Every family who is home educating exempt students is sent a declaration twice a year (in about March and Oct), covering the periods Jan-June and July-Dec, to sign and return, along with forms in which they state whether they wish to receive the supervision allowance. Previously I have written THIS post about some recent changes to this process, as well as discussing why these declarations must be completed, and what happens if you don't. 

This article will go over some further new/current specifics as well as changes to the supervision allowance. 

A small allowance is payable to home educating families who choose to receive it. It was first introduced in 1990, and has not changed one cent since that time. Last year, after significant lobbying by Homeschooling NZ, and work by NCHENZ, the government agreed to increase the allowance by 2.75%, in line with the yearly funding increase for schools, from 2023. The new figures have been released with the declaration forms - they actually calculate out to be 3.3-3.5% increase, depending on the number of exempt children in a family, but I note that what's actually happened is they have just made them the same as the current Te Kura Student Support Payments, which no doubt makes things simpler for them. The payments will now be:

First child: $384.50 (half year) = $769/year 
Second child: $327 (half year) = $654/year
Third child: $269 (half year) = $536/year
Subsequent children: $192.50 (half year) = $385/year

(While we are very glad that there has been an increase, this does nothing to address the long-standing lack of increases, and this is a matter that we will be looking at further.)

The Ministry's Resourcing department does a print run of declarations for all families with current exemptions twice a year, and sends those out by post to the addresses on file. 

However, if an exemption was granted after the print run close-off date, then the regional office that processed the exemption is responsible to send the family a part-period declaration (from date of exemption to end of that six month period); they should do so with the exemption. For the first half of 2023, the print run close off was 2nd Feb. If you have a child whose exemption start date is later than the 2nd of February, and you did not receive a declaration, then you need to contact your regional office and request they send this to you. 

If you have been homeschooling for some time, and did not receive the most recent declaration at all (wait until the end of March to allow time for them all to be posted out), or have misplaced it, then you can contact Resourcing to ask for another copy. 

If you have recently gained an exemption, or you have a child over 6 whose name is not on the declaration, the Ministry ask that you contact your regional office, as one of the following could be the case:

• The child's exemption has not been approved (or not yet started) - or they may not have correctly updated the database.
• The exemption was approved/started after 2nd Feb so was not included in the print run and the regional office have not sent you the declaration.
• The child has been recorded as having ceased home education (this could be because of a school trial, overseas travel, full time enrolment in free Te Kura or other funded programmes, the exemption being revoked, or a clerical error). 

All of the above are matters for the regional office to sort out. 

Note: when contacting the Ministry about any home education matters, please always quote your family homeschooling reference number, which is found on your exemption certificates, declarations, and other Ministry correspondence. 

Declarations (if sent by Resourcing) are accompanied by a cover letter which has useful info on the back of it. The March 2023 version has a couple of errors in it where they have forgotten to change dates from the previous letters, which may cause confusion. 

Where it says "...if your child's exemption date is later than 1st July 2022" it should read "...if your child's exemption date is later than 1st January 2023.." (then you will be paid a pro-rata amount for this period, from the date of exemption to the end of June, rather than the full amounts above). 

Where it says "If you have home educated your child(ren) for a period other than shown on the form..." the dates should be 1st January to 30th June 2023. 

The first time you receive the supervision allowance, you need to supply proof of your bank account number. You will also need to do this if it has been more than 18 months since you last received a payment (eg if you stopped homeschooling for a time, but now have a new exemption, been overseas for that period, or have not been returning the declarations/getting the allowance). 

Your proof needs to include a Bank logo, an account number matching the one you have written on the form, and show the name of the account holder(s). Usually you can print something suitable off from your internet banking - eg a copy of a statement, but delete your transaction details, which they don't need to see. You don't need to get this certified by the bank or anyone else. You can have payments made into an account in a name other than your own if you wish, just so long as all the right details are provided. 

The deadline to return the completed declaration is Friday 5th May 2023. If it is received by then, payment will be made in the week of 19-23rd June 2023. It may appear in your account on any day of that week, and this will vary by bank. Do not contact the Ministry to ask about missed payments until at least the following week. 

If your declaration is sent in later than the deadline, you will still be eligible for the allowance, but the payment will be delayed. The Ministry will add the payment to their payment schedules, which are put through when full or on a periodic basis. This means that payments are usually made in 2-4 week cycles, so it may take a month or so for you to receive the delayed payment. You do not have to wait until the next supervision allowance run in December. 

Even if you do not wish to receive the allowance, you still need to sign and return both the declaration AND the allowance forms (which ask if you wish to receive it). For more on the legal particulars of this, see HERE

Hopefully the above info, and that in the linked article, tell you everything you need to know about the 6 monthly declarations and allowances. Let me know if I missed anything!

I have received the following email from the producers of Deer Heart Films, and agreed to share it; if you would like to participate in this project, sharing your typical day and your passion for your home education approach, you can contact them directly. I will not be making recommendations of particular families to them, unless families ask me to do so. I do think this sounds like an interesting project, and an opportunity for home educating families to showcase what learning at home can look like. Families considering participating should check out the links and info for themselves, and ask any questions they may have of Miriam and Chris directly. 

