There is a rumour circulating on social media. The wording varies a wee bit depending who is passing it on, but basically it goes something like this:

"Homeschooling applications being closed for 2 years from the end of October. This is to enable them to jab your child.." Apparently told to someone's neighbour by the homeschooling team. (Chinese whispers anyone?)

This is complete nonsense! Since I first wrote this, there have been various other rumours circulating, some sadly perpetuated by people in positions who should know better but shall not be named. Regardless of where you hear any such rumour from, there are NO changes to application processes, and there are no deadlines or cut offs. Nor are school principals involved in reviewing applications. 

The right to home educate your child is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is entrenched in at least 2 sets of laws:
The Care of Children Act 2004
The Education and Training Act 2020

To change that, the government would have to amend both of them. There is no evidence of any bills or amendments targeted at the relevant sections of those Acts. 

There is also nothing to suggest, in any of the accessible Ministry websites, newsletters, or other information that there are any changes being made around home education. 

While on rare occasions in the past someone from the Ministry might have given incorrect information about various things related to home education to people making inquiries, this one is way out in left field in terms of credibility. I can't begin to imagine what the true foundation or motivation behind this nonsense is, but please, don't spread this rumour. It's only causing unnecessary stress to people, and there's enough stress going on in the world right now.

Update 19th Oct - this just in from Janine Moss, Manager, Provider Services at the Ministry (this is the senior staff member in over-all charge of home education as part of her broader portfolios):

"....about the information circulating which is stating that Ministry home education applications are closing at the end of this month for two years. We have been hearing this through our regional education advisors too.
 
These are false statements. There has been no change to the home education application process, there are no new deadlines for submitting applications, and no changes have been made to the Education and Training Act 2020.  
 
Parents and caregivers who want to home educate their child aged between 6 and 16 years can apply for an exemption for home education in accordance with section 38 of the Education and Training Act 2020. There are no deadlines or close off dates for applications.
 
Please feel free to share this [information] widely with your home education colleagues and families. If people want to discuss the false statements and the misinformation that is circulating they can email home.schooling@education.govt.nz and we will respond to their queries." 

Further update from Janine Moss 28th February 2022:

"There is no change to the home education application process. Parents can apply for an exemption to home educate their children at any time, there are no deadlines, close off dates or time frames.
 
When an application is received the Ministry does notify the principal of the enrolling school and requests any information relevant to the processing of the application. The application is definitively not sent to the school." 

The key piece of legislation is from the Education and Training Act 2020, Section 213, which says:
"The Secretary may require the managers of a private entity that is not registered under section 214 to apply for its registration as a private school under that section if the Secretary considers that the entity is operating as a school, whether or not any exemption certificates issued under section 38 are held in respect of any or all of the students being taught there." 

This means that if the Ministry believes that a private group is operating in a way that fits the legal description of a private school, even though the students involved hold homeschooling exemptions, they can require that group or organisation to apply for registration as a private school. 

The description of what constitutes a private school is taken to be the criteria for registration of a private school as set out in Schedule 7 of the Act:
The criteria for registration as a private school are that the school--
(a) has premises that are suitable, as described in clause 3; and
(b) usually provides tuition for 9 or more students aged 5 years or over but under 16 years; and
(c) has staffing that is suitable to the age range and level of its students, the curriculum taught at the school, and the size of the school; and
(d) has equipment that is suitable for the curriculum being delivered or to be delivered at the school; and
(e) has a curriculum for teaching, learning, and assessment and makes details of the curriculum and its programme for delivery available for parents; and
(f) has suitable tuition standards, as described in clause 5; and
(g) has managers who are fit and proper persons (as described in clause 6) to be managers of a private school; and
(h) is a physically and emotionally safe place for students.

