I posted a copy of the letter I sent the Ministry on behalf of parents who are affected by the Ministry recently "clarifying" their position that exempt children cannot be present at Playcentre (or other ECE) with their parents. This is the reply I recieved from a Ministry Senior Advisor. My subsequent email to him is below. 

Kia ora Cynthia,
 
Thank you for your email about children enrolled in school attending early learning services.
 
We share your views about the importance of parent and whānau involvement in parent-led early learning services. Parent-led services provide parents and whānau with the opportunity to learn more about parenting, develop social and community networks and build greater confidence, as well as lead the education and care of their children.
 
We have not changed our stance on children enrolled in school, or those participating in home education, not being able to attend early learning services. The recent change to our website was not a change in policy but rather, clarification to make it clear that children participating in home education are also not able to attend early learning services.
 
Children enrolled in school/home education
 
Early learning services are set up to provide education and care to pre-school children and operate with a set of rules to ensure the specific needs of younger children are met. As you will know, playcentre needs to meet the same requirements as other early childhood education centres.
 
One of the requirements is that the premises and resources are kept for the exclusive use of children participating in the early learning programme. This is about making sure the environment is kept safe for young children, that they have space to explore and that their learning opportunities are not impacted by older children, who generally operate at a different pace and on a different scale to infants and younger children. This means that children enrolled in school, or those participating in home education, cannot regularly join in the activities offered at an early learning service during licensed hours.
 
I understand that this won’t be the answer you are looking for. However, the legislation which dictates how early learning services operate, does not allow for children enrolled in school, or those participating in home education, to attend early learning services, aside from certain exemptions.
 
Ngā mihi,

My reply sent today:

Thank you for your email, and for clarifying that this is not a recent change but rather clarification on the website.
 
I have read all of the relevant legislation and policy documents that I am aware of in regards to ECE in a setting such as Playcentre in their entirety – please let me know if there are any I have missed. My understanding is that the regulatory framework consists of 3 guiding documents, namely:

• The Education and Training Act 2020
• Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008
• The Ministry’s document titled “Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education & Care Services 2008 and Early Childhood Education Curriculum Framework”(as amended May 2016)

I think the key issue here is the use of the word “attend” – there needs to be clarity around context and whether it means “be enrolled in” or “be present at;” obviously there is overlap in the sense that one anticipates that children who are enrolled in the ECE will also be present there, however one does not need to be enrolled in something to be present, necessarily. For example, a parent might attend a high school special assembly to witness their enrolled student’s participation in it, accompanied by their pre-schooler. Both the high school student and the preschooler (as well as their parent) “attended” the assembly at school, but only one was enrolled; the others were simply present.
 
In reviewing the regulatory framework, I note that there is clear guidelines on who can be enrolled in an ECE – ie, 0-6 year olds, excluding 5 year olds who are enrolled in school and not under a transition plan. However, there is nothing which states who can be present (or not) at an ECE in regards to families of the enrolled children, with the exception of excluding parents who are a danger to the children.
 
On the contrary, parents have right of entry to an ECE where their child is enrolled/present (other than the exception noted), and there are a number of places in the regulations where specific allowance is made for the possibility that non-enrolled students may be present in the care of their parents. I pointed out a couple of them in my last email. Here’s another:
 
Schedule 2 of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 sets out the adult-to-child ratios for early childhood education and care centres. Schedule 3 sets out the service sizes for the same. Notable point in the definitions at the end of each Schedule:
 
“In the case of a centre...., every child present (including the child of the service provider or person responsible or supervisor or staff member) of any age also counts as a child.” (Emphasis mine)

The regulations specifically allow for the fact that other children, particularly the children of responsible adults helping run the service, may also be present (not enrolled), and that they may be of “any age.”

One of the understandings behind this is simply this: parents are responsible for the supervision of their children who are not old enough to be left on their own. If those children are not enrolled in school (and thus attending and supervised there), then they are likely to be with the parents who may be present at the centre – this applies to both children who are pre-school age and not enrolled in the centre, and those who are 6 or over and not required to attend school during that time.  The writing of the Acts concerned allows for that. There is no legislation or regulation that says that they cannot be with the parents who are responsible for them. To exclude those children from being present at appropriate times is to also exclude their parents. and by extension in the case of Playcentre to exclude their enrolled siblings, as Playcentre does not provide a drop-and-go care service.

No one is arguing about the fact that the ECE centre is intended to be for the use of the enrolled preschoolers, and that they should be the focus of the program, resources etc, and their learning and engagement should not be interfered with by older children who may be present. However, this does not mean that legally other children may not be present, when they are being supervised by their own parents or caregivers, whose responsibility it would be to also ensure those older children do not adversely effect the experience or learning of the enrolled children. Bear in mind that most older children will not be able to be present because they are required to be attending school at that time; we’re talking about a very small number of children scattered across the country – Playcentres would not be overrun with older children! For those families, though, this is hugely important.

You stated in your email that “the legislation which dictates how early learning services operate, does not allow for children enrolled in school, or those participating in home education, to attend early learning services, aside from certain exemptions”  - please point out which part of the legislation prevents children in the care of their parents from being present at an ECE in which their sibling is enrolled, unless due to the fact that they are required to attend school at that time? I cannot find any such regulations.

Rather, this would appear to be a case of the Ministry making decisions which are in line with their own thinking, but are extra-legal; not governed or sanctioned by law. This is overreach and would, I believe, not stand up to judicial review (unless, of course, I have missed a pertinent regulation somewhere).

I’d like to request, please, that the Ministry have their legal team review this situation more thoroughly, taking into account the matters I have raised in my emails.

Please let me know the outcome.