In the 2023 Census, there is a question (plus 2 related questions) which is causing a bit of confusion about how to respond for home educators. Let's take a look at how to correctly respond. First, a few quick Census facts:

• Census night is March 7th 2023. You can complete the census earlier, but are to answer as if it were March 7th. 
• The Census can be completed online or in paper form. 
• It is legally required to complete the census. The 2018 census has the poorest return in more than 50 years, with some 700,000 not completing it. This was put down to a number of factors, but in summary the way it was conducted was considered to be a disaster. Around 50-60 people were fined for failing to complete it. Since then, new legislation has been passed and the govt has spend lots of money on improving the process. It is now an offence with an up to $2000 fine for individuals for not completing the census. 
• Census data is used to inform things like planning roading, schools and other community things where it's important to know how many people there are that will be affected by whatever it is that is to be worked on. It is also the source of official NZ statistics such as population, religious affiliations and so on. 

Now let's look at that "tricky" questions, which are in the individual form: 
NB: the following has been updated after new information was received from the Census team on 28/2

Note that this question is not about finding out whose kids are not going to school etc, nor is it intended to discriminate against or leave out a portion of the population (ie home educators). 

Here's the guidance from the Census website (where you can also view all the questions in the census, and guidance about them):

What do you mean by 'attending, studying, or enrolled'?This includes anyone who:

• is attending secondary school, university, polytech, or any other place of learning, and will
• receive a formal qualification that is recognised by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

What is the difference between part-time and full-time?

• If you spend less than 20 hours a week in class and studying (for example, homework), it is part-time.
• If you spend 20 hours a week or more in class and studying (for example, homework), is is full-time.

I am still at school. How should I answer?
​Answer 'full-time'.
I am an apprentice. How should I answer?

• If you are working full-time as an apprentice, answer 'full-time'.
• If you are working part-time as an apprentice, answer 'part-time'.

Based on the above, I previously advised that this would mean for children of primary age, or older children who are simply home educated with an exemption and not enrolled in a course leading to a qualification, the answer would be NO. However, new information just in from the Census team states:

"Thank you for your question, and we regret any confusion. The education question is for anyone attending school, including people studying at a level below NCEA. The guidance is not exhaustive, but we will note that there could be some ambiguity there. For homeschooling, you should answer 'yes'. If you answer this for the travel question, you should not be asked to list where the place of study is."

So for purely home educated (exempt) students, tick Yes, full time. 

If your students is enrolled in a course/programme of learning outside of the home, then you may wish to answer based on that instead, though for most home educated students, anything additional will still be done from home, so the answer remains the same. 

Whatever your actual programme of learning looks like, based on "as regularly as", a home education programme should be treated as full time (ie over 4 hours/day), even though your formal lesson portion may be less than this, with the rest being life-based learning. 

Why this question is asked:
Data from this question:

• provides a measure of the number of people who study at home
• provides a more complete picture of transport patterns in different areas of New Zealand, and supports transport planning work.

As you can see in the image above, study at home is an option, and if your student is not travelling to any other place of study, then select that option. Then move directly to Q21.

Data from this question:

• is used primarily for measuring traffic flows and planning transport services
• helps to work out daytime populations in specific areas for civil defence
• is used to tell us whether you are enrolled in an early childhood centre, school, or tertiary institution
• is used in combination with other travel data to give an idea about typical travel flow in New Zealand.

If you answered "Study at home" for Q19, this question should not appear if you are doing the form online, and should be skipped if you're doing the paper version. However, if your student is enrolled in a course outside of the home for which you have answered the questions, then you will need to complete this section too. 

Please consider the details above so you can most accurately answer these questions for/with your children. 

If you want a quick gauge of your child's reading or spelling abilities, these tests may be useful. Both the Schonell and Burt reading tests are word recognition tests - they test the child's ability to read a list of words. They do not test reading comprehension, however, it's generally accepted that word recognition is an indicator of general reading ability. (However, often students do lack the ability to find answers within text, which is an important reading comprehension skill, even if they can read each word - practicing this is something you'll also want to include in your learning programme). 

Both tests have been around for many years. The Burt one was more recently updated than the Schonell, and sometimes if you mention the Schonell ones in exemption applications, certain staff will complain they are out of date. (Not entirely reasonable - some schools still use them, and they are available through the MoE's own curriculum website). For that reason, if you intend to include this in your application, you may want to refer to the Burt tests instead. 

It used to be easy to find these tests online, but it is becoming harder in some instances. Therefore I've uploaded copies which you can download using the following links. Instructions on how to use and score the tests are included in each document. 

You're welcome :-) 

The Ministry of Education has begun a review of their exemption application documents. The stated purpose is to "provide clearer guidance to families." I believe this was mostly motivated by a large number of applications received in 2021-2022 which were significantly lacking in most of the information needed. (During that period, a large number of families made the choice to begin homeschooling, and rushed the application, without having taken the time to understand the requirements or plan out their learning programme). 

The Ministry plans to include the NCHENZ govt liaison team (myself and Sheena Harris) and other representative stakeholders in consultation once they have drafted their changes. I have also reminded staff of the long-standing promise to create a family application form allowing for more than one child, and ask that they look at this as part of the review if possible. 

I'm mostly writing this post to act as a "place holder" so I can create a category for it here - if you check back in future using this link, you will see all entries in this category, to read any updates on the review and/or any changes made to the application. 

