This week the supervision allowance for home educated students has been paid to most eligible parents. A significant number have found they were underpaid, mostly those who have exempt students age 16+ who have enrolled in 1-2 subjects with Te Kura. For those students, the allowance should NOT be affected. I have been investigating. I'm posting this information here so those in this situation know what action to take. Once this has been resolved, I will add the pertinent points to my more general article on the Supervision Allowance and Te Kura or Distance Learning. I encourage you to read that also if you have more general questions about whether you should be eligible for an allowance. 

When a student is enrolled in Te Kura under the Young Adult gateway, their enrolment details (name, NSN, date of enrolment etc) goes through to the Ministry of Education on a list, as the Ministry fund these students. Any students on the list who hold a homeschooling exemption, the Ministry extracts onto another list and sends back to Te Kura, asking for confirmation of how many subjects those students are enrolled in. Te Kura sends the list back with a list of how many subjects each student is enrolled in. The Ministry can then make updates at their end to ENROL and RAD (the national student and homeschooling databases respectively). 

If the student is enrolled in 3 or more subjects, then their exemption is ceased, and they are no longer entitled to the homeschooling supervision allowance. If they are enrolled in only 1-2 Te Kura subjects, then the exemption and allowance continues. 

At least, that's the theory. However....

There are multiple points in this chain of processes where things can go wrong.....
1) Te Kura itself first updates the student on ENROL, the national database. They tell me that if they note that the student is currently listed as exempt, then they try to make a point of contacting the family to ask how many subjects in total they intend to enroll in (as initial enrolment does not necessarily reflect full intended subjects), and to explain if it's 3 or more the exemption will cease. That's an excellent idea, but I'm confident from the comments of many families that does not always happen. In the process of updating the student on ENROL, unless they have checked and found/acted otherwise, their action of adding them as a Te Kura student will automatically cease the exemption. 
2) If the Ministry fails to check with Te Kura, or Te Kura fails to return confirmation of subject numbers to the Ministry, then things won't get corrected as they should.
3) Even if the above does happen, there is no guarantee that follow up will be correctly done. In theory, because of the above process, there should not be the current issues occurring - the sheer volume of them shows that things are not being done property at some point in the chain. And from my conversations with the Ministry and Te Kura, no one actually knows where it's going wrong, making it hard to fix. 
4) There is no set regularity to the process of sending through lists, responding to them, and taking follow up action, which doesn't help the efficacy of the process. 
5) In theory, the student's learning advisor is also supposed to make notes on the record that the student is home educated and only doing 1 or 2 subjects, but how/if that is picked up on and actioned is unclear. 

As I said to the lovely folk at Te Kura today, it shouldn't be this complicated! I will therefore be submitting a suggestion to the person currently working on