Why Listening Matters: What Home Educating Families Are Teaching Us About Heritage

Lucie Wheeler
Aug 5
4 min read

Smiling woman in a white polo and RECAP lanyard stands outdoors at a sunny event with tents and trees in the background.

Lucie Wheeler is a Research Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University and Founder of RECAP.

She is currently leading the pre-pilot phase of Unlocking Heritage, a collaborative project with English Heritage and Anglia Ruskin University exploring how heritage sites can better engage and support home educating families.

When people hear the word research, they often imagine surveys, statistics and long reports. But some of the most valuable research begins with something much simpler.

Listening.

Over the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of travelling to Carlisle, Scarborough and Corbridge to meet home educating families as part of the pre-pilot phase of my latest research project, Unlocking Heritage. Working in partnership with English Heritage and Anglia Ruskin University, the project aims to explore how heritage sites can become more welcoming, accessible and meaningful for home educating families.

Poster for Home Educating Families with visit options at Carlisle Castle, Scarborough and Brockbushes Farm Shop, with Lucie Wheeler.

At this stage, we haven't started the research pilot project - we're still seeking funding outcomes to deliver the full pilot later this year.

These visits were part of what we have called the pre-pilot phase - listening before designing.

Starting with the people who matter - Home Educating Families

One of the biggest mistakes organisations can make is assuming they already know what people need. It's easy to think that because you've worked with families before, or because something works well for schools, it will naturally work for everyone else.

Home education challenges that assumption.

Every family I spoke to was different:

Different educational philosophies.
Different reasons for home educating.
Different children's interests.
Different support needs.

And yet, despite all of those differences, some remarkably consistent themes emerged.

It isn't about creating "special" heritage experiences

Very few families asked for completely new activities. Instead, they asked for more flexibility. They wanted heritage organisations to understand that home education doesn't usually happen according to a timetable or a curriculum plan.

One parent summed it up perfectly when explaining why booking educational visits weeks in advance can be difficult:

Carlisle Castle sign on grassy ramparts under cloudy sky, with Cumbria's Museum of Military Life text.

"We don't know what our children will be interested in six weeks from now."

For many home educating families, learning follows curiosity.

A child's fascination with Romans, castles or archaeology might last a weekend - or six months.

Being able to respond to those interests is one of the strengths of home education.

Current booking systems don't always make that easy.

Heritage is about much more than history

Another thing that really stood out was how families described their visits.

They weren't talking about ticking off curriculum objectives. Their visits were about about spending time together, building memories, exploring, asking questions, running around and playing.

"Children don't want to just be learning all day."

Learning doesn't only happen when someone is being formally taught. Children learn through climbing castle walls (or wishing they could!), pretending to be knights, dressing up, asking impossible questions and noticing tiny details that adults often overlook.

Learning and enjoyment aren't opposites. They're often the same thing.

Resource table with Home Educating Families banner, pencils, flyers and water bottles in a sunlit room with wicker chairs.

The children had some of the best ideas

Whenever adults are asked about improving services, we naturally hear adult perspectives.

One of my favourite parts of these visits was asking children what they thought.

Their ideas were imaginative, practical and wonderfully honest.

They wanted:

More dressing up.
Archery.
Treasure hunts.
Climbing opportunities.
More people in historical costume.
Places where history felt alive.

One child suggested:

"The dead people should come alive and guide us around the castle."

I absolutely loved that!

Behind the humour is a really important message though... children want immersive experiences. They don't just want to be told history. They want to feel part of it.

Small changes can make a big difference

Some of the most powerful discussions centred around inclusion. Parents spoke about booking systems that unintentionally reflected school assumptions. Others talked about having children of different ages, making age-restricted activities difficult to access.

Families of autistic children described both brilliant examples of inclusive practice and experiences that left them feeling excluded.

One parent shared how a member of staff quietly handed them a sensory bag without drawing attention to their child.

"No fuss," they said.

"It made all the difference."

Inclusion isn't about expensive resources, it's about understanding and feeling seen.

Listening before leading

Stone entrance gate to Scarborough Castle with a signboard, wet road, and cloudy sky.

And actually, my biggest takeaway wasn't about heritage at all. It was about research.

As researchers, we can spend months reading literature, analysing policy and reviewing existing evidence. And yes, that is important. But nothing replaces sitting down with people over a cup of coffee and asking:

"Tell me about your experiences."

Many of the conversations I had confirmed things I'd read. Others completely challenged my assumptions.

That's exactly what good research should do!

What happens next?

The community listening visits have already shaped the funding application for the main pilot. Ideas shared by families have directly influenced proposed activities, staff training, resources and project design.

If funding is successful, the next phase will include a national survey, focus groups and co-produced activity workshops with families and English Heritage staff.

The aim isn't to create new activities, it's to develop a better understanding of how heritage organisations can work alongside home educating communities to make historic places feel welcoming, flexible and relevant.

If there's one thing these visits have taught me, it's this:

The answers don't always sit in policy documents or academic journals.

Sometimes they come from a child who wants Romans to come alive.

Or a parent explaining why flexibility matters.

Or a family simply saying they want heritage sites to be places where they can learn, explore and belong together.

Ancient stone ruins with an info sign under a dramatic cloudy sky, with green hills and a few distant visitors in the background.

And that's exactly why listening should always come first.

Thank you to all the families who spoke with me as part of my visits - your stories are what shapes this work!

If you are a home educating family in England and you want to hear about how you can get involved when the pilot goes live, pop your email on this form and I will be in touch: https://forms.gle/o6ek4LdfyZc7XpMz7