​Kind regards
Cynthia Hancox
Government Liaison: National Council of Home Educators of NZ (NCHENZ)

In 2017, a law change was passed requiring enrolled 5yos to attend school. This caused a lot of confusion about parent's ability to withdraw 5 yo children from school. I outlined the facts HERE. 

Now that the Education and Training Act 2020 has come into force this July, I'm writing this updated version of the situation with links to the new legislation.

The purpose of this post is to clarify what the attendance requirement for 5 year olds do and don’t mean. 

​

1. The age at which a child MUST be enrolled in a registered school under law remains unchanged at 6 years old. Section 35 of the Education and Training Act 2020 says that a domestic student must be enrolled in and attending a registered school from their 6th to their 16th birthdays.
2. As previously, students MAY be enrolled in a school from their 5th birthday. It is against the law to enrol a child younger than 5 in a registered school. (s62). This is still the parent’s choice. They do not HAVE to enrol their child at any time prior to the 6th birthday.
3. The 2017 change, continuing in the new Act, is that once a child is enrolled in a school they are required to attend, even if they are under the age of 6. These attendance requirements are covered by Section 36 of the 2020 Act. This means that parents whose 5yo children are enrolled in a school are subject to the same requirements to send them each day as the parents of an older student. The only exception is if a transition plan is in place to ease them into full time attendance.
4. HOWEVER, there is nothing in any part of the Act that prevents a parent from UN-enrolling their child (permanently removing) them from a school (for any reason). If the child is less than 6, a parent can still unenroll their child and begin home educating them immediately, so long as by the time they turn 6 they have obtained an exemption (or enrolled them in a school).
5. A parent or guardian can apply for an exemption to home educate their child, on the basis that the child is to be “taught at least as regularly and well as in a registered school.” This long-term exemption from the requirements of Section 35 is covered by Section 38 of the Education and Training Act. Because it specifically refers to “exempt…from the requirements of Section 35” which only covers 6-16 year olds, home education exemptions continue to be applicable only to students from the age of 6. (No change under the new Act). As per agreed Ministry policy, parents can apply for an exemption any time after the 5th birthday, and have the application processed and the exemption granted, but the exemption comes into force from the 6th birthday, as prior to that there is nothing to be exempt from.

A related matter - returning to ECE:
A related matter I get asked about from time to time is "If my child has been enrolled in school at 5, and then I withdrew them, can they be re-enrolled in an ECE, and recieve the funding?" The answer is yes, they can. Any child under 6 who is not enrolled in a school can be enrolled in an ECE, and if they meet the other eligibility critieria, recieve the 20 hours-per-week funding. 

A family who experienced difficulty around this asked for my support. The result was an email from the ECE team at the Ministry that confirmed:
"If a child under the age of 6 has recently enrolled in school, then subsequently un-enrols from school in order to re-enrol in an early learning service for an ongoing period (for example because the parents have decided that the child is not ready to transition to school), then they are eligible for any early childhood funding available.  Children are not able to access early childhood funding if they are enrolled in school on an ongoing basis, eg they cannot enrol in an early childhood service in the school holidays."

​Legislation and Links:
The current Education and Training Act 2020 can be viewed online here: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0038/latest/LMS170676.html

My step-by-step guide to getting a home education exemption can be found HERE.

The Ministry of Education's information about home education exemptions can be found HERE.

Section 58 of the Ministry's 2018 internal Home Education Policy and Procedures Manual confirms that 5yos may withdrawn from school at any time and not re-enrolled in a school until they turn 6

The Ministry publishes a document for schools and BOTs called Attendance Matters. The current version is out of date on a number of points, but I include it here to point out that it states under the National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) on Page 15 that "a parent is free to withdraw their 5 year old at any time and not re-enrol them in another school until they are 6"

Quite recently, the Ministry made an arbitrary decision that exempt students could not be present at Playcentre sessions with their parent/s and siblings. Playcentre NZ passed this information on to families, causing considerable upset. I was asked to write a letter to the Ministry on behalf of families. Here is the content of that letter, which outlines the issues (see their reply and my follow up email HERE):

Dear Ministry of Education,
I’m writing concerning a recent Ministry determination that children over the age of 6 with homeschooling exemptions cannot be present at Playcentre sessions. This position causes a number of problems which the Ministry may not have taken into consideration, resulting in families being discriminated against and their ECE-aged children excluded.

Playcentres are in their very nature and philosophy family-centric, and this is a big part of the reason that families choose a Playcentre as the ECE for their child. Quoting from the Playcentre website description of what Playcentre is:
  “Playcentre is your village.  See children delight in their surroundings - play with them, alongside them, encourage them to interact with others while you meet other parents and educators.
  Parents are the first educators of children, and Playcentres around New Zealand foster the involvement of whānau through early childhood education.
  As a family, and as a community, you’ll build your own village with Playcentre: making life-long friends along the way.”

Playcentres are run by parents, and rely on parents who gain the required qualifications in order to run sessions. It is often those parents who have a longer involvement with Playcentre through having several successive children attend who are particularly invested in gaining those qualifications and helping to run the Playcentre.

It has been common over the years for parents with both ECE-aged children and older, home educated children to bring the older children with them to sessions if they do not have alternative care available at those times. Individual Playcentres took the responsibility to have in place policies and processes that ensured that the needs of the enrolled Playcentre children remained paramount, and that any older children present did not detract from that. Usually, though, the opposite is true – older children bring benefits to the centre and enrolled children, such as by modelling skills and good behaviours, by helping out in practical ways, or by reading or playing with the younger children. Of course, some of the older children would simply be present but working on their own schoolwork etc in an out-of-the-way spot.

