Global Health Home School - free activities so children can explore health, science, and staying safe from the comfort of home
- Code Kingdoms - monthly subscription packages on learning how to make your own Minecraft mods and Roblox games with Code Kingdoms. For ages 8-14.
- Times Tables Rock Stars: Play (ttrockstars.com) - subscription sequenced programme to boost times tables recall and maths confidence (comprising a website, app, worksheets and teacher resources).
- Pixilart - Free online pixel art drawing tool
- Google Earth - The world's most detailed globe - free
- YouTube Kids - An App Made Just For Children - contained environment that makes it simpler and more fun for children to explore on their own, and easier for parents and caregivers to guide their journey as they discover new and exciting interests along the way.
- BBC Teach - thousands of free curriculum-mapped videos, arranged by age-group and subject.
- Collage – The Home Schooling App (collageapp.co.uk) - helps you securely capture your child’s progress through pictures, videos, documents or notes (Free trial)
- NASA Kids' Club - Lots of free Space themed activities and downloads
- DK Find Out! - Free Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History, videos, quizzes and more!
- Words for Life | National Literacy Trust | Words for Life - learn and play activities selected by age group (0 - 12 years)
- Chatterpack – Free Home Learning Resources List for Schools and Families
- BookTrust - free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
- Exemplar Education | Online Maths and English (exemplar-education.com) - subscription Online Maths & English tuition from year 1 to GCSE
- Toe By Toe - A highly structured phonics-based reading manual (toe-by-toe.co.uk) – Reading manual for dyslexia
- Learning Games for Kids - american free learning games
- Talkingtales.org - resources page featuring rhymes, songs, stories and related storytelling activities – from play-rhymes for babies and toddlers and their grown-ups to stories for children and young people.
- Duolingo - free app to work on foreign language skills, or try a new language.
- Little Crafters - Educational kits and access to certification for children aged 3- 14 (and beyond!) - includes "learning through play" STEM Craft Subscription Boxes, Children's University hours, AQA accreditation with parent support workshops, computational thinking lessons, an online community
Links to the educational sites suitable for children and young people secondary school aged and above (aged 11+)
- Home - BBC Bitesize
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/dailylessons
- The Oak Academy – online classroom offering free access to nearly 10,000 video lessons, quizzes and worksheets
- Activity Village - free and subscription educational resources, colouring pages, crafts, puzzles, worksheets and other activities
- Alison | Free Online Courses & Online Learning
- LifeSkills | Developing work and life skills (barclayslifeskills.com)
- Twinkl Educational Resources - KS2, KS1, Early Years (EYFS), KS1, KS2, KS3 & KS4, - subscription
- The UK's Favourite Educational Books | CGP Books - Subject workbooks to buy
- Free English language resources | Cambridge English
- Oxford Owl for Home: help your child learn at home - Oxford Owl - Activities and resources to help with English skills
- Save the date - World Book Day | World Book Day is a registered charity. Our mission is to give every child and young person a book of their own. - Activities and resources to assist with English skills (lots free to download)
- Conquer Maths - subscription online tutor service
- MyMaths - subscription activities and resources
- Math is Fun (mathsisfun.com) - free activities and resources
- Lego Design technology workshops for home school groups. Lego Workshops (brickideas.co.uk) - Tech Lego workshop provider
- Math Antics | Basic Math Videos and Worksheets - free video lessons in maths (including arithmetics, fractions, geometry, percents & basic algibra)
- Periodic Table of the Elements, in Pictures and Words (wlonk.com) - Science (periodic tables, particals and attomic orbitals in words and pictures free to download and print)
- Best Educational Apps | Educational App Store - lots of both free and subscription apps to download
- IXL | Maths and English Practice - subscription online learning platform for Maths and English covering the whole curriculum from Reception to Year 11
- Mathseeds - Online Maths Programme for Early Learners - Maths Made Fun! - subscription service that combines highly structured lessons with fun motivational elements to teach core math and problem solving skills
- GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program - free Photo Editing/Digital Art package
- LEARN GIMP IN 30 MINUTES | Complete Tutorial for Beginners - YouTube
- Making Science Fun for Kids (science-sparks.com) - Free Science activities using only equipment and materials commonly found around the home
- SENECA Free Homework & Revision for A Level, GCSE, KS3 & KS2 (senecalearning.com)
- e-Bug - free resources to Help your child learn how to prevent the spread of infection.
