HomeLearning Lab is written by a senior school leader with years of experience watching what separates pupils who reach their potential from those who don't. The answer, almost always, comes back to one thing: knowing how to learn.
I have spent my career working in and around secondary schools — as a teacher, a middle leader, a senior leader, and a governor. Across those years I worked with thousands of young people, from the highest achievers to those who were quietly falling behind, and I noticed the same pattern again and again.
The students who struggled most were rarely the ones who lacked ability. They were the ones who had never been explicitly taught the one thing that underpins everything else: how to learn.
"Schools teach what to learn. Almost nobody teaches how. That gap — between intelligence and independent learning — is exactly what HomeLearning Lab was built to close."
The strategies I write about at HomeLearning Lab have been tested in real classrooms, with real pupils, across very different communities. They work not because they are theoretical, but because I have seen them work in practice.
The idea for HomeLearning Lab came from a conversation I had with a parent during a parents' evening years ago. Their child was bright, predicted strong grades, and completely switching off. The parent asked me: "What can I do at home to help?" And I realised that despite years in education, I didn't have a simple, research-backed answer I could give them in two minutes.
That conversation stayed with me. There was so much I knew — about growth mindset, retrieval practice, motivation, habit formation — that was sitting in education journals and CPD sessions, completely inaccessible to the people who needed it most: parents trying to help at home, students who had never been taught how to study, and educators looking for practical tools they could actually use.
HomeLearning Lab is my attempt to change that.
"A parent asked me what they could do at home to help their child. I realised I didn't have a simple answer — and I should have. That conversation is why this exists."
Every strategy I share is grounded in education research — not trends, not opinion, not what sounds good.
If it can't be used at home or in a classroom tomorrow, it doesn't belong here. Every edition ends with something you can actually do.
I write as a school leader, not as an influencer. That means telling you what the evidence actually says — even when it's inconvenient.
HomeLearning Lab is built on a combination of formal qualifications, professional experience, and ongoing study in the science of learning.
Formally qualified secondary school teacher with experience across multiple subjects and key stages.
School Senior Leader with whole-school responsibility for teaching, learning and student progress.
Experienced school governor with strategic oversight of curriculum.
Continuously developing expertise in metacognition, growth mindset, retrieval practice and coaching — the research foundations of every HLL edition.
Join parents, students and educators who are already getting research-backed learning guidance every two weeks.
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