Several parents have sent me letters to include, and they are attached. I have also heard from a number of other families through online group discussions etc. Here I will summarise some of the main points made by these and other parents whose families have been affected by this situation:

​Playcentre the only suitable ECE option: For some families, their younger children’s early childhood needs cannot be met elsewhere, either because of their geographical distance from other ECE options, or because their child’s specific needs and/or family philosophy make any other options unsuitable.

Parents must attend with their children, and older children cannot be left unsupervised: For many families, the main reason their older children attend the sessions with them is that there are no other suitable options for their care and supervision during those times – and of course these kids cannot be left on their own at home. If they cannot be brought to the Playcentre with their sibling/s, then this means that the younger sibling must be withdrawn from the Playcentre also, missing out on ECE all together, which surely flies in the face of Ministry and government policy which encourages engagement in ECE for all NZ children of that age.

​Parent’s being forced to choose between their children: Parents put in this position feel like they are being forced to choose one child’s needs over the other’s, which is unfair. These are caring, committed parents who want to see ALL their children thrive and be provided with good opportunities; with one stroke the Ministry has put them in a very difficult position.

Putting the viability of Playcentres themselves at risk: If such families are forced to withdraw from Playcentre, there is significant risk that many Playcentres will be unable to run their sessions, and some may have to close, because they will no longer have parents with the required qualifications present to run them. Therefore, not only their own children, but also other local children will miss out.

Harming the wellbeing of families and communities: As is clear from the ethos of Playcentre as quoted above, the sessions are not just about the children either – they are of benefit to the whole family through encouraging relationships between the children AND between the parents and by extension their families. For a lot of young parents, their local playcentres provide the best opportunities for them to find support and make connections within their communities, and to make friends with other parents with whom they have things in common. The Ministry’s decision puts all of this at risk, thus potentially affecting not only the early childhood education of the enrolled children, but the overall well-being of their families and communities. This is particularly magnified in small or rural communities.

The Education and Training Act 2020 defines an Early Childhood Education and Care Centre as:
“means premises that are used regularly for the education or care of 3 or more children (not being children of the persons providing the education or care or children enrolled at a school who are being provided with education or care before or after school) under the age of 6 years by day (or part of a day) but not for any continuous period of more than 7 days”

This definition excludes the children of the persons providing care and education to the enrolled children from being counted in the number of children being provided for, but it does NOT exclude them from being present. In fact, it actually allows for the very possibility that they MIGHT be present, by excluding them in the definition as counting towards the number being cared for.

Likewise, if one looks at Section 19 of the Act which outlines the requirements for a licensed home-based education and care service, it discusses how many children may be enrolled in the service as well as how many other children may also be present who are under 13 and not enrolled in school. (Notably, in those circumstances it allows for ONE person to be providing for the education and care of up to 4 enrolled preschool children while also having the care of 2 or so additional children up to age 13 who are not enrolled in school, yet the Ministry would apparently argue that parents at a Playcentre where there are a number of adults present could not do the same.)

These sections show that there is a clear understanding within the Act that in some circumstances, persons involved in providing the care and education of enrolled ECE children may also have other children of their own present during sessions.

Exempt children who are present at Playcentre with their parent/s and siblings also benefit from the opportunities presented, which help them to develop in the key competencies, particularly those of relating to others, and participating and contributing.

Their own education is not being neglected, as playcentre sessions are for limited hours each week, during which students are either engaged as discussed above, or quietly working on their own work. Meanwhile, there are plenty of hours in the week for their parents to use to ensure that the exempt student’s own work is completed and all needed teaching is provided.

In conclusion: The Ministry’s decision that over 6 yo exempt students cannot be present at Playcentre with their families means that some children and their parents will be unable to have the opportunity to participate in ECE and/or the Playcentre community, to the detriment not just of themselves but of the whole family and wider community. It also means some Playcentres will be unable to run sessions or may be forced to close due to lack of suitable qualified people to run them. And it puts parents in the terrible position of being forced to choose between their children.

On the other hand, there is nothing in the law that actual prevents such children from being allowed to be present, and there is absolutely no harm being done to the education of the enrolled children under these circumstances – rather their experience and learning is often enhanced; any rare individual issues can be handled suitably on a case-by-case basis by the affected Playcentre through their own policies and processes.

We therefore ask the Ministry to urgently reconsider their position on this matter.

Yours faithfully
Cynthia Hancox
Government Liaison: National Council of Home Educators of NZ (NCHENZ)

Recently new home educator Abbey Reeve and myself were interviewed by TV3's The Project. 

Want some new ideas and encouragement? Here's an excellent opportunity to take part in a very inexpensive global conference, accessible from home, and with the ability to watch/listen at a time that suits you. I'm one of the speakers. 

Want to live a courageous life driven by the power of the Holy Spirit as you homeschool? 
Want to restore your children's hearts to Jesus? 
Want to intentionally create success for the next generation?
 
Global Christian Homeschool Conference
Virtual Speakers Pouring their Wisdom
August 17-21, 2020, 5 Days
Cost is only $20* – No, Really! (*Price in USD)
Registration begins Aug 10, 2020
 
Register HERE (This is my affiliate link; please use if it you'd like to support me)
 
From the host, Crissi Allen:
What makes this Homeschool Conference unique? God downloaded to me the idea of encouraging my  brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the global homeschooling community. I chose mature Christian women and men who want to speak words of life into you, the homeschooling parent, so that you can stay home and mentor your children!
 
