Feral Families airs Wed 25 Oct on Channel 4

Ten years on since Supernanny, there’s a new philosophy taking hold among British families. It’s called extreme unschooling or off-grid parenting, and more and more British parents are rebelling against orthodoxy to raise their children with no rules. They claim that their children are healthier and happier and will become more rounded adults, but their kids’ behaviour can also be scandalous to other parents.

Documentary Feral Families follows three families who are passionate about this alternative way of parenting. Mother-of-three Jenna’s 13-year-old son Archie juggles fire and plays with knives, but seven years after being taken out of school, despite Mum’s best efforts, he still struggles to read and write. His grandparents are so concerned that they’re paying for him to have a tutor.

Meanwhile, Vicky and Mike have just started their new lifestyle, and have recently taken seven-year-old Jessica out of school. She now has purple hair and makes her own meals, and appears to be thriving in her new life without rules. And Gemma and Lewis have seven gorgeous children. Life is a long series of playtimes and picnics with the kids doing whatever they like, choosing their own bedtimes and having ice creams at midnight, but now a bombshell has been dropped: eldest son Finlay has decided that he wants to try school…

Director: Lucy Wilcox
Executive Producers: Nick Hornby, Tina Flintoff
Production Company: Optomen Television

Feral Families airs Wednesday 25 October 2017 from 9.00pm-10.00pm on Channel 4.