Sometimes students who are exempt, or their parents, want to see if they would be better off, or are ready to return to, learning in a school environment. However, getting the exemption in the first place was such a big deal, they worry that if school doesn't work out, then they would have to do an application all over again. This is exactly why the school trials policy was created in the first place. 

Let's take a look at the nuts and bolts of it, and some FAQs.

Before we get to that, note that this is a Ministry POLICY, not a law. That means it's something they agreed to and instituted, and can also change. In 2017, a Ministry staff member who was reviewing policies found that the then-wording of the policy did not align with the law, and they were going to do away with it (or replace it with a much more messy and unworkable version). Fortunately, he came to me about it (in my role as NCHENZ Government Liaison), and I was able to explain the history, reasoning, and need for this policy, and suggest that rather than throw out the policy, tweaking the wording would be more appropriate. After some on-going discussion, that's what happened. (If you're not a NCHENZ member, please join - it's free! - though donations are appreciated)

All students in NZ are entered on the national student database, known as ENROL. On that database, the student is linked to the school they are enrolled in, or if they are exempt, listed as home educated. The law requires that all domestic students who are age 6-16 are enrolled in a registered school, unless exempt. The database is used to manage things like assigning national student numbers, tracking who is enrolled and who is not, sending out homeschooling declarations and so on. It's an old database, and quite clunky to work with, and limited in its functionality. When it was created, there was no such thing as a school trial option, and it does not have any way of allowing for that. 

Because the law says all students must be enrolled, unless they have an exemption, an enrolment and an exemption are mutually exclusive under the law. They cannot both exist at the same time. When you gain an exemption, school enrolment is ended. When you enroll in school, an exemption ceases. And because the database is limited in its function, it has no way of "parking" an exemption on the basis of a school trial. 

Because of the above, it is necessary for parents to communicate well with the Ministry, and for the Ministry (and schools) to do their part. If your child is to do a school trial, these are the steps that need to happen:

1) Parent chooses which school their child will attend and arranges enrolment from a certain date with the school. When the enrolment begins, the exemption technically ceases on ENROL. For this reason, don't allow a school to enroll the student weeks in advance of when you want a trial to begin.
2) The parent contacts their regional Ministry office - in writing, so by email, is best - and advises them their child is starting a school trial from the date of enrolment. The Ministry make a note of that on the family's file. 
3) If the parents choose to withdraw the child within 10 school weeks (not counting holidays) to return to home education, they again notify the Ministry, this time of their return to homeschooling, requesting the exemption be reinstated. It is also important that the parents make sure the school has been advised to remove the child from their roll (ie they're not coming back). If they do not do this, then the Ministry will not be able to reinstate the exemption in ENROL. 
4) MoE reinstates the exemption status on ENROL. No new application is required in most circumstances. 

Under what circumstances is a new exemption application needed?
If the student has been enrolled in school for longer than 10 weeks, then a new application is required. 

If the student has been enrolled for less than 10 weeks, then a new application is only required if "there has been a material change in circumstances" - this is part of the MoE's policy wording and is not defined, but allows for situations where something has been discovered during the school trial period which means that, in the MOE's view, the previous exemption did not cover it. So, for example, let's say the exemption was granted for a child who had no known special education needs, but when they went to school it was noticed and documented that they had significant additional learning needs. The MoE could ask the parents for a new application, taking into account these additional needs and how they will be supported at home. Another example would be where new information comes to the Ministry attention that they think may affect the parent's ability to continue to meet Section 38 (as regularly and well) requirements. While this wording was added in 2017, so far, I know of no instances when it has been put into effect. For them to act on this, though, their policy requires that the Ministry has "appropriate supporting evidence" (ie proof of the matter they think relevant). 

Does the 10 weeks include school holidays?
No, the 10 week period does not include school holidays. This wording was added to Ministry policy in 2018. The wording says: "If a trial falls over a school holiday period, then those holiday weeks will not be counted towards the 10 weeks duration."

How does a school trial affect the supervision allowance?
If the student returns to home education on or before 28 days, then they will receive the full supervision allowance, including for the period they were enrolled in school. 

If the student returns to home education after 28 days but within 10 weeks, then their supervision allowance will be calculated on a pro-rata basis, not funded for the days they were enrolled in school. 

Can there be a "transition period" between home education and school, or vice versa?
Yes, in theory, there can. Wording in the Ministry's policy document says "Regional office staff should work with parents on a transition plan for their child exiting home education and attending school or leaving school and recommencing home education if necessary." This does not happen commonly, but there is potential for it if it would be in the best interests of the student - this would need to be discussed with regional staff. 

Do I have to tell the school that my child is attending only on a trial basis?
It may be best not to do so at the outset, so that the student is treated the same as all other students (eg resources are not withheld on a "we'll see if you stick around" basis, which would adversely affect your ability to see if school is the right fit for your student.) That said, the Ministry thinks that "schools must agree to the trial" - though this flies in the face of the legal right you have to enroll your child in any school for which they are in zone. Let's call this a "grey area". 

