FAQs - Home Educate
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HOME EDUCATE’s frequently asked questions will give you the most instant
answers to all things related to home school programs and steps to register for
homeschooling in Australia and more.

 

Is your question not in our FAQs? Then please get in touch via email.

HOME EDUCATE’s frequently asked questions will give you the most instant answers to all things related to home school programs and steps to register for homeschooling in Australia
and more.

 

Is your question not in our FAQs? Then please get in touch via email.

Why was the HOME EDUCATE curriculum created?

HOME EDUCATE was born in the Northern Rivers in Australia, after many discussions started in 2021 between groups of parents and educators. Our core consulting team is comprised of registered teachers in both the primary and secondary sectors, independent educational researchers, and advocates of peak Australian parent groups. As a group of educators we bring together a combined 70+ years of educational experience and parenting!

 

We could see the growing trend of families needing assistance with home school registration and the overwhelm many experienced through the process. In 2022, we meticulously created the HOME EDUCATE curriculum to support families in their homeschool planning.

 

Our Learning Plans are designed to be easy to use, creatively interpreted and imaginatively expressed. In other words, our home schooling programs and curriculum is designed to be child-centred, self-directed and community based.

What makes the HOME EDUCATE Australian curriculum different?

HOME EDUCATE is for the very fast-growing trend of parents interested in homeschooling in Australia, and teachers choosing to work outside of the ‘school system’. With the increasing politicisation of our education system, families and educators alike are more than ever looking for solutions that can best respond to the very real needs of students, families and their communities. We decided in the very beginning that we wouldn’t simply repackage the Government’s Australian Curriculum. Instead, we invite parents and children to ask different questions like: Who writes our history? What is safe technology? Is the 4th Industrial Revolution the future we really want?

Who is HOME EDUCATE for?

Simply put, the HOME EDUCATE home school plan is for EVERYONE. Even unschooling families can benefit from using our home school curriculum in the home school registration process. Any parent or guardian that chooses to become the legal educator of their child, can use HOME EDUCATE as a resource and be inspired by a community that values critical thinking, autonomy and creativity. This is also a home education program that can be valuable for teachers.

 

We invite families on the homeschooling journey (whether it be deschooling, unschooling or world-schooling) to get creative with their individualised detailed planning, schedules and personal interests; to utilise our home school plans in their own unique way.

How to register for homeschooling?

You can follow our simple steps to home school registration. Each family will then be contacted by a home education assessor from your specific State/Territory home education department. You will need to submit a home school plan before your application is approved. We have carefully curated an inspiring home education plan to get you started.

What home schooling programs are available to submit for home school registration?

HOME EDUCATE Learning Plans are available for Years/Grades 1 to 10, covering the 6 to 16-year-old age groups.

Why don’t you have a home school plan for the entry level of school that generally covers 5-year-olds?

Formal education is best started at 6+, which many leading independent educators have documented through extensive research. In Australia, children do not need to be legally registered for formal education (either enrolled in school, distance education or officially “homeschooled”) before their 6th birthday. At HOME EDUCATE, we believe that the general foundation year of school is better spent fostering play and imagination.

Does HOME EDUCATE offer a detailed weekly schedule with lesson plans?

We offer two weekly planning templates that can be individualised to suit your family’s needs. We invite families to design a unique weekly home school curriculum that can be flexible, is best suited to their child’s interests and their rate of learning.

 

If you want a weekly home school schedule planned for you, detailed lesson plans and assessment tasks set and graded – HOME EDUCATE is not for you.

What sets the HOME EDUCATE home school plan apart from other online home school programs?

Our home schooling programs are clearly designed documents, offering high level support to gain home school registration. Our goal is to inspire you to get creative, when designing your child’s unique learning experiences. With 250+ activities in the Primary years, developmental overviews, resource ideas, themes and a celebration of individual learning paths – HOME EDUCATE is a crucial stepping stone to where you want to be.

 

Our Secondary learning plans are competitively priced, which allows families to invest in an engaging and thought-provoking curriculum with more money leftover for extra-curricular activities with mentors in your community.

Does a home educated child need to sit tests and complete formal assessments for external review?