This year’s themes include:

1. The ABC’s of Homeschool, Diligent Prep for College,
2. Chats with Real Parents, Health & Wellness for Parents & Students
3. Courageous Living Teen Track, Unique Special Needs & Gifted Children,
4. Staying Power Marriage & Parenting,
5. Amazing Working Moms & Entrepreneurs

 
Features include:

• Passionate speakers that pour out words of life into homeschool parents
• Edifying Facebook community group where homeschool parents can interact with speakers, vendors, and homeschooling parents from around the world.
• Online “vendor hall” for attendees (will be photo albums in FB group).
• Giveaways during the “conference” week for attendees.
• Low ticket prices
• Unlimited, lifetime access to the conference (videos and handouts).

 
Something unique that we’ll be doing this year are to have panels of speakers talk about their unique situations.  Tune in to the following on our Facebook Community Page:

1. Homeschooling in Different Countries - Monday
2. Homeschooling as Single Parent - Monday
3. Homeschooling Dads who Homeschool - Tuesday
4. Hot House Transplants, Faith intact and Impacting the World - Wed
5. Real Talk with Homeschooling Teens - Wed
6. How to Create Peace in a Chaotic World - Thurs
7. Senior Entrepreneurs who are Still Blessing the Homeschool World - Fri

 
The Scripture focus this year is 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.  “23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
 
Click here if you want to register with my affiliate link: https://heart-academy1.teachable.com/courses/global-christian-homeschool-conference?affcode=700268_gjzcdf-h

Note: when you sign up, you will get access to both the Facebook group and the Teachable vault. Some talks are pre-recorded and are accessible in the vault straight away. Others are being recorded live and are accessible in the Facebook group, then will be uploaded to the vault at the end of the week. 

The current Ministry of Education application forms (published 2016) are designed to be used for a single, individual child. This is because at the time of publishing, the Ministry felt strongly that "each child must have an individual application." However, since that time through ongoing meetings and conversations with the Ministry, they have come to see the sense in being able to include more than one child in a single application in some circumstances. As a result, they have promised updated forms that allow for the inclusion of information on more than one child in a single form, but that hasn't happened yet.

Meanwhile, keep the following in mind:

• You do not have to use their forms for your full application. It is, however, best to use Section One of their forms - that is the part that asks about name, date of birth, parents details etc etc, and includes an important declaration. It's a waste of effort to replicate this section elsewhere, and all the info it asks for MUST be included. Since on the current forms this is only set up for one child, then I recommend you complete one copy of Section One (it's only 3 pages and can be filled in on the computer and saved) for each child. 
• For the rest of the application, use your own document, such as one written in Word or Google Docs and then converted to pdf before sending to the Ministry. My exemption guide pack contains a template in Word. (This advice applies whether you're applying for 1 or more children)
• When writing in your own document, you may include multiple children if it sensible to do so, but bear the below advice in mind.
• If you want to use the Ministry's application forms for the full application (Sections 1-4), you will have to do them individually until the new forms come out.

If you are writing exemption applications for 2 (or more) children who are very close in age and/or in stage of learning - eg twins, or often children 1-2 years apart in age, or where one is behind or advanced, bringing them closer in level, or in some cases where the program is very multi-child, such as unit studies based - then it often makes a great deal of sense to combine their information in one application. Otherwise you might be essentially supplying two almost identical sets of documents, with just the name changed. If you feel like that's you, or close, then yes, write them in one document if you like. 

Note, however, that is is absolutely ESSENTIAL that if you choose to do this, that you show sufficient and suitable information that demonstrates that you are taking into account each child's particular needs, which might include areas of strength or weakness, particular learning needs, next steps in learning, or individual preferences in things like sports, music etc etc.

Here are some examples of applications I would write as one, and the ways I would personalise them:

• Twins working at essentially the same level. If their program of learning is identical (and it may well be) I'd make a particular effort to include info on what each one enjoys or wants to focus on, or needs to improve in. Eg Jack might want to learn to play the drums and take part in rugby. John might play the guitar and prefers soccer. Or Jill might love to write stories and needs to develop her writing-reviewing-editing process while Jane has strong ideas and would enjoy the challenge of writing succinct, persuasive letters to the Editor. Anything relevant where you can include some personalisation will benefit your application.
• Two children close in age, working at the same level in literacy but a year apart in math. I would include the different math program/topics for each child, but much of the rest would be the same. Again, I would add personal interests, individual goals etc whereever applicable. 
• Multiple children where the family is using a strongly unit study approach with all children working on the same topics together. This one is a bit trickier to do all in one, but I would outline each subject content, then show how it will be tailored to each child - for example in literacy and numeracy you would set tasks and have specific goals and next steps for each child according to their age/stage/ability. Likewise in Science and Social Studies while they may study the same topics, they would apply that learning in different ways - an older child writing an essay after doing research, for example, while a young one might draw pictures and add captions with parental help, and meanwhile the middle child is expected to write a short report or complete some worksheets or whatever.

Note: No matter how you format your applications, you must have different topic plans for each child (even if you are planning to have them all take part in each topic). So if it's all in one document, have Topic Plan 1, Topic Plan 2 etc, each centred around a different child.

For the last few years, I have written or supported families writing quite a number of multi-child single applications through all regions of the country. Most have been twins or children just 1-2 years apart working at the same level. In only one case I know of, did the Ministry turn around and insist they needed completely separate documents for each child (it happened to be twins). So the parent changed the name/s in the document and printed two copies. I hope that that office later realised it was a bit silly. If someone strikes this, I would be happy to discuss the situation and provide support if needed. 

The reality is that a lot of the time it's actually EASIER to write the applications separately. That doesn't mean it's double or triple or whatever the work - you write one, then use it as as template for the others, saving a lot of time. It's ok to have a lot of similar or same content in applications for different children - that is normal - so long as their individual needs are covered where applicable. 

