Hello, I’m Adam

I live with my wife Liz and our two daughters, Penny and Libby. Penny has been home educated since February 2026.

We didn’t plan it. Penny had a very hard time at school, and home education gave her room to breathe, and gave us a way to learn together.

A good day

Practical learning, smiles, and that lightbulb moment. The best days are when we connect over something we’re both curious about, and the questions keep coming because she really wants to understand.

What I wish I’d known

It isn’t easy. I run a branding and design agency from home, and Liz is a university lecturer, so finding the time takes planning. The bigger job has been deschooling: letting go of what school taught us learning should look like, and building new routines that work for Penny and for us.

You can’t rush that change, and it’s harder for the adults than the children. Generations of us were taught one way of thinking, and that system often doesn’t work for a child who isn’t right on the “average” line.

Why I built Vestigia

As we kept more records, I tried app after app. Some didn’t have what we needed, and some were buggy. Some didn’t take privacy and security as seriously as children’s records deserve. The good ones came with things I didn’t want, such as chat, communities and AI.

AI has its place, but a record of learning should be the truth: your words, and your child’s. Councils don’t respond well to reports written by AI, either.

I’ve been building software for over twenty years, so I built the app I wanted. Penny has been using it and loves it. I wondered how many other families might find it helpful, so here we are.

Community, not a replacement for it

What’s helped Penny most is time with people her own age, away from home. Community matters in home education, but this app isn’t trying to be one. Facebook, WhatsApp and local groups, online and in person, already do that well. I just wanted a tool that does what most families need, simply and easily. I’ll only add the features that matter, and listen to feedback from other families.

What I hope it feels like

Relief. Keeping records can feel like a chore you know you should do but don’t enjoy. I want it to be quick and easy, and to hand some control back to your child. When learners record their own learning, they build good habits: looking back at their work, recording it honestly, and enjoying seeing their progress grow over time.

My promise to you

• Your records belong to your family. Parents and carers see everything, and each learner sees only their own.
• There’s no screen in the app, for me or anyone else, that shows your records, and I don’t go looking. I see only what’s needed to run the service: names and email addresses, so I can help if you’re locked out, and an activity log with no content in it.
• Every adult uses two-factor sign-in, and learners sign in only on a device a parent has approved.
• Your records are stored in the UK. There are no adverts or trackers, and nothing is sold.
• You can download everything at any time, and delete your family’s account yourself.
• The app will not write your local authority reports for you. Every word in them is yours or your child’s.

If you’re just starting out

Go gently. Give yourselves time to unlearn, and find the way that works for your child.

Adam

Privacy has the detail of what we keep and why.