Last updated 15 January 2008

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Home Registration Educational Programs Resources External Links Contacts

Registration Legal provisions Who must register How to register Non-residential parents Certificates of registration Registration timetable What the home educator does What the home education moderator does Guidelines on assessment by moderators Cancelling registration Appealing cancellation of registration Legal provisions Under the School Education Act 1999 ('the Act') parents may exercise educational choice to register as home educators, thereby assuming responsibility for delivering education during their children's compulsory years of schooling. The Home Education Policy and Procedures provide more details of the legal issues on: http://policies.det.wa.edu.au/ The link also provides details of Home Education Advisory Panels that consider appeals from parents if their registration is cancelled. Who must register If you are an Australian citizen living in Western Australia wishing to teach your child at home and your child is in the compulsory education period, you must register as a home educator. The compulsory education period is from the beginning of the year in which the child reaches the age of 6 and 6 months until the end of the year in which the child reaches the age of 17. Parents must inform the local district education office within 14 days of removing their children from school (or 14 days after the child would have commenced school in this State). The parents are then issued with a certificate of registration as the child's home educators. The Act provides further detail of the legal provisions. The legislation is available through the following link to the State Law Publisher: http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/statutes/swans.nsf/html/agency+educ+acts?opendocument For the Department of Education and Training policy and procedures documents, go to http://policies.det.wa.edu.au/ How to register An application form is available from the local District Education Office and should be lodged there, rather than being sent to the Central Office of the Department or to the Minister of Education. You will need to produce a copy of each child's birth certificate or extract, and any extant court orders. If you are not the natural or adoptive parent of your child, it will also be necessary to provide documentation that demonstrates your legal right to apply for registration. You may like to phone the home education officer ('moderator') in the district education office to discuss what should be done. Addresses and telephone numbers for each district are shown in the telephone book under 'Department of Education and Training' and at the following website address http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/districts/index.htm Non-residential parents A non-residential parent will be provided with copies of reports on request to the home education moderator, provided there are no court orders that prevent this. Certificates of registration When all the required information has been provided, a certificate of registration will be sent to you. You will be responsible for the child's home education from the date of registration shown on the certificate until the end of the year in which the child reaches 17 years of age, unless you decide in the meantime to enrol in a school or your registration is cancelled under the Act (s.53). The legislation is available through the following link to the State Law Publisher: http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/statutes/swans.nsf/html/agency+educ+acts?opendocument For the Department of Education and Training policy and procedures documents, go to: http://policies.det.wa.edu.au/ Registration timetable Some parents like to apply for registration as a home educator well in advance of the date when a child is to leave school or would otherwise need to be enrolled in a school. This has the advantage of giving time to arrange for a smooth transition from school to home education. Sometimes, however, advance application is not possible and the application is made after the child has ceased to attend the school. If your child has been attending a school, you will need to: advise the school principal in writing of your intention to apply for registration as a home educator either before the child ceases to attend the school or within 3 days of the child's non-attendance; and apply for registration as a home educator: by the last Friday in February (preferably); or within 14 days of the last day your child attended the school. If you have any problems in meeting this timetable, contact the moderator at the local district education office or the principal of the school your child last attended for advice on how to comply with the legislation. What the home educator does The home educator is fully responsible for the child's education program, (planning the program, obtaining materials, delivering and monitoring the program). The home educator also demonstrates to the moderator what progress has been made by the child. For new home educators the first assessment takes place as soon as possible after 3 months of operation. What the home education moderator does The Director General has delegated responsibility for home education assessment to the District Director in each local district education office. Addresses and telephone numbers for each district are shown in the telephone book under 'Department of Education and Training' and at the following website address http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/districts/index.htm District Directors appoint home education moderators who arrange to visit to monitor the educational program being provided to each child. Moderators prepare an evaluation report for the District Director about the program and the child's progress based on evidence provided by home educators who are provided with a copy of the report. If there are concerns about the program or the child's educational progress, the moderator will include advice in the report and will arrange for an evaluation to ascertain whether the concern has been addressed. Further information on addressing concerns is provided under District