FAQs
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After you submit your form, you are notified, via email, that your application was received. Now you need to wait for an Authorised Person – often called an AP – to contact you to arrange a home visit.
While you are in the waiting period, you need to create an education plan for your child that is based on the NSW Curriculum. They may also ask you to send them your plan (this is optional – but it will speed up the home visit). During your home visit with the AP you will be asked a few questions about homeschooling and the plan you submitted. The home visit appointment is usually less that 1 hour.
You cannot speed up this process and it can take up to 90 days before the approval is completed. Registrations submitted at the beginning of the school year usually take longer (the full 90 days) because of the high volume of NSW homeschooling applicants. Most applications are successful.
FAQ
General Questions
Part time homeschooling in NSW is not an option.
- Theoretically you are supposed to wait until your registration is approved before you can begin homeschooling in NSW. This process can take a month to three months (but usually it’s less than a month).
- Some parents get a doctor’s certificate for stress leave for their child until registration is approved.
- If you have a willing principal (which can be hard to gauge) then ask the principal to give you a 100 day leave of absence. What I am suggesting is totally legal under the NSW Education Act 1990 – Section 25and school attendance policy.
Your principal can grant an exemption from school up to 100 days for ‘various reasons’
- It’s worth a try! But not all parents are successful. If you can show them a plan of what you are teaching then your chances are increased. You could also attach a copy of the email receipt you received from the NSW Homeschooling Unit when you put in your application.
- You can provide a letter like this:
- Principals May Insist On School Attendance Till Registered
- Homeschooling in NSW is free and legal. However, you do not get paid to homeschool.
- Having said that, if you are on a Centrelink Job Seeker paymentyou can get an exemptions from applying for work to the home school.
- Parents may also be able to apply for the following subsidies:
- Isolated Children’s Scheme
- Active and Creative Kids Voucherto help with artistic pursuits and encourage sports.
- Yes! When homeschooling in NSW you must have a program based on the NSW Curriculum.
- The NSW curriculum is currently under reform. This new curriculum aligns with the Australian Curriculumhowever it has some additional content not provided in the Australian Curriculum
- You do not need to buy a curriculum however many families choose to, especially when they first start. It’s much easier to register
- Yes, if you have decided to DIY your homeschool curriculum, then you will need to remember that your learning plan is based on the relevant NSW Curriculum.
- Even if you are unschoolingyou will need to do an educational plan based on the NSW Curriculum.
- A Record of School Achievement ( ROSA ) is only available to school students in NSW. It is awarded after Year 10. However when you homeschool in NSW you are offered an alternative Certificate of Year 10 Completion
- Registered NSW Homeschoolers can apply for a Certificate of Completion of Year 10 based on the following criteria:
- the student has been registered in NSW to homeschool Year 10 in the past 12 months.
- proof that the educational program chosen was implemented and completed.
- Samples and assessments of Year 10 work must also be shown.
- When you choose to homeschool for Year 11 and 12 your child can’t get a High School Certificate (HSC). However, your children can still complete an HSC alternativeand get an ATAR to use for university entry if needed, or they can continue homeschooling up till the age of 17 – without seeking a formal qualification. After the age of 17, you can follow your chosen course of study without any government restrictions. You can stop homeschooling altogether if you like.
- Your child can still go to university. In fact they can probably get there earlier than if they went through the normal school system.
University
Children who have been home schooled may be eligible for University entrance.
Advice about entry pathways should be sought from the particular university, the University Admissions Centre and/or Open University.
What if my child has special needs?
Many parents who are homeschooling have children with special needs. NESA allows you to adapt your curriculum to suit your child’s needs.
NESA information on Special Needs Information
NESA information on Gifted Children
Do I Have To Have A Home Visit?
In almost all circumstances you will need to have a home visit because the AP needs to look at the child’s learning environment. However, in some situations homeschooling families will be asked to attend the government education offices.
Can I Register for Homeschooling In NSW If Travelling?
- There is no written NSW homeschool NESA policy excluding homeschoolers from travelling whilst homeschooling. However, if you try to register because you want to go travelling, they will usually say you should withdraw your application and then suggest that you do distance education while travelling. Distance education can be very restricting whilst homeschooling and is generally not liked by travelling homeschoolers.
- Therefore, if you want to homeschool, it is usually best not to mention travelling plans when applying for registration.
Yes, some people do get refused NSW homeschool registration. But usually, it is due to court orders, being unavailable for the assessment visit, or being ineligible to apply in the first place. Only 0.19% were refused because they did not meet the requirements.
The most common reasons for recommending that an application for home schooling registration be refused are when:
- a parent is not available for the application to be assessed despite repeated attempts to make contact by phone, email and/or mail; or
- an Authorised Person finds that the requirements are not being met or would not be met.
If a recommendation to refuse registration is made, the parent is notified in writing. The notice explains the reasons for the recommended refusal and provides an opportunity for the parent to seek an internal review within 30 days of the date of the notice.
you will just be asked to apply for home education.
