Hi, I'm Abby,

If school has ever made you feel like you should know more than you do, you're in the right place.

I spent 16 years working in primary education, from Reception through to KS2.

I saw school from the other side of the desk — the learning, the assessments, the interventions, the behaviour conversations, the parents' evenings, the emails and all the terminology that can sometimes make parents wonder:

“Am I the only one who doesn't understand this?”

And I know how easy it is for parents to feel intimidated by school.

You might be wondering whether your child is where they should be.

You might be worried about something but not know who to ask.

You might have come away from a conversation with a teacher thinking, “I still don't really understand what they meant.”

Or perhaps you simply want to feel a little more confident about what's happening in your child's school life.

You don't need to be an expert.

You don't need to know all the terminology.

And you certainly shouldn't feel embarrassed about asking questions about your own child.

That's why I created School, Explained.

I want to make the things that schools sometimes assume parents already understand feel clear, manageable and much less intimidating.

Think of me as the person who can sit beside you and say: “Right. Let's work out what that actually means.”

I'm not here to tell you how to parent your child, and I'm not here to tell you that every school does everything perfectly.

I'm here to help you understand the school world a little better — so you can feel more confident, ask better questions and feel like you and your child's teacher are on the same team.

You know your child.

Teachers know education.

Your child benefits when those two kinds of expertise work together.

— Abby

16 years in primary education