In New Zealand, children between the ages of 6 and 16 are required to be enrolled in and attend a registered school unless they are exempt. The most common form of exemption is a homeschooling exemption granted under Section 38 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

​Some children learn at home, but are not exempt as they are enrolled in Te Kura or other distance learning schools. Confusion often arises around homeschooling vs distance learning options, and when exemptions are needed, which this post seeks to clarify. 

Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, known as "Te Kura" for short, is the NZ correspondence school. It is a registered state school, which teaches the NZ curriculum. Originally set up in 1922 to provide distance learning to students who were too geographically isolated to attend a local school, now Te Kura has students who are enrolled for variety of reasons which are grouped by "gateways." There are 10 free (govt funded) gateways under which students can be enrolled. The gateways for pre-school, primary and secondary students are for students who:

• are from families who are geographically remote or itinerant, or living overseas 
• have been bullied, alienated or excluded/expelled from their face-to-face school
• have been referred to Te Kura by the Ministry of Education due to psychological or psycho-social needs
• have a long-term illness or medical condition (Early Childhood only)
• have learning support needs
• are pregnant or are young parents
• have been referred by the Ministry for Children, Oranga Tamariki or the Department of Corrections
• are elite athletes, dancers, musicians, sportspeople or performers whose extra-curricular commitments make a regular school routine impossible
• would like a second chance at completing their high school qualifications (young adults)
• are unable to attend an early childhood education centre locally because of distance and isolation or because demand exceeds the places available in their area.

The specifics of each of the above can be found in Te Kura's Enrolment Policy document. How to apply varies, depending on the gateway - in some cases you can simply enroll via the website, in others you will need a referral from the Ministry or similar. In the first instance, talk to enrolment staff at Te Kura for more information. 
NB: there are some gateways that are not funded, also set out in the enrolment policy, such as certain overseas students, and exempt fee-paying students (see below). 

When students are enrolled in Te Kura, their work/resources are (mostly) provided by the school, and their progress is assessed and monitored by the teachers, just like in a regularly school. 

All students who are enrolled under one of the funded gateways are still enrolled in a registered school (in this case, Te Kura) and therefore do not need/hold a homeschooling exemption, and are not homeschoolers, even though they are learning at home. 

However, students who do not fit the criteria for free enrolment in Te Kura may still be enrolled if their parents first gain a homeschooling exemption, and then choose to enroll on a fee-paying basis. A full programme costs about $8K per year, or individual subjects about $1800/year. The 2023 fee schedule can be found HERE. Because such students would hold a homeschooling exemption, their parents are taking responsibility for their education, and simply "purchasing" Te Kura courses as a resource; they are homeschoolers. 

Note that students who hold a homeschooling exemption and are aged 16-19 can be enrolled in 1 or 2 free subjects with Te Kura under the young adult gateway, and still retain their homeschooling exemption. However, if they enroll in 3 or more subjects they are considered "full time funded" and their exemption would be ceased. 

A fairly recent phenomenon is that there are now other distance learning schools registered in NZ. They are not state-owned, but private. Some are physical schools with a distance learning option. Others are virtual schools only. Any student may be enrolled in these schools, in the same way as they can be in other private schools - the individual schools may have enrolment criteria, but generally speaking any family can choose one of these schools for their student. Being private schools, however, there are fees attached, and no free options. Fees vary, from $3000/year to about $23,000/year. NZ private registered distance schools are as follows (in brackets are the type of curriculum and high school qualification they offer):

• Mt Hobson Academy (NZ curriculum/NCEA)
• AGE School (NZ curriculum/not applicable)
• Amana Christian School (ACE curriculum/ACE Certificate)
• Otamatea Christian School (ACE curriculum/ACE Certificate)
• ATEA College (Cambridge curriculum/Cambridge exams)
• Crimson Global Academy (Cambridge curriculum/Cambridge exams)

Enrolment and fee information can be found on these schools' respective websites, which I have linked. 

For students enrolled in these schools, like Te Kura or any physical school, the school is responsible for providing the teaching, curriculum, assessment and monitoring etc. 

Students enrolled in these schools are enrolled in a registered school. They do not need/hold a homeschooling exemption and are not homeschoolers, though they are learning at home. 

However, there are other distance learning schools which are NOT NZ registered schools (for example they may be based overseas). Families who wish to enroll their children in those schools will need a homeschooling exemption first, and therefore will be homeschoolers. 

Homeschoolers are those whose families have decided to take responsibility for their child's learning programme themselves and have applied for and gained a homeschooling exemption under Section 38 of the Education and Training Act through an application for exemption to the Ministry of Education. 