- Sustrans Outside In - Sustrans.org.uk - To get children more active ‘Sustrans’ offers interesting educational activities designed to get kids moving about. Just sign up as a family and they send you challenges to complete.
- Global Health Home School - free activities so children can explore health, science, and staying safe from the comfort of home
- Code Kingdoms - monthly subscription packages on learning how to make your own Minecraft mods and Roblox games with Code Kingdoms. For ages 8-14.
- Times Tables Rock Stars: Play (ttrockstars.com) - subscription sequenced programme to boost times tables recall and maths confidence (comprising a website, app, worksheets and teacher resources).
- Pixilart - Free online pixel art drawing tool
- Google Earth - The world's most detailed globe - free
- YouTube Kids - An App Made Just For Children - contained environment that makes it simpler and more fun for children to explore on their own, and easier for parents and caregivers to guide their journey as they discover new and exciting interests along the way.
- BBC Teach - thousands of free curriculum-mapped videos, arranged by age-group and subject.
- TED Talks - Talks to stir your curiosity
- Collage – The Home Schooling App (collageapp.co.uk) - helps you securely capture your child’s progress through pictures, videos, documents or notes (Free trial)
- NASA Kids' Club - Lots of free Space themed activities and downloads
- DK Find Out! - Free Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History, videos, quizzes and more!
- Chatterpack – Free Home Learning Resources List for Schools and Families
- BookTrust - free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
- MOOC.org | Massive Open Online Courses | An edX Site - free online courses available for anyone to enroll.
- InvestIN | Ambition Beyond Education – InvestIN Education - Immersive Career Experiences for children and young people ages aged 12-18
- Exemplar Education | Online Maths and English (exemplar-education.com) - subscription Online Maths & English tuition from year 1 to GCSE
- Toe By Toe - A highly structured phonics-based reading manual (toe-by-toe.co.uk) – Reading manual for dyslexia
- Online Courses - Learn Anything, On Your Schedule | Udemy - Choose from 155,000 online video courses with new additions published every month - some even free
- Learning Games for Kids - american free learning games
- Open Learning - OpenLearn - Open University - the home of free learning from The Open University
- Talkingtales.org - resources page featuring rhymes, songs, stories and related storytelling activities – from play-rhymes for babies and toddlers and their grown-ups to stories for children and young people.
- Duolingo - free app to work on foreign language skills, or try a new language.
- Skillshare - Online Classes for Creatives
- Little Crafters - Educational kits and access to certification for children aged 3- 14 (and beyond!) - includes "learning through play" STEM Craft Subscription Boxes, Children's University hours, AQA accreditation with parent support workshops, computational thinking lessons, an online community
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Support for children and young people
- Torbay Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) - Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
- Are you OK? - Support for Families, adults and children.
- Kooth - Your online mental wellbeing community - Free, safe and anonymous online support for young people
- ELSA Support (elsa-support.co.uk) - – Free resources that support social and emotional learning
- Rise Above - Talking about things that matter to young people
Support available to parents to help them maintain their family’s wellbeing whilst home educating
- Healthy Homes for Wellbeing - ECOE - provides free energy and money saving advice for people living in Exeter, Mid Devon, East Devon, Teignbridge and Torbay. Their team of Home Energy Advisers provide practical energy advice and support with the aim of helping as many residents save money and stay warm in their homes. They can help you with:
- tariff checks and supplier switching
- applying for the Warm Home Discount
- registering for Priority Services Register
- energy and water saving tips and advice
- grants for insulation and heating
- heating control advice
- smart meters
- referrals for help with benefits and debts
- Hope programme - parents wellbeing course - Take control of your health & wellbeing - for parents caring for children over 4 yrs old. To register or more info, please call 01803 210493 or email hope.devon@nhs.net
- Rise Above - Social connections, alongside exercise, sleep, diet and routine, are important protective factors for mental health. Public Health England’s Rise Above platform supports young people around wellbeing and is worth a visit. Social isolation, reduced exercise, and bereavement, may affect children’s wellbeing in this period.
- MindEd educational resources for adults about children and young people’s mental health, which is relevant for parents and carers as well as volunteers, teachers, and other professionals working with children
- Every Mind Matters - the Every Mind Matters platform which supports looking after your own and other’s mental health
- Guidance on supporting children’s wellbeing and mental health
- Are you OK? - Support for Families, adults and children.