Home Ed FAQs
These FAQs address a range of topics for home educating in Queensland.
Our QLD Legislation & Your Rights
Compulsory schooling age is the age required for a child to participate in education as defined in law. In Queensland this is from 6yrs 6mon to 16yrs. The education can be delivered in any environment – and does not define this education is required to be in or attending school. [s.9]
A parent has the right in choosing a schooling option for their child/ren, where a parent includes those legally recognised in place of a parent, unless that person is doing so as a temporary basis. [s.7, s.10]
You do not need to hold or obtain any qualifications to home educate your child. It is a right of parents to choose where their child receives an education, be that in the home or in a school. [s.7]
A School's Rights
As it is a parent’s responsibility to choose an educational environment for a child, and a school is not the parent, the school has no right to maintain an enrolment where the parent has notified in writing the intent to home educate. [s.7, s.199]
If the school refuses your parental rights and responsibility in choosing the educational environment for your child, you can remind them that the law does not define any school staff as holding that right. [s.7, s.10]
You can also connect with us to have a reminder of a school’s obligations under the law sent to your child’s school addressing the issue. Please use the Contact Us options at the bottom of the page.
Once you have notified the school of your intent and application to home educate your child, you are no longer bound by the truancy rules associated with a school enrolment. This means it is not relevant to you or your child and you have no obligation to comply with attendance requests. [s.199]
How to Register
You register your child on the Home Education Unit (HEU) website via the Queensland Education Department. You can find all the links you need in the ‘how to register‘ button on this website.
To complete an application you will need to complete the application process, which includes the following documents:
– child’s birth certificate*
– declaration form**
– educational plan
*any other relevant ID documents may be required
**declaration form is found in the online application, or may be emailed to you by the HEU
Note: You do not need all these documents at the time of application, but it is best to do so where possible, or to have them emailed through as soon as possible to assist in the process.
Writing an educational plan is not as daunting as it seems if you follow the simple checklist we have supplied in our Free2Homeschool Qld support group. You can find access to this support group via the ‘How to Register‘ button in the top right of this site. We have provided you with all the tools to achieve this yourself with as minimal effort as possible.
If you are still looking to outsource this task and have it written for you, personalised to your own child, you can find our services at the bottom of the ‘How to Register‘ page with a contact form to get you started.
An educational plan is required to show your plan to demonstrate a high-quality education.
According to our Home Education Unit, they have a guided list to demonstrate what a high-quality education means, as follows:
- is responsive to the changing needs of the child as indicated by the short and long term educational and personal goals
- short term goals
- long term goals
- has regard to the age, ability, aptitude and development of the child concerned
- recognising and explaining your child’s learning style and learning needs
- is conducted in an environment conducive to learning
- explain what is on offer at home and in your wider community
- is responsive to the child’s need for social development
- list out some planned social activities in the community
- utilises suitable and relevant teaching strategies to deliver the educational program to the child
- explain strategies and activities are you going to do to engage your child
- engages the child in a range of rich and varied learning experiences
- list out some topics and interests are you planning to cover
- is supported by sufficient and appropriate resources
- list some resources you plan to use to support all of the above
- uses strategies for monitoring educational progress.
- what are you going to review when looking back to recognise your child’s progress and achievements
How to Choose Resources
Finding suitable resources for your child is very specific to understanding your child’s needs and learning style. We do not recommend you spend any money on resources for the first 6 months when you begin home educating, and consider access free trials until you find suitable options.
How to Report
As a condition of your registration, you are required to submit a report in your 10th month. Your report must represent a high-quality education, be submitted in a written form and based on the child’s educational progress in their home education journey. [s.217]
A report is required to outline an overview of the year past from the date of registration, and provide a mention of the child’s educational progress in 3 learning areas (where 2 of these represent the learning areas of english/ communication and mathematics/ numbers). Although this is not legislated, these are the accepted learning areas that have been consistent over time. [s.217(2)(b)]
You are required to submit a new plan with your report to represent any information that has changed from your previous plan.
Finding Your Community
Most home educating families connect via social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram. You can find the Queensland Free2Homeschool community using the icons at the bottom of the page, or join our Facebook group HERE.
Join our Facebook group for events available to the Home Education community across Queensland
Email us here at Free2Homeschool or use our contact form to access individual and personalised support specific to your situation, having your questions answered.