These families may choose from a range of curriculum and other resources, including, if they wish, paying for Te Kura courses, paying tutors etc, though most families don't do that. Whatever they do choose, they are taking personal responsibility to ensure that their child will be "taught as regularly and well as they would be if enrolled in a registered school." There are no free resources provided by the government - the parents are solely responsible for sourcing and funding resources (other than some access to Ministry resources through Down the Back of the Chair)

Homeschooling families are eligible for a small stipend (called the "supervision allowance"), which they can use as they see fit. They can purchase whatever resources they wish, or use no paid resources and make up their own lessons ultilising free resources like the library or free downloads etc. 

More on how to get started homeschooling can be found HERE as well as on the Ministry's webpage. 

Homeschooling (with a Section 38 exemption) is commonly also known as "home education" in NZ, and is referred to as such on the Ministry's website and most homeschooler/home educator's websites in NZ. 

Many parents who have children enrolled full time as funded Te Kura students also think of themselves as homeschoolers, because their children are "doing school at home." They may be involved in local homeschool groups (where such groups welcome Te Kura students). Because of this, and because members of the public who may not know any different also tend to lump all home-based learners into the "homeschooling" basket, folks who are new to the whole scene are often confused, and as a result get the wrong end of the stick about when/if they need a homeschooling exemption or not, whether they can just enroll in Te Kura as an option, whether the government provides curriculum and resourcers and so on. Te Kura staff tell us that they are needing to explain the difference to parents on a daily basis (though not always successfully), and I and other home education consultants find we are often doing the same. 

In an ideal world, perhaps we'd all have/stick to clearer "labels" but of course that's not likely to happen, and we also respect folks right to use their own terms for their own lives/children. However, the simplest ways to identify the categories are:

"Homeschooler" or "home educator" = student who has a Section 38 long term exemption. It is exclusively these students to whom the Ministry and Te Kura would apply these labels. To them, all other students are NOT homeschoolers. Homeschool parents are legally responsible for overseeing/delivering their child's learning programme, and for monitoring their progress. 

"Distance learner" - student who is enrolled in a distance school, whether Te Kura or a private distance school, and does NOT hold a Section 38 exemption. Distance students have teachers who are legally responsible for delivering and overseeing their programme of learning, and assessing/monitoring their progress.

As explained above, there are some students who are both exempt and enrolled in Te Kura via the fee paying gateway, or enrolled in an off-shore distance programme; legally they are homeschoolers/home educators. A student cannot be both exempt and enrolled in other NZ private distance schools, as enrolment in them is enrolment in a registered school which voids any exemption, and those schools don't have alternative options like Te Kura does. 

A fellow homeschooling parent and consultant, Nina Lawgun, spoke to Te Kura staff today about this issue. The following is copied/modified with permission. 
The points that Te Kura feels parents need to be reminded of and have clarified for them are...

1. Te Kura and any other registered online schools are not classed as homeschooling; they are schools.
2. Te Kura is a state school that offers free distance education to students who cannot attend their local school due to one of 10 very specific reasons, listed here [copied above]
3. To homeschool a parent needs to apply to the Ministry of Education for a homeschooling exemption. Their page on homeschooling is here. [This website also contains much info on homeschooling, and I offer a guide to exemptions and other resources]
4. To enroll at Te Kura no exemption is required, but a student must meet their free entry enrollment criteria, and if they do, then Te Kura as a government-funded registered state school will become their official school. However, they are not homeschooling, even though they will be learning and studying at home. [The same applies if they are enrolled at any other NZ registered distance school, except they will pay fees.]
5. If a student does not have a homeschooling exemption, that their parents have written an application for and sent for approval to the Ministry of Education, they are not classed as homeschooled, no matter how much work is involved on the part of the parent.
6. However, a homeschooled student, with an exemption, can apply to Te Kura as a private candidate at a cost of around $8000 to undertake study through them. In this case, since they will still have an exemption, they will retain their homeschooling status via this paid route.
7. At age 16, a homeschooled student with an exemption can take up to two courses through Te Kura and not lose their homeschool exemption. Three or more courses at Te Kura means you are enrolled with them as your school, and are no longer homeschooled. This is known as the Young Adult gateway and is free.

Hopefully this post will have clarified for you who are (legally) homeschoolers (aka home educators) and when an exemption is or is not required in order for your child to learn from home. 

Personally, I totally understand when Te Kura parents consider themselves homeschoolers, and I also understand how important for many of those families connecting with others via local homeschooling groups can be, and how little social support or connection is otherwise often available for those families. The purpose of this article is not to push any of you away or make you feel unwelcome! It's to define things legally and for the sake of those who are looking to take their kids out of school but are being confused by the terms they hear or in some cases the direct misinformation they have been told (or info they have misunderstood). For such families, clarity around the terms, options, requirements and situation is essential. 

If you're a parent newly considering having your child learn at home instead of at school, I hope this article has made things clearer. If you're a parent whose child is already a home-based learner, whether homeschooled or doing distance education, I'd simply encourage you to make sure, when you have conversations with other parents, to be aware of the confusion that can happen, and where warranted, explain the different options and requirements. Using differentiated terms may help with that. 

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.