How many school trials can I do? Is there a particular allotment per year? Can I try several different schools?
There is technically no limit to how many school trials you could do, or how many different schools could be tried over time. After all, families often have changes in circumstances which mean they move house, change schools, or enter or leave homeschooling. The law that says it is your right to decide how and where your child will be educated remains in place, not matter what else changes around your circumstances, and you have the right to responsively and responsibly respond to new information or circumstances, acting in the best interests of your child at the time. 

That said, the Ministry expects that a school trial "should be regarded as a serious attempt by the student and their parents to reintegrate (or enter for the first time) into a schooling environment. Multiple school trials require further investigation by regional staff to assess why they are occurring. This will involve discussions with both the parents and the relevant school/s".

Bouncing in and out of school trials will likely result in questions being asked, or them requiring a new exemption to return to home education. So only do this with wise forethought and be ready to answer questions if needed.

If you are serious about your child returning to school, but the first school you try is not a good fit, then it's fair enough to try another one. Remember that if you begin a trial, and then move to another school (without officially returning to home education in between) then they are simply enrolled in a school - it's ok to take the necessary steps to figure out which is the right one for them. If this is the case, then likely it's sensible to just not worry about the whole "school trial" idea and simply focus on finding the right school for your child. Should you end up deciding to return to home education later, it's not that big of a deal to do a new exemption application - often you can just update the previous one if it wasn't too long ago and resubmit it, or write a new one. After all, you will now be more experienced than a parent just starting out, which should make it easier to do if you need to. 

The school trial policy exists to enable parents to attempt to reintegrate their children into school without worrying about needing to do a new exemption if a short return to school shows that that is clearly not the right fit for them at this time. It's not intended to cover every contingency and/or lengthy attempts to find the right school, and that's ok. 

The school trial policy exists to make it easier for parents to attempt to reintegrate their children into learning in a school environment. If you wish to use it, then make sure you are aware of the steps required, and follow them. If you do a trial, take your kids back out, then don't get in touch with the Ministry for months, then don't be surprised if they require new exemptions. It's important to do your part in a timely fashion. 

If you need your child to be in school for a longer time in order to work out if it's right for him or her, that's ok. Yes, you'll need to do a new exemption application if you return to homeschooling, but that is not the end of the world. Focus on figuring out what is best for your child, not just trying to avoid the application process. You can get support with the application process if you need it. 

Remember, policies can be changed. Be thankful we have this policy in place, and don't abuse it. 

​If you run into any issues around school trials, feel free to Contact Me if you need some advice or support. 

Parents who hold home education exemptions for their children are eligible to be paid a homeschool Supervision Allowance. But what about those who enroll their children in Te Kura, or in any of the other distance learning schools? The answer depends on the exact scenario. Let's explore them:

Parents of exempt students are required to sign a 6 monthly declaration, and with it can choose to recieve the supervision allowance. The payment is $371.50 every 6 months for the first child, with lesser amounts for additional children. (This is due to increase slightly shortly, so I won't lay out all the amounts here. For current information on amounts, and details about how to get it etc, see HERE). 

If you travel overseas for more than 28 days, enroll your child in a school, or otherwise stop homeschooling, then this affects your eligibility for the allowance. In particular note the below section on Te Kura for students 16yo+

Students who are enrolled full time in Te Kura under a funded gateway do not have/need exemptions. They do not qualify for the homeschooling supervision allowance, but rather may be eligible for the Student Support Payment. The amount is very similar - $380 per half year - but the student must meet certain criteria, including:

• Enrolled for at least 10 weeks of the 6 month period
• Returning assessable work at least once each fortnight
• Residing in NZ
• Not enrolled as a young adult (16-19yo) or under dual enrollment with a school, or as a fee-paying student

For further information on the Student Support Payment, see HERE
These students are enrolled in a registered school (Te Kura) which is why they don't need an exemption. 

Some parents, whose students are not eligible for free Te Kura, choose to enroll their students with Te Kura as fee-paying students. To do this, they must first gain a homeschooling exemption. Then they can choose to pay for as many Te Kura subjects as they wish, within reason. Because they have an exemption, and are paying for Te Kura, they are still entitled to the homeschooling supervision allowance as above (not the student support payment). The terms can be confusing: Te Kura is a registered school, however students enrolled in Te Kura as fee-payers are technically *not enrolled in a school* but still homeschooled/exempt. 

As you will read below, there are other registered schools delivering distance education these days which you can enroll your student in on a fee-paying basis (because they are private schools) and for which you do not require an exemption. Te Kura is the exception. I've thought about suggesting to the Ministry that this needs revisiting in light of recent changes - so parents who are willing to pay for Te Kura need not get an exemption first - however, the reasons to keep it how it is are:

• requiring an exemption is a (small) "barrier" to enrolling in Te Kura on this basis - theoretically limiting the number who will do so, which the Ministry prefers
• parents who remove their kids from school and pay for Te Kura are free to withdraw from Te Kura at any time - the exemption demonstrates the parents' ability to ensure they will be taught at least as regularly and well as they would be in school, and means that parents have formally accepted responsibility for this, whether they continue to use Te Kura or not. 
• holding an exemption while paying fees means you can get the homeschool supervision allowance (as above), so that's something at least. 