The short answer is NO. Formal tests are one of the most anxiety-producing experiences for our children, shown to have lasting trauma for some. One of the many hidden benefits of homeschooling is that parents are able to see the progress of their child’s understanding with work samples gathered over time. By documenting your child’s growing knowledge, you will have the “evidence” needed for the Department of Education in your future home school registration renewals (usually around October each year).

How to plan a home school curriculum?

There is no definitive one size fits all for homeschooling in Australia. Families have the freedom to explore what scheduling flows best for their needs. In the Primary years, it could look like 2 hours of explicit instruction 3 times a week and extracurricular activities (which could total approximately 9 hours a week).

 

In Secondary school, this commitment would increase. And remember, allow yourself to be flexible when it comes to your home school plans. Your child may surprise you by finishing their tasks in a relatively short time.

If I have more than one child, can I submit the same home school plan for all my children for the home school registration process?

If you have children very close in age (1 year apart), you could potentially submit the same home school plan if they are at the same “stage”. However, bear in mind that each home education plan has a specific age-related developmental overview that is relevant to the year/grade level.

 

We offer a 10% FAMILY discount on all orders of more than one HOME EDUCATE Learning Plan purchased at the same time. This discount will be applied at checkout.

How much do the HOME EDUCATE home school plans cost?

The cost of the Primary home school curriculum (Years 1-6) is $129. 

 

This is our special 2023 introductory price. Included you will find: inspiring intentions, vision and values, an age-related developmental overview, four easy-to-use term planners (including 250+ activity ideas and links to rich online resources), two individual learning plan templates and an integrated program with a focus on connection and belonging that can be mapped to the Australian curriculum.

 

The cost of the Secondary home school curriculum (Years 7-10) is $229. 

 

This is our special 2023 introductory price. Included you will find: inspiring intentions, vision and values, an age-related curriculum overview, interdisciplinary units of work (with links to rich online resources), easy to use programming (for both parents and teenagers), two individual learning plan templates and an integrated program with a focus on critical thinking and wellbeing that can be mapped to the Australian curriculum.

Why is HOME EDUCATE so much more affordable than other home schooling programs?

We believe in the quality of our home school curriculum, particularly its focus on personalised Learning Plans and critical thinking. More importantly, because HOME EDUCATE emerged as a direct response to the Government’s decisions around schooling during the pandemic, our goal is to make home school planning as accessible as possible for parents across Australia.

Will HOME EDUCATE be offering a complete curriculum mapped to the Australian curriculum in the future?

We are committed to keeping our home school plans up to date to support many homeschooling families in their planning and registration process. Families do not need to purchase a complete curriculum (including lesson plans, detailed units of work and assessment) to become home educators. Our key purpose is to help you become the legal educator of your child and support you in the registration process for homeschooling in Australia. One of our key priorities for 2023 is to continue sourcing excellent and meaningful resources, in particular, those created by our First Nation’s educators and other independent experts that share our passion and purpose for homeschooling.

Can HOME EDUCATE put me in touch with home schooling tutors / specialists in my area?

This is currently not something we’re offering. However, there are organisations (both established and new) that are working off a decentralised educational model.

I want to individualise a Learning Plan for my child. Can HOME EDUCATE help me?

YES we can! Email us, to book in a 30-minute consult with our trained educational consultants (registered teachers in Australia and most importantly parents) and we will personalise the HOME EDUCATE home school program, based on your family’s needs.

 

Our introductory offer for personalised packages ranges from $275 (Primary Years 1-6) to $375 (Secondary Years 7-10).

Is the HOME EDUCATE community only online?

Our community includes families and educators from across Australia that have taken the leap to out-of-the-box education. We support and see great value in regular commitment to community engagement, experiential learning led by child interests and important relationships fostered with mentors. We highly recommend that extracurricular activities, industry training and group activities be face-to-face and local.

Can I still work and be a home schooling parent?

Yes you can! Homeschooling hours can be made up formally and informally in a way that suits your family needs. Whether this means using specialist mentors, extracurricular activities, community groups or other home school families, we truly believe “it takes a village to raise a child”.