Barefoot in November: Parenting the Summerhill Way

Zoë Neill Readhead has been a pupil, parent and grandparent at Summerhill School, which her father, A. S. Neill, founded in 1921. Since 1985 Zoë has been Principal of the school.

She writes:

'I love parents. I love seeing them out with their children at supermarkets, in the park, at the zoo. I have such respect for the fact that people are ready to change their whole lives for that little scrap of a person who arrives with such a flourish of trumpets and proceeds to take over everything!

'Summerhill is a happy place to live ... If we can look closely at what Summerhill does and how it does it, then perhaps we can transfer some of what it offers into our homes, into our parenting.'

This book's stories and conclusions draw on Zoë's experience in the school and her family. She suggests that some aspects of the Summerhill way of bringing up children and young people are highly relevant for family life today and adds unequivocally: 'Remain on the side of the child.'