If your child was already enrolled in Te Kura under a funded full-time gateway, then when they turn 16 nothing should change - they should remain under the same gateway, and eligible for the student support payment as above. However, if your child enrolls at Te Kura for the first time at age 16+, they will be enrolled as a Young Adult. This is a funded gateway, but it affects allowances in the following ways:

• For students who have homeschooling exemptions - they can do one or two free Te Kura subjects, with no effect on the exemption or homeschooling allowance - which continue. 
• If an exempt student enrolls in 3 or more Te Kura subjects as a young adult, then they are considered to be "full time" funded students, and the exemption ceases, and with it, the supervision allowance. 
• Students enrolled as young adults are not eligible for the Te Kura Student Support Payments. 

Due to changes in the law that came in with the 2020 Education and Training Act, allowing the Ministry to recognise any school as a distance school (not only Te Kura as previously), and prompted by the Covid situation, a number of schools are now offering full time distance learning options. These are (so far), all private schools, so they have fees attached (as private schools get minimal funding from the Ministry and are funded mostly by fees that parents pay). Enrolling in one of these schools is no different than enrolling in a local school, except that the learning will occur at home. Parents can simply choose these schools as an option, assuming they meet any enrollment eligibility criteria set by the schools themselves. No homeschooling exemption is required, as the student will be enrolled full time in a registered school, under the distance learning programme. However, there is no supervision allowance (or student support payment) available either. 

Current NZ registered schools offering distance learning are: Mt Hobson Academy, AGE School, 3H International School, Crimson Global Academy, Amana Christian School and Otamatea Christian School. More on this option in an article to come. 

Exempt homeschooling students are eligible for a supervision allowance payment, including those who are fee-paying for Te Kura subjects or doing no more than 2 free subjects as a young adult. Full time funded Te Kura students who meet the criteria are eligible for student support payments. Students enrolled in other distance schools are not eligible for payments (and don't need exemptions), and nor are full time young adult Te Kura students. 

Lapbooking can be a fun, effective way to record learning on a topic. As an example, I'm sharing a lapbook and unit study my family and I did one year. 

The idea arose because St Patrick's Day was approaching - normally something I didn't pay any attention to, but I had recently read information about his important contribution to history, and thought "Hey, he'd be worth learning about!" Plus, I have an Irish great-grandfather, so my children have some Irish heritage, and this meant a perfect opportunity to teach them about Ireland, some family history, and St Patrick, and with St Patrick's Day coming up, this gave us a timeframe - some learning activities over 3 or so weeks, culminating in a celebration on St Patrick's Day. Because this was all rather spur of the moment, I brainstormed a quick list of ideas and activities, and then we just rolled with it. My kids each completed their own lapbook. The pictures are from one I did at the same time for myself, as a keepsake, and so I could share it with others too. This unit was so much fun!

A lapbook is simply one or more manilla or coloured file folders stuck together to hold the "outputs" from a topic study, and form the record of learning. When folded shut, it fits on one's lap, hence the name. The simplest lapbook is one file folder, opened flat, then each side is folded to the middle to make "shutters". This lapbook was made from two folders, with one side of a shutter on each one glued together. It's also possible to add extra flaps by taping an extra piece of card to the centre top of an open lapbook, so it folds up/down, and extra items can be mounted on it. I didn't need to do that for this lapbook project. By putting two folders together, that gave us the following parts to mount work on: front, back, 2 wide middles, and 6 sides of flaps. 

The main elements of our unit study were:

• Learning about our family tree and Irish history
• Learning about some symbols of Ireland
• Learning about the life of St Patrick
• Learning about the country of Ireland
• Planning a celebration, and doing arts/crafts etc
• Having fun!

Here's an outline of the activities we did, not necessarily in chronological order. 

Country of Ireland
We used the library and internet to learn about both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. I printed off some resources to use to record key facts - these were taken from a Country Study lapbook kit from Knowledge Box Central. We learned about the flags, languages, climate, currency, land areas, populations, religions, capitals etc. By doing this for both parts of Ireland then mounting them how we did in the lapbook, it makes it easy to compare them. We added a world map for location, as well as a map of Ireland, and information on neighbouring countries. 

Fun activities and celebration
We also did lots of other activities throughout the study, and had a final celebration dinner. These included:

• Visiting the op-shop, where the kids picked out green clothes to dress up in for our dinner. A couple of the kids from next door (also homeschoolers) joined us for this. 
• Made napkins by cutting up a tablecloth from the op shop, hemming it, then cross-stitching shamrocks on a corner. We made paper napkin rings with a shamrock design. 
• We hung "Happy St Patrick's Day" banner and shamrocks on the wall. 
• On the day of our celebration, we see the table with a tablecloth with green in it, our napkins and other decorations. We coloured some lemonade green to drink, and the kids (including neighbours) played games and had lime popsicles. We watched the St Patrick movie together, and had a "traditional" dinner of corned beef, carrots, cabbage, mashed potatoes and horseradish cream. Desert was lime jelly and icecream, and our drinks green lemonade and lime juice. We typed up the menu to add to our lapbook, along with lots of photos of the kids and what we did. 
• We also cut out stamps from potatoes, in the shapes of shamrocks and crosses, and the kids used these stamps with green paint to make decorative covers for their lapbooks. 
• We used scissors that cut wavy patterns to cut out borders for the lapbook, and made title sections using two layers of wavy-cut paper - green behind and white on top with the titles added. 
• The front and back covers of the lapbooks were a great place to add lots of photos, and we also memorised and wrote out an Irish blessing to put on the back cover.

Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand!

I finished off my lapbook by covering it front and back with clear adhesive covers, to protect it, as this study was special and so much fun, and I want to keep my own copy as a keepsake. 

In December last year, I posted THIS article about the big spike in homeschooling exemption application numbers, which continued through until March this year (I added Feb updates to that article). This post is to provide some further data about numbers of applications since, from what is currently available. 

The next official statistics (to end of June 2022) won't be released on Education Counts until later this year - likely December - so any data in the meantime comes from OIA request results that have been shared, often by journalists who have been following this situation with interest. 

May 2022: The chart below was provided by a BOP reporter, who received it from the MoE as part of an information release.
In the complete document, they said that in 2021, they had received 3,833 applications, of which 3,440 had been approved (that year - some were not yet processed), and in 2022 from 1/2-30/4 they had received 2,328 applications, of which 1,500 had been approved so far when the data was extracted on 5th May 2022. 

June 2022: An article was published under the headline "Homeschool requests dip now COVID, mask rules have relaxed."
It essentially quotes the same data above, finishing with: "Nationally there were 781 applications in January, 744 in February, 548 in March and 255 in April." 

While this is a dip from those big numbers in Oct-Feb, that still places applications at about "twice normal" compared to previous years, a trend that doesn't look likely to end any time soon. 

Since the above, there have not been further articles so far with useful data in them - the focus in the media has turned to the huge absenteeism situation etc. Should more come in, I will add them to this post as updates.

Anecdotally, though, comments from Ministry staff indicate that application numbers, while more settled, are still consistently above previous norms. One region, which would normally average about 70 applications per month, told me recently they'd received 70 applications in the previous fortnight, which is consistent with the "twice average" indicators. I don't know for certain all regions are still seeing higher then normal numbers, but it seems likely, though there will be small dips and surges. 

It's important to understand that a high school qualification is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Once a student has finished school, and gone out into the world, gaining other meaningful experience or qualifications, what they did in high school becomes of little relevance. The point of a high school qualification, other than to validate their education, is to unlock doors - to university, other tertiary studies, apprenticeships, and/or employment.

But, it is not necessarily essential to have high school qualifications to access those things. There are other options, which I will explore in future articles. For now, let's acknowledge that gaining high school qualifications, because they provide recognisable evidence of learning, is generally the easiest way to gain access to the above, where such qualifications are usually needed. 

If your child is NOT likely to want or need to enter tertiary education, then they may not need a qualification at all. It may be that a more general programme of learning and life skills will suit them better. However, until you know this for sure, it is usually wiser and better to assume they will want to gain qualifications, and set them up with the skills and knowledge and options they need to do so. 

While there are a number of recognised options for University Entrance (U.E)*, five of them are readily accessible to home educators in one way or another. These are:

• NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) - the state school qualification. I'll discuss this in more depth shortly. 
• Cambridge Exams - these are external exams which can be sat by home educators as a Private Candidate. Specific coursework (using suitable text/workbooks from an available selection) needs to be completed to prepare for the exams. IGCSE exams are typically sat at year 11, and A levels at Years 12/13. An A level with a certain number of points meets the U.E requirements of NZ universities. There are options to study Cambridge via an international distance provider, independently (a tutor strongly recommended for A levels), or via registering with a NZ private distance school (there are currently 2 offering Cambridge - Crimson Global, and 3H international - both quite costly, and voiding an exemption). 
• CENZ (Christian Education NZ) Level 3 Certificate - this is available through Homeschooling NZ (and some NZ Christian schools), and is an excellent programme of learning which combines meeting specific requirements with individual choices from various curriculum options and elective courses (including ACE, Abeka, Apologia, Lifepac, Saxon, Math U See and much, much more). Work from Years 9-13 all counts towards the certificate requirements, though there are adjustments for late starters and those with high diagnostic test scores. 
• ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) Level 3 Certificate - similar to the CENZ Certificate, except that it is based strongly on the ACE curriculum - at least 75% of all credit work must be ACE. This is available through Accelerate, the distance learning arm of SCEE in Australia; it is also offered by some NZ Christian schools, including a distance programme option from Amana. 
• GED/SAT tests - these are American tests which are accessible in NZ, and the combined suitable scores from these are recognised by the Universities for U.E. These tests are usually sat in Year 13 - prior to that, a student does a general programme of learning of your choice, and then prior to sitting the exams does 6-12 months of specific preparation work. See Lime Feather Learning for more info (formerly Learning Set Free). 

* Any qualification recognised for university entrance is generally also recognisable by other tertiary providers or potential employers - and/or you can use a transcript with details of what has been studied from either of these to present to a potential employer or course provider. 

Note: throughout this article where I mention the option of distance learning from a NZ registered private school, should you choose this option, you will NOT need a homeschooling exemption (and if you have one it will be voided, the same as enrolling in any registered NZ school). I'm including these options for those who might want to consider them, or who are considering homeschooling/home learning for their teen but not yet got an exemption. The one overseas distance provider I mention DOES require an exemption, as they are not a NZ registered school. Enrolling in Te Kura as a fee paying student DOES require an exemption, even though it's a registered NZ school. 