​But by doing them individually, it can be much easier to just focus on the one child at a time and what their individual program looks like. Unless your children are very close in age/ability and are therefore doing essentially the same program as discussed above, it makes more sense to write them up individually. If you're trying to cram a lot of different info about multiple children into one document, it could become very long and potentially confusing.

After you've written the first application, just save an extra copy, use the Replace function to change the name throughout, and then go through and edit the parts that need modifying for the next child - likely to be primarily English and Math, then Science and Social Studies depending on your planned approach, and the rest is most likely just about individual interests where they apply. You also must have a different Topic Plan for each child, regardless of the format of your applications. 

The Ministry of Education divides the country into 10 "regions." When sending in an exemption application or needing to contact your regional office about home education matters, it's useful to know which ones cover what region. So here is the current list. Note, there are additional local offices in each region, but those do not deal with home education matters as such - they are only handled by the specific regional offices outlined below.

If you are wanting information and forms to apply to Home Educate, you do not need to contact the offices. Just visit the Ministry's Home Education page, where you can download the forms and find current information. 
​(And for help understanding and completing those forms, see my Exemption Guide)

The following include the contact details you can use when sending in an exemption or are needing to get in touch to update your address, advise your intention to begin/end a school trial, dates for leaving/returning to NZ or anything else related to your child's home education. The lead contacts named below are the specific staff members, where known, who deal directly with home education matters, or oversee such matters in their region.

Northland/Tai Tokerau (everything north of Wellsford)
PO Box 911
Whangarei 0140
Email: enquiries.whangarei@education.govt.nz 
Phone: 09 436 8900
Lead Contact: Lyndsay Whitehead

Auckland (from Wellsford to Mercer)
​Private Bag 92644
Symonds Street
Auckland 1150
Email: enquiries.auckland@education.govt.nz
Phone: 09: 632 9400
Lead Contact: Julie Spedding

Waikato (includes Thames-Coromandal, Matamata-Piako, Waipa, Otorohanga, Waitomo and part of Ruapehu including Taumaranui)
PO Box 774
Hamilton 3240
Email: enquiries.hamilton@education.govt.nz
Phone: 07 850 8880
Lead Contact: Candida Hamana

Bay of Plenty/Waiariki (includes BOP, Taupo, Rotorua, Opotiki) - all home education matters are currently handled out of the Tauranga office
PO Box 15564
Tauranga 3144
Email: enquiries.BoP-Waiariki@education.govt.nz
​Phone: 07 571 7800
Lead Contact: Elizabeth (Liz) Moli

Whanganui (includes: Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatu regions. Southern boundary is Himatangi corner. Tokomaru is included. Piahiatua and anything that side of the Tararuas is not)
Private Bag 3012
Whanganui 4540
Email: enquiries.whanganui@education.govt.nz
​Phone: 06 349 6300
Lead Contact: Charles Quirk

Napier (Hawkes Bay and Gisbourne)
​PO Box 147
Napier 4140
Email: enquiries.napier@education.govt.nz
Phone: 06 833 6730
​Lead Contact: Hana Ruth

Lower Hutt (from Foxton south including most of the Horowhenua, Kapiti, Porirua, Wairarapa and parts of Manawatu south of the Tararuas including Paihiatua)
PO Box 30177
Lower Hutt 5040
Email: enquiries.lowerhutt@education.govt.nz 
Phone: 04 463 8699
​Lead Contact: Gail Vinnell

Nelson (all of Marlborough, Tasman, West Coast)
PO Box 282
Nelson 7040
Email: enquiries.nelson@education.govt.nz
Phone: 03 546 3470
​Lead Contact: Alison Locke

Canterbury (includes Chatham Islands)
PO Box 2522, Addington
Christchurch 8140
Email: enquiries.christchurch@education.govt.nz 
Phone: 03 378 7300
​Lead Contact: Averill Manning

Otago/Southland  (home education matters are handled in both Dunedin and Invercargill offices; the lead adviser is based in Invercargill)
Private Bag 1971
Dunedin 9054​
Email: enquiries.dunedin@education.govt.nz
Phone: 03 471 5200 (Otago office)
or 03 211 8000 (Invercargill office)
Lead Contact: Trina Eastwood

The role of Lead Contact: A lead contact is a Senior Education Adviser who holds the portfolio for home education in their region. This means they take overall responsibility to ensure applications are processed and other enquiries responded to, but they may or may not directly process all exemptions themselves. In four of the offices, the lead contact is also the person who processes all exemptions. In all the other offices there are a number of advisers who process applications, reporting to the lead contact, who may peer review applications before a final decision is made. (All applications are peer reviewed, but by whom varies from office to office).

This department deals with the six monthly declarations and Supervision Allowance payments. They are also an alternative department to contact to update your contact details. 

PO Box 1666
Wellington 6140
Email: resourcing@education.govt.nz
Phone: 04 463 8383

The Ministry map of the regions can be viewed HERE
​For more contact details on all regional offices see the Ministry's website HERE

There are two important numbers assigned to home educating families and students which should be known and understood. Here's some info on how to find and use these numbers.

When a family applies for their first home education exemption, the Ministry staff processing the application create a record on their homeschooling database known as RAD. In doing so, the family is assigned a number which is personal to that family only. This number is displayed on the exemption certificate and all subsequent correspondence from the Ministry in respect of home education, such as the six monthly declarations. 

The number will have, currently, 5 digits (older ones had 4), followed by a -1 for the first child exempt, a -2 for the second child and so on. For example, if the Smith family are homeschooling 3 exempt students, their family numbers might be 12345-1, 12345-2 and 12345-3. 