The Ministry has an internal document called the Home Education Policies and Procedures Manual, published in 2018. This document guides regional staff on processes related to home education. I obtained a copy under the Official Information Act shortly after it was published. While it has not yet been updated (to my knowledge) to reflect the new 2020 Act, the principles remain the same. In respect to home educators operating as private schools it notes the following key points:

• "It is illegal for home educators to form a school. However, many home educators meet together on a regular or semi-regular basis. A parent has not necessarily relinquished responsibility for their child's learning if they are being home educated in these groups.
• These home educators could be an extended whanau or large family who are not trying to form a school. However, large families or extended whanau should be advised that if they were to teach children from other families they could be in breach of (Section 213).
• The larger and more organised a group is (especially if they teach nine or more children) and the less responsibility parents have for their children's education, then the more likely it is that a group would need to register as a school. 
• Whether there are nine or more "students"  is not the only factor to consider when determining if a group is  operating informally or as a registered school. For example, if a group of six children from five different families are being taught together several days a week at a specified location by a single adult using planned lesson material this can be regarded as a school. 
• In contrast, an indeterminate group of home educating parents meeting for three mornings a week delivering educational programmes to their children does not necessarily constitute a school. 
• Similarly, a Sunday school run by home educating parents is probably not a school either under Section 213 even if it had more than 100 children or young people attending. This is because it is restricted in scope and, though regular, is in session for only a small period once per week. 
• Other factors that may contribute to an assessment that a home educator group is in fact a "school" included whether they are or there is:

1. Advertising
2. Taking on a formal structure or name
3. Hiring a site or establishing a substantial "school" building rather than simply meeting in a convenient location
4. A lack of involvement or control on the part of parents
5. A timetable that resembles a typical school day - ie Monday to Friday for periods of six hours or more"

They go on to quote the criteria for a private school from the Act, then note that if a regional office becomes aware of home educator groups that may be operating in breach of Section 213, they should refer the matter to the national office who will seek legal advice on further action, and that:
"in the past the Ministry have asked large home educator groupings to cease operations immediately or seek provisional registration as a school. In the case of small groups, the Ministry should advise that the emphasis in these groupings should be on individual, rather than group, instruction." 

Quite a number of years ago, there was a small group of parents in one area who all decided to homeschool their children, using the same curriculum. They decided to have the children together 3 days a week, with a teacher (parent) overseeing them, and the children work at home with their own parents the other 2 days. When the number of children reached 9, the Ministry said they needed to register as a private school. To actually make this registration work (since they had to then meet ALL the criteria of a private school registration) was not entirely easy, but with the support of an MP it happened, and the small private school came into being. Over the years that followed, they first continued with the 3:2 model, then 4:1, until the school was eventually disbanded some years later. 

Of note: there was a planned curriculum, the parents were handing over supervision of their children for several days a week, and the numbers exceeded 9 before the Ministry saw it as a problem. Because they were using the same curriculum at "school" and at home, there was also consistency in what they were doing. You'll see why that is important below.

I have had contact more recently with two separate people who WANTED to register and set up a small private school, but the Ministry told them they could not, because they didn't/wouldn't meet the criteria. 

In one case, an experienced teacher of a certain style curriculum wanted to make this available to a small group of children. When she attempted to register as a private school, the main two reasons the Ministry refused were:

• She did not have 9 or more students aged 6 and over (yet - a couple were only 5)
• The premises she wanted to use had a bathroom in a separate building that would also be accessible to other users of the greater site (ie not exclusive to the use of the "school")

The alternative for her was for the children to get exemptions, and still be taught by her as intended. 

In the other case, a parent wanted to set up a programme where the children would come together 3 days a week to be taught by teachers, and the other 2 days a week would have the freedom to be at home with their parents, working on alternative projects or learning according to what the parents wanted to do. This came out the family's personal experience and wanting to offer families the best of both worlds. The Ministry said they would not be able to meet the criteria  of a private school (as currently proposed) because:

• "A school that is only instructing 3 days out of 5 is likely to be assessed negatively as to whether it meets the registration criteria as the regularity of instruction would only be 60% of that of a comparable state school meaning it may not have suitable tuition standards. So the key question around this proposal is what is proposed to take place on the 2 days the students wouldn’t physically attend. If the school was still instructing (e.g. by remote means) then this might meet registration criteria for e.g. It would depend on what is proposed."

This second example contrasts with the group that WERE registered as a school in the section above, who were using the same programme in school and at home.

So, it seems that sometimes even if you want to be private school or the Ministry thinks you should be a private school, you may not meet the criteria and so not be able to register as a private school. While what I set out above is the initial criteria of what constitutes a private school, to actually register as a private school, one has to meet more detailed criteria set out in Schedule 7 of the Act. 

Private schools are not fully funded by the Ministry - they are funded (usually) by the fees charged to parents. There is partial funding - the exact amount varies a bit by year and by age of students, but it's in the vicinity of $1100-$2300 per student per year. See HERE. If home educated students are part of a group which becomes registered as a private school, their exemptions would cease, just as they do with any school enrolment. 

​A registered private school has to meet a number of requirements, including reporting, ERO reviews, and now, vaccine mandates. 

Any parents considering forming a group and hiring someone to teach their children or leaving their children to the care and teaching of another person should carefully consider the criteria of a private school laid out in the above information and in the Act. 

Note that in the following circumstances, you should not be considered to be operating as a private school:

• Getting together as a group to do activities with the children, including, for example a specific class such as art class or a history class once a week. These are limited in scope and duration. 
• Getting together with one or two other families to teach and learn together part of the time - because all the parents remain involved and responsible for their children's teaching/learning. For example, one year our family and another (9 kids between us) met up one day a week to do science and some other activities together. The other mother and I took turns planning and delivering the lessons for the week, but we were both there and involved. Even if you did this for more days per week, you should not be considered a private school if the parents of each family unit remain directly involved in what is happening. 
• Getting the kids together to play or do some fun or sports activities, even if some of the parents do not remain present for the time. This is again, limited in scope and duration and is not handing over key teaching to someone else. 
• Hiring a tutor to deliver certain subjects to a small group one day a week or for several short sessions over the course of the week. Eg to hold a math class 3x week. Again, limited scope and duration. 
• Using an online platform for the children to be taught remotely for some classes - they remain in their own home under the supervision of their parents. 
• And, according to one of the examples above, possibly even having the kids taught as a group by one or two people 2-3 days a week, while doing other learning at home the rest of the days. 

Generally though, the key (but not only) things that the Ministry initially considers to determine whether home educators may be operating as a private school are:

• How many students there are (9 or more, though this number is not an exact requirement)
• Whether the parent is handing over teaching responsbility to someone else (and how much they're handing over)

Before setting up a group learning kind of situation for home educated children, consider the above information and whether your group might be considered to meet the criteria of a private school, and what that would mean for you and your group. 

Yesterday the government announced sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates for the health and education sectors. Included in the statement were "home-based educators" which has caused much confusion. This also happened a few years ago when the government introduced requirements for home-based educators to have a certain level of qualification. 

The confusion arises because since 2015, the Ministry of Education has referred to homeschoolers as "home educators" as requested by the home education community themselves during the 2013-2015 review of homeschooling. This term more accurately reflects the wider homeschooling community than "homeschoolers." It is, however, very close to the term "home-based educators" which refers to an entirely different sector of education.

Section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020 defines a home-based educator:
Home-based education and care service--
(a) means the provision of education or care, for gain or reward, to children who are under the age of 5 years, or who are aged 5 years but not enrolled at school, in--

• (i) the children’s own home; or
• (ii) the home of the person providing the education or care; or
• (iii) any other home nominated by a parent of the children; and

(b)includes the provision of education or care to any child of the person providing the service who is--

• (i)under the age of 5 years; or
• (ii)aged 5 years but not enrolled at school

Clearly, this applies to people caring for other people's children ages 5 and under in a private home, for "gain or reward" (ie being paid). 

Home educators (aka homeschoolers) on the other hand are parents caring for and teaching their own children who are, if exempt, ages 6 and up (though their younger children, if any, are of course also there); they are not being paid for this. So by no means does the above definition apply to home educating parents, and we are therefore not included in the new mandate. 

Furthermore, I received an email today (12th October) from Janine Moss, Manager, Provider Services at the national office of the Ministry in which she said:
​
"I can confirm that the new requirements for testing and vaccination do not apply to parents who home educate their own children. If home educating families come together as a group (eg for trips or sports) then they are subject to the general health order (eg physical distancing, masks) for the alert level in their location."

To answer this fully, let me use the Covid-19 Vaccination Health Orders. They outline who is mandated to be vaccinated. For our purposes here we are focused only on the parts related to education. The order says that people in the following groups must be vaccinated:

Part 9: Groups in relation to affected education services
9.1 Workers over the age of 12 years who carry out work at or for an affected education service (including as a volunteer or an unpaid worker) and who--
(a) may have contact with children or students in the course of carrying out that work; or
(b) will be present at the affected education service at a time when children or students are also present
9.2 Providers of a home-based education and care service

NOTE: the words "affected education services" are important. They are defined in the Health Order:
affected education service means--
(a) a licensed early childhood service:
(b) a registered school:
(c) a hostel

The definitions of each of these three kinds of services are affirmed to be the same as in the Education and Training Act 2020. 

This means that the order (mandating the vaccine for educators) applies ONLY to those who are in contact with children at/in a (student) hostel, registered school or licensed ECE service (including home-based ones). 

Someone who happens to be a teacher or tutor who is in contact with children in a setting unrelated to the above three is NOT mandated to be vaccinated in order to carry out that teaching or tutoring. 

All of the mandates regarding education currently are directed at sections of the sector which, in a nutshell, are government funded. That is, registered schools and early childhood centres, and all the staff who work in them, as well as volunteers that spend time there, plus hostels which are used entirely or mostly for the accommodation of students at registered schools. 

They are not directed at private families or private teaching/tutoring settings not linked to an affected education service. 

Update 16th January 2022:
The above remains correct and current. There are NO mandates for homeschoolers to be vaccinated. The roll  out of vaccines for 5-11yos has no effect on this. There have been no new health orders passed that affect homeschoolers (home educators) in this regard. There is nothing on the Ministry's website to suggest otherwise. If you hear differently, it is just another one of the rumours flying around. Please disregard and don't spread it. If, however, at any time you come across something on a government website you think puts a different light on things, please contact me with the link. I will check into it and update this page if necessary (as well as let you know what I find). 

What does affect homeschoolers in the same way as any other member of the public is restrictions under red/orange settings regarding entry to locations that may require vaccine passes, whether because they are mandated to, or because local councils or venue/business owners have decided to require them. In such cases, homeschooled students aged 12 yrs and 3 mo or over cannot access these venues, even for educational purposes, without a vaccine pass. This is an issue that schools are also wrestling with where they can't take students who don't have the pass to EOTC facilities or camps etc. As the new school year unfolds, I will be watching to see what, if any, changes may occur in that space, that may or may be useful to home educators. 

At this time it is unclear whether children aged 5-11 will be issued with vaccine passports and/or require them to enter these venues in the future, as this has not been indicated in legislation or govt websites so far. Currently the government Covid website says only those age 12+ can get a vaccine pass, and that those aged under 12 do not need one. Whether this will change once 5-11yos have had two doses (about March), remains to be seen.

Updates 23/1/22
Some folk are expressing concern about the Vaccination Amendment Order 2022, specifically this section: 
5 Clause 8 amended (Duties of relevant PCBUs in relation to vaccinations)Replace clause 8(3) with:
(3) A relevant PCBU must not allow an affected person who provides a home-based education and care service to carry out certain work unless satisfied that every person who is--
(a)at least 12 years of age but under 18 years of age in the home where the home-based education and care service is provided is vaccinated; and
(b)18 years of age or older in the home where the home-based education and care service is provided is vaccinated and has received a booster dose.

This does NOT say home educators must be vaccinated! It once again applies only to "home-based education and care services" (ie paid ECE services) as defined in the Education and Training Act 2020 (see the start of this article above). The above clause is amending THIS clause of the Vaccination Health Order, and the only difference it makes is differentiating between 12-17yos in the home where the service is based needing 2 doses and 18yos plus needing a booster. Again, this has nothing to do with families who are (or will be) homeschooling with exemptions (unless one of the parents also happens to be running an Early Childhood service out of their home).