As NCEA is the standard NZ school system qualification, a lot of families assume this is what their child should or needs to do, or they simply want to carry on with it if their child has transitioned to homeschooling during their high school years. While fully understanding NCEA is a topic too big for this article (and it is important to really get your head around it if you choose that route), here I will attempt to give a very, very brief summary, and, more importantly, explain  how it is accessed by home educators, as this is not entirely straightforward. 

​Please note: the NCEA system is in a state of transition. New requirements will be in place from 2024 (for Level 1), and so this overview will outline the current (I'll call it "old") system and the new - which applies to your child, will depend on in which year they will be completing each level. Any student starting Level 1 from 2024 onwards will be under the new system. Any student who started sooner, and/or is doing Level 2 in/before 2024 and Level 3 in/before 2025, will be under the old system (it's not as totally cut-and-dried as that, but I'm keeping it simple). 

Under both systems, NCEA has 3 levels. To gain University Entrance, students must achieve NCEA Level 3, with a certain number of credits in relevant subject, and also complete required literacy/numeracy standards. 

When student complete units of work to a suitable standard, they are awarded a given number of credits. Each unit of work may have varying numbers of credit attached, though they are typically 3-4 each. A full year's work in one subject is typically worth around 20 credits, though students don't have to complete all available work of any given subject to gather enough credits to pass a level. 

Old (present) system:

• Level 1: achieve 80 credits at any level (1,2 or 3), including 10 literacy and 10 numeracy credits from approved standards. Gaining Level 1 is optional - it is not required in order to do Level 2.
• Level 2: 60 credits at Level 2 or above + 20 credits from any level (these are also known as "carry over credits" as they may be credits already achieved at Level 1). Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met (may have been done prior) - so these often comprise the 20 extra credits. 
• Level 3: 60 credits at Level 3 or above, plus 20 credits from Level 2 or above (again, "carry over credits"). Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also have been met. 
• Current U.E requirements with NCEA: the student must achieve ALL of the following:

​            1) Gain 14 credits in EACH of 3 approved subjects
             2) Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or above, including 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing
             3) Numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 or above, made up of specified achievement standards or
                   a package of 3 specific numeracy unit standards. 

New system:

• Level 1 (from 2024): 60 credits at Level 1 + new lit/num co-requisite* (this level is optional)
• Level 2 (from 2025): 60 credits at Level 2 + new lit/num co-requisite*
• Level 3 (from 2026): 60 credits at Level 3 + new lit/num co-requisite*

​* See more details below. 

Key changes/points:

• Credits can no longer be "carried over"
• Each level is a 60 credit qualification
• The new literacy/numeracy co-requisite must be completed before any level of NCEA may be awarded (more below)
• All NCEA subjects are being re-built with 4 achievement standards – 2 internally assessed, 2 externally assessed – worth 20 credits total. 
• Learners can use unit standards as well as achievement standards to reach the credit requirement for each level of NCEA. They will also be able to use any skills standards set by Workforce Development Councils. The only unit standards they cannot use for the 60 credit requirement are the compulsory Literacy and Numeracy standards.
• Any changes to U.E requirements under the new system have not yet been made clear (and likely won't be in place until 2026 when the first of the new cohort reach Level 3). 

New Literacy/Numeracy Co-Requisite
One of the most significant changes to NCEA is the new lit/num co-requisite. This needs to be completed only once, and can be done in any year from Year 9 upwards, but until it is completed, no level of NCEA will be awarded. The co-requisite is completed by sitting an external test, known as the CAA (Common Assessment Activity), which is done online, and offered, at this stage, 2x per year. This is currently being piloted, so there may be changes. There will be both Te Reo and English alternatives available.

The CAA is organised in schools. It is not yet known how home educators will be able to access the CAAs; I have a follow up conversation scheduled with the NCEA Change Team in about August when they hope to know more, after they figure out how Te Kura students will be able to do the CAAs. 

In order to achieve NCEA, a student must not only complete required work, but also have that work assessed by an approved entity, and have the gained credits added to the NZQA framework by an approved entity. Someone with the ability to do this is said to have "consent to assess" (the work) and "consent to access" (the framework). Such consent is only granted to approved secondary schools, tertiary providers, and alternative education providers. Home educators cannot do this for themselves, as they cannot/will not be granted consent. 

The only ways for a home educated student to gain NCEA therefore are:

• Study NCEA via Te Kura, the correspondence school. This is free to enroll in for students ages 16-19. Younger students with homeschooling exemptions may enroll in any number of courses on a fee-paying basis - about $1800 per subject per year (or a pro-rata amount if they turn 16 during the year of study). 
• Enroll in a private distance school which offers NCEA (would no longer be officially home educated as do not need an exemption, though would be learning at home). Currently the only one doing so is Mt Hobson Academy Connect
• Find a secondary school willing to act as a "Link School" - this can be either for external exams only (so you would prepare your student at home with suitable course work, and they would gain credits only for the external exams), or also for internal assessment, where you would submit work to the teachers and they would assess it for internal credit. While it is usually not too difficult to find a school who will allow home educated students to sit external exams at their school (they do this for Te Kura students also), it is very rare for them to agree to act as a link school for internal assessment. After all, they receive no funding for the student, and already have full workloads caring for their enrolled students. Officially it is possible, but no school is required to agree, and few will. This doesn't mean you shouldn't try though. You would need to talk go the Principal's Nominee at the school, show them THIS section of the NZQA website, and download and take them the form that is there to fill in. NOTE: Jan 2023 - NZQA have put up the new assessment rules for 2023, replacing, among other things, the 2022 rules for homeschooled students linked above. It is as yet unclear how they expect these to be applied to home educated students. I have emailed to clarify and will update when new info is available. 
• Cobble together or gain NCEA credits through a combo of external exams, courses from alternative providers, distance courses, foundation studies courses etc. This is a little harder than it used to be, as the Open Polytechnic will no longer enroll any student under 16, and will not enroll home educated students over 16 for their Foundation Studies courses. Other course providers may do so, though many have become a bit more tricky than in the past. (Contact me if you have issues and want some support.) Foundation Studies or bridging course are aimed at school leavers without NCEA qualifications, to give them the credits they need to go onto other courses. Variations of them are offered by a number of providers. Youth  Guarantees courses are aimed at students age 16-19 without NCEA 1 or 2 - these vary in content and how they are provided, and are available from a wide range of alternative education providers. Typically you would look for one that focuses on an area of interest - eg a pre-trade course in building for your budding carpenter, which would be designed to meet credit requirements including literacy and numeracy so that the student can successfully go on to an apprenticeship and/or related Level 3 and above study. 

If your child is younger, or not yet able to access high school qualifications, it's wise to think ahead to what they will need to have learned in order to be successful when the time comes. This should not be limited to academics - think about teaching skills and attributes like self-management, goal setting, diligence, general study skills and so on. In terms of academic preparation, here are some general pointers with the above qualification pathways in mind:

• If you intend for your child to do either the CENZ or ACE Certificates, you can enroll with their respective providers from preschool upwards, and follow the various programme options they will set out for you. Or you can select any suitable, reasonably rigorous curriculum to teach your children independently until you're ready to enroll. I would recommend that by the time they are intermediate age, you do enroll and complete the parent training and diagnostic testing, so that if your children have any gaps in their learning, you have time to work through required catch up work before they start the high school programme. Note that you MUST be enrolled and have completed parent training before your student begins any credit-level work. It is also important that you learn to use proper procedures in administering work early on, and that your children learn the requirements too, so that you don't all have to unlearn a bunch of bad habits in order to meet the strict credit requirements. HSNZ have generously made available a copy of their parent training basics which you can download HERE for parents of younger children who don't want to enroll yet - I recommend you read and apply it if you are using ACE in particular independently, or as much as applicable, any other equivalent programme for earlier learning. If you are going to use ACE, then your children need to complete diagnostic testing, and you should have someone suitably experienced help you determine their initial programme of learning (you're welcome to contact me about this). Other curriculum may include their own placement tests which should be used.
• If you are heading towards Cambridge Exams, there are also course materials available for all ages and levels, which could be used with younger students. Or again, any suitable rigorous course of study in the early years will lay the necessary foundations. Study by distance with one of the providers linked above is also an option. 
• If your student will do GED/SAT, then you can choose whatever you like during their younger years, building general literacy/numeracy and general knowledge, until they begin the specific prep courses for the exams.
• If your student will do NCEA, then a suitable broad programme of learning in primary school will suffice. You can check out the NZ curriculum documents HERE for an idea of what is typically taught in schools. If your student is high school age, then doing work using a combination of Education Perfect online platform, and resources such as Nulake Math, Sigma English and some ESA Learning Workbooks or resources from Eton Press should lay a reasonable foundation. Remember that if you are preparing them to sit external NCEA exams, you will need to know what standards are included in the exams, which you want them to sit, and provide specific applicable learning to prepare for those standards. These standards are the number codes you will see on NCEA workbooks.+

For a wide range of curriculum resource options for all ages, see my Planning Your Programme manual.

This has been a fairly brief look at a big topic. To summarise some main points:

• Not every student needs a formal high school qualification, but until you're sure of this, ideally prepare them to be able to gain one. Qualifications can be the simplest way to open doors to tertiary study and some employment. 
• There are five main high school qualification options (outlined above) which are reasonably accessible to home educators. Investigate the options and have a reasonable idea where you're headed as early as practicable, so you have something to aim for. You can always change course later. 
• In the primary years, either choose a programme of learning that is targeted to the qualifications you will later aim for, or ensure a broad, decent learning experience so that your student has a good foundation from which to launch. During the primary years, though, don't get TOO overfocussed on academics - these are the years to allow plenty of room for play, fun, and hands-on learning, and to take the time to pursue interesting projects and deep-dives into things of interest. Incorporate general aptitudes and character - these are at least as important as academics in preparing your student for future success. 
• In the secondary years, your student will usually have a more academic focus, working to lay necessary foundations for success at Levels 1, 2 & 3, or equivalent. 

Getting your head around high school qualifications and how they work is a big learning curve, akin to learning a whole new foreign language (and each qualification has it's own language!). Don't be overwhelmed - take it one step at a time, read up, ask questions, talk to others who have been there before you, and hang in there. Until one of your kids is actually DOING one of the above, only so much will stick - it will make more and more sense when it's put into action.