You will seldom need to use this number, but it will come in handy if corresponding with the Ministry about anything to do with your family exemptions. So keep a record of it in a safe place.

Every student in New Zealand has a National Student Number or NSN which is assigned to them from the time they first enrol in an ECE, school, or gain an exemption. This is the number they are linked to on ENROL, the national schools database, as well as on the NZQA framework, Studylink, at tertiary institutes etc. NSNs are 9 digits long and are personal to each individual student rather than family.

If at any time you wish to enrol your child in a program which has credits or funding attached to it, then you will need their NSN number. You will also need it to complete an NZQA registration, which is also needed for earned credits to be recorded on the Framework, and to access those records.

You will also need an NSN to check eligibility for Fees Free via the Fees Free website. 

It is mostly families of older students who need their NSN. Until now, finding out your student's NSN has required contacting the Ministry of Education and requesting it* - an often frustrating process. Last year at our meeting with the Ministry, in my role as Government Liaison for the National Council of Home Educators of NZ (NCHENZ), I requested that student NSNs be made easily accessible by including them with future exemption certificates and also adding them to the six monthly declarations. The Ministry agreed, and as of the current round of declarations (March 2020), these have been added.**

Now on your declarations you should see a line for each student which states:
Family homeschooling number, student's full name, students NSN.
Just one more reason to keep a copy of your declaration and not just shove it back in the post and return it. :-)  

The student's NSN will also be stated on any new exemption certificates issued. An exemption certificate is a legal document, and should be kept in a safe place.**

Below is a made up copy of part of a declaration for a fictious student - the family number is in red and the NSN in blue for clarity. This format is what you should see on declarations from now on.

*Note: if you're reading this at a time when you don't have a declaration handy, and need your student's NSN, you can still ask for it by contacting the regional Ministry office in your area. You are most likely to be successful by contacting the staff member there who processes exemption applications, if you are a home educating family. 

**Note: there is an exception - if you have applied for and been granted an exemption for a 5 year old, which doesn't legally come into effect before they turn 6, and have been sent out a declaration and/or exemption certificate in advance, post dated, then the NSN won't be on it/them as it won't have been generated yet; Ministry staff will have diarised adding your child to ENROL on their 6th birthday, at which point the NSN will be generated, and you will see that on your subsequent declaration. This is because Ministry staff are doing their best working with a sadly outdated and clunky database system, which causes all kinds of frustrations. Procedures in regional offices do vary - some will wait to send out the exemption certificate until the time of the birthday rolls around (in which case it will likely have the NSN on it), others will send them in advance, post dated (so they will not). 

All regional Ministry staff are working from home. They will be able to process exemption applications received via email (ie electronically), but not those that are sent by post, as they cannot access the mail until after the shutdown. 

As doing it this way is new to most of them, they are unsure about whether timeframes for processing will be affected. However I've had a number of reports back from families who have submitted applications during lockdown so far that they have been approved very swiftly. 

Regional staff will contact families to let them know that their application has been approved. At this point some regional offices are saying they will email the exemption certificate to families, others are saying they will have to wait until they are back in the office to access printers and will post them out. Some plan to do both.

This is the wording that the Ministry has added to their website on 2nd April:
"The Covid-19 lockdown has restricted how we process home-school applications and declarations. However, we will do our best to ensure no family who wishes to formally home-school their child, or children, is disadvantaged.
As our staff are having to work from home, local offices will only be able to process emailed applications.
If your application is approved you will receive your certificate of exemption by email.
If you have any queries please contact your local Ministry office."

The April declarations were mailed out before lockdown. Families are starting to receive them now. I have today (Monday 30th) spoken to Resourcing Division and here is the situation and advice:

The lovely staff member I spoke to, who like everyone was taken by surprise by the announcement of impending lockdown, hastily printed off all declarations, took them home with him, and personally stuffed envelopes and sent them out, so families would get them (big ups to Kenneth!)

He advises me that while families can send the declarations back, they have no way of processing them, regardles of whether they are posted or emailed. This is because the system they are working with is complex and antiquated, partly paper based, and significant parts cannot be done remotely. IF the lockdown ends of schedule, they hope to make the payment as intended in the week starting May 18th, but if it is extended, it may be June or so before payments can be made. 

Some families have already contacted the Ministry and emailed their forms. That is fine. HOWEVER, it would be much more helpful if the bulk of forms were posted to the Ministry, so they can work through them systematically as soon as they are able. 

We discussed various aspects, and the following are important recommendations:

1) If you can, please post your declarations back. BEFORE you do this, take a scan or clear picture of it as a back up so that if there are issues later, you can then email that back up copy to them. But if you're one of the efficient ones who already sent it back in without keeping a copy, then don't worry about it; if later it turns out we need to submit electronically then at that time you can ask for a new copy to be emailed to you. 
Note: this time around, for the first time ever, students NSNs are included in the declarations. You are going to want a copy so you have that info for the future too. See THIS for more. 

2) If you have no access to mail services at this time and/or have not received your declaration in a reasonable period of time (say the end of this week), then you can email resourcing@education.govt.nz and ask for a copy to be sent to you electronically. They do have the capacity to send them out by email on request, but not to reprint any at this time. Please give it a bit of time first though - post is likely to be slow currently.

3) If you cannot access postal services to return your declaration, then you can also email the completed return to resourcing@education.govt.nz. But again, only do this if you cannot post, as if we overwhelm their inbox, mistakes are more likely to be made than if they're working through a physical pile of paper in due course.

Further wording the Ministry have added to their website re allowances on 2nd April:
"As stated, the Covid-19 lockdown has restricted how we process applications and declarations.
The date when declarations are due and allowances paid may be subject to change. We will seek to provide further advice over the coming weeks.
If you have any questions you can contact resourcing support at: resourcing@education.govt.nz"

And for anyone looking for the postal address, it's:
Resourcing Division
Ministry of Education
PO Box 1666
​Wellington 6140

During these difficult and unprecedented times everyone is doing the best that they can, but disruptions are unavoidable. Let's be patient and kind to ourselves and each other. 

• Exemption applications can still be sent into regional Ministry offices, but should be emailed rather than posted, as only emailed applications can be processed at this time. ​
• Declarations can be signed and posted back in - they will be processed once lockdown ends, though if it is extended payment dates may be delayed. Emailing declarations will not speed up processing, and too many emailed declarations could cause issues and actually slow things down. Where needed, though, emailing is an option - see above for details.

​I phoned Resourcing today; the same diligent staff member who made sure declarations were sent out has had the boxes of received declarations delivered to his home, and is working on processing them. He will have another delivery in the next few days, to ensure that all declarations received by the cut-off date (last Friday, May 1st) are also processed. He has been working with the payments team and they believe they have come up with a way to ensure that payments can be processed remotely. At this time, therefore, they hope that all payments related to declarations received on time will be made on schedule, in the week of 18-22nd May. Note that this is an untested way of doing this, so they cannot yet guarantee success, but it is their intention to make it work.

Any declarations which were not received by the Ministry by the deadline will still be processed, but will have to wait until staff are able to return to the office; a date which is as yet unknown.

Today Resourcing confirmed that payments are being processed "as we speak" and everyone should have them by the end of the week. All declarations recieved by post or email by the May 1st cut off have been processed for payment.

Those who sent declarations in late can expect that they will be paid on a later cycle, as is usually the case. (The Ministry normally has payment cycles roughly every two weeks)

If you have not yet received a declaration, contact Resourcing at the email address above and ask for one to be emailed to you. 

If you think you've returned a declaration but are worried it has not been received or processed, you can call the Ministry to check. I suggest waiting to see if you get the payment this week first, so as to limit calls to just those who have not.

Let's start by defining what it means to be a homeschooler, also known as a "home educator." Parents in NZ who want to homeschool their children are required to apply for and gain an exemption from the law that says that all children age 6-16 are required to be enrolled in and attend (when it's open) a registered school. 

Homeschooling implies these things have occurred:

• Parental choice
• Forethought and planning
• Accessing suitable resources
• Submitting an exemption application, which requires outlining in some detail a complete plan for the first year of your child's home education
• Receiving a certificate of exemption from the Ministry of Education

For hundreds of thousands of parents around the country, they suddenly have their children at home, with the expectation that they will need to learn at home for the duration. However, as none of the above apply, they are not truly required to be homeschoolers, though of course we understand they may feel that way!

Along with closing all of the schools, the Ministry of Education announced that the school holidays would be brought forward, so that instead of running from April 14-24, they are now officially from March 28-April 14th. This is to buy the Ministry and schools some time to come up with a plan and access to resources for children to use at home. 

For affected families, I would suggest that, while they will be different from normal, that you do treat this time as school holidays. Put aside any pressure you are feeling to be your children's "teacher" and enjoy being their parents! Read stories, play games, build towers, make forts under the table with blankets, observe bugs in the backyard, watch movies and documentaries, have "tea time" with tea and some baking and talk about life or read poems or take turns telling stories, cook together in the kitchen or spend some time on your favourite (or new) crafts or hobbies, write letters to family and so on. (Pro tip - this is what a good chunk of actual "homeschooling"  looks like anyway :-)). 

By the end of the school holiday time, the Ministry and schools should have things in place so your children will be provided with resources and access to things to continue their regular (or modified) program of learning at home. Yes, you'll need to supervise them, and yes you'll need to support them as required. But the burden of planning and teaching and marking and putting together resources etc will not rest substantially with you. 

Even so, when things are available, keep in mind that these are not normal times. Your children may be anxious about all that is going on, but even if not, they will not be in their normal routines. Be kind and be patient, with them and yourselves. Above all, do not feel pressured to replicate the classroom at home. Children learning at home with a parent do not need 6 hours of "school" as they have normally.

When lessons become available, certainly make a plan to allocate regular time to them. How long they take will depend in part on how well your children are able to focus on them, but as a rule of thumb from the homeschooling world, children ages 5-7 only need about a hour of focussed academics per day. This will slowly increase with age to around 2-3 hours for 10-12 year olds. Highschoolers will usually have a fuller program - though this depends on the style of what they are doing. 3 hours is usually still plenty for Years 9-10 unless doing a particularly academic program, with more for students doing NCEA etc.

In these circumstances though, nothing is normal. If each day you spend a bit of time on the 3Rs (reading, writing, arithmatic), and some time in discussion or research about topics of interest, and some time doing something hands-on or practical (science experiments, cooking, gardening, sewing, construction, art, baby care, animal care, chores etc etc), then consider it a day well spent! Children are wired to learn and will do so in pretty much any situation. This is not the time to worry over much about achievement standards, how many pages got done etc. 

Remember, what your children need most at this time, is a parent. One who makes them feel loved and secure. Not a teacher who is too frazzled to be their parent!

Here's a suggested timetable that the Ministry has sent out to all (primary?) schools, intended to be shared with parents. I share it here because it demonstrates that the Ministry recognises that well-being is a high priority right now, rather than copious amounts of "schoolwork." There is no obligation for anyone to follow this, but it presents an idea. Regardless, having some kind of sensible routine in your home is a good idea, so the children know what to expect. A framework, if you will, for your days.

And see the quote from one school principal which I have pasted in at the end of this post below.

For some parents, there will be two main reasons why they will not want to send their children back to school when the lockdown is lifted:

1. Their children (or other family members) are medically vulnerable, and they consider the risk of exposing them to COVID-19 is too high. 
2. They've always wanted to homeschool (or have seen how great it is to have the kids learning at home), and this situation has given them the nudge they needed to make it "official" 

So what next?
For parents whose children are vulnerable, you have basically two choices - either to work with the school and/or get a medical certificate to keep your children home for the duration, in which case they will remain enrolled in the school, and the school is expected to faciliate their learning by sending work home etc, OR take the plunge and become "real homeschoolers." 

For parents who do decide to home educate their children going forward, then there are steps you need to follow. These include:

• Consider what you want your children's program of learning to look like and what, if any, specific resources you will use for the first year. There is a lot of good info about this, as well as resource ideas, at www.nchenz.org.nz. You will need to be able to outline this program in your application.
• Read the Ministry's website for some general information, and download the application forms HERE
• Complete and submit the application to the Ministry; it will take 4-6 weeks for them to process the application and approve the exemption (it can take longer if more information is required).

I have a guide to exemptions that will walk you through the requirements, and includes a template you can use to write your own application instead of the Ministry's forms if you wish. See my Homeschooling page for the guide and other ways I can support you. 

There are a number of Facebook pages for homeschooling families. Most are focussed on those who are officially homeschooling, but some welcome those who have questions. On Facebook, search for "homeschooling" or "home education"  to find some of these groups (you may want to add "nz" to the search to limit results). Some experienced home educators have also set up new FB groups for families who are "suddenly homeschooling" due to the lockdown. Search terms: "unexpectedly homeschooling" and "suddenly homeschooling.

There are also a lot of producers of online educational resources who are making access free due to the COVID-10 situation. Type "Free educational resources COVID 19" into google and you've find several postings with lists and links. I'm not including a specific link as more and updated lists are appearing all the time.

Take a moment and just breathe. I know we all, as parents, feel deeply our love for our children and the desire to ensure their learning is not disrupted. Be assured that a short break during this time will not make them "fall behind" and that even if this disruption continues for some time, you will have options and resources etc. Focus right now on loving them and having some fun with them. Maybe one day they'll look back at this time as a highlight of their childhood because of the time they got to spend with their parent/s. In the coming weeks there will be time enough to settle into new routines or access necessary resources to continue their program of learning at home, or to take the plunge and begin homeschooling "for real." But either way, there's no need to panic or feel pressured right now. 

And to those parents who are also trying to juggle working from home at this time, I know this is not easy! I'd encourage you to focus on finding a balance between what you have to do, and ensuring time to take care of yourselves and your children as well. For you it's even more important to not feel unnecessarily pressured about academics right now, but to figure out a routine that works. 

Hang in there parents - this won't be forever. Remember, these are "unprecedented times"!

I'll leave you with the words of one school principal:
Covid Distance Learning Q&A – from a school principal
**Usual disclaimer, I'm a school principal but I speak only for myself. Others may have different ideas**
Few points to note first :
1) This is not homeschooling. This is an unprecedented emergency situation impacting the whole world. Let's keep perspective. This is at best distance learning.
2) You are, and always have been, your child's primary educator. If you decide that your child isn't going to engage with anything sent home and is going to spend the entire period playing in the dirt, or baking, or watching TV, that is your choice. That is your right. It is clear in the constitution. There is nothing to stress or feel guilty about.
3) Schools don't know what they're doing either. They got no notice, no prep time and we're told 'continue to plan lessons as normal and just send them home' as if that is in any way possible.
4) It is absolutely not possible to facilitate distance learning with a primary aged child and work from home at the same time. The very idea is nonsense. If you're trying to do that, stop now. You can certainly have activities where your child learns, but your focus is your job, and survival. Again, unprecedented. Stop trying to be superheroes.
So, a few FAQs:
- My school has sent home lots of physical work. Pages and pages, hours and hours. How am I supposed to get through it all?!
You're not, don't try. Your child's teacher spent a couple of hours in utter panic gathering things to send home so they could say they did their best and there weren't a lot if complaints that enough didn't go home. It's not a competition, or a race, it's unlikely the teacher will even manage to look at it all.
- I'm not doing any work with my kids. All their doing is Lego, cooking and playing outside.
All of this is learning. Very valuable learning. Give yourself and them a break.
- How can I get three different lots of work done with 3 different kids of different ages?
You can't, stop trying. If they're old enough, try to get them to do little bits independently. Otherwise try to do something they can all engage with, reading a story together, some free writing, baking etc.
- So what's the bare minimum you'd expect?
For me, survival mode. I won't pretend that may be true of all teachers, but you know what if they can't have perspective in a time like this then I wouldn't overly worry about their opinion anyway.
My ideal for my kids in our school?
- A bit of reading every day (independent or to them or via audiobook etc)
- some free writing now and then. If they'll keep a diary or something, great. If not, would they draw a comic?
- Practical hands on maths. Be that via cooking, cleaning, outside or some maths games physical or digital.
- Some fine motor work. Lego, cutting, playdough, tidying up small toys.
- Physical exercise everyday
- Some art/music where possible through the week. Doesn't need to be guided.
-Stretch goal, if old enough getting them to independently work on a project is great for keeping brains ticking over. Get them researching in a book or online and putting together something to present to you or family.
- If younger, lots of imaginative free play, the more independent the better.
You are doing enough. You are loving your kids and supporting them through a difficult time. Look after yourself. Minimising stress is absolutely vital in a time like this for mental health. Don't let this be something that stresses you. Only you can control that by accepting it is in your circle of control, you are the primary educator and this is all your call.