Director's Expression of Concern. Guidelines on assessment by moderators The Department's responsibility, under the Act, is to report periodically on the home education program and whether educational progress has been demonstrated. In order to do this the moderator meets the home educator at home or another appropriate venue at a time that is mutually convenient. The home educator receives a written assessment from the moderator after the meeting. Typically, the report might include an evaluation of the program, links to the Curriculum Framework, an indication of the child's achievement, areas needing attention, suggestions for strategies and/or resources to move the child on and answers to any questions raised at the meeting. Arranging the meeting Evaluation meetings are required at least once each year and in the first year, within three months of the registration date. The twelve-month evaluation period will normally be taken to equate with the school year. The home educator is required to give the moderator at least 21 days' notice that the twelve month period is due to expire. For practical reasons, the moderator will often be the person to contact the home educator to arrange a meeting suitable to the convenience of both parties. The meeting Home educators' input to meetings is most important as they are aware of the progress that has occurred and if there are any learning problems to be addressed. The focus is on what the child can do, has achieved, and can understand, rather than just the 'work' that is completed. This is often a comfortable focus for home educators because it is the needs and achievements of their children that are, for many, the reason for doing home education. Typically, Home Educators will demonstrate educational progress in some or all of the following ways: showing the child's work sheets used in planning a project or in identifying the areas to be researched for some topic; showing some first draft notes on a report, story, letter or other project; showing a diary or other records of the activities where learning achievements have occurred; showing some completed projects that incorporate learning achievements that have occurred; describing or permitting the student to describe some home education experiences and achievement; and describing an experience that has not necessarily any tangible evidence but which was an occasion for a child's personal achievement or discovery. The home educator will decide how to demonstrate progress; however the moderator must be satisfied that the program and progress are satisfactory and will indicate the kind of evidence they need in order to make that judgement in their report. The meeting structure There are two main components of an appropriate educational program. One of the first things effective home educators do is to establish what their children can do and what they need to learn. Next they determine what resources and experiences they can provide that will enable their children to learn what they need to learn. They also regularly determine the educational progress that has been made by their children. Most home educators are able to discuss these issues during the meeting. Home educator's report Some home educators like to prepare a report outlining the child's program and progress before the moderator visits. Reports of this kind can be included with the moderator's report because they are regarded as a significant statement on the child's progress. District Director's expression of concern The Act provides for sanctions to ensure the effective operation of home education programs, just as there are checks in place for school programs. If the District Director has a concern about a child's program or educational progress in home education, the following steps may be taken: written notice of a concern to the home educator including the reasons for the concern; and an indication of the period within which the home educator should reasonably be expected to address the concern; seven days' notice indicating when an evaluation is to be made to ascertain whether the concern has been adequately addressed; and a suggested time and place for the evaluation. Following the evaluation the moderator is to provide a report to the District Director and a copy to the home educator, advising whether the concern has been adequately addressed. Prior to the stage where an expression of concern becomes necessary, it is usually possible to address any concerns informally. Moderators provide appropriate advice to home educators to allow any problems to be addressed. In most instances this approach is effective and the registration is maintained. Further information about registration for home education is available from the local district education office. Addresses and telephone numbers for each district are shown in the telephone book under 'Department of Education and Training' and at the following website address: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/districts/index.htm Cancelling registration The program and progress will need to be in accordance with the curriculum framework under the Curriculum Council Act 1997. For more information refer to Educational Programs. A decision to cancel registration may be taken for several reasons: one is that the educational progress of the child is not satisfactory. The School Education Act 1999 sets out the various grounds for cancellation of registration (s.53). The legislation is available through the following link to the State Law Publisher: http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/statutes/swans.nsf/html/agency+educ+acts?opendocument Appealing cancellation of registration The home educator may seek a review of a decision to cancel registration through a submission to the Minister for Education who will refer the appeal to a Home Education Advisory Panel to report on the matter. The Act and the Home Education Advisory Panel policy provide further detail of the legal provisions. The Act is available online at: http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/statutes/swans.nsf/html/agency+educ+acts?opendocument The Department of Education and Training policy and procedures documents, are available online at: http://policies.det.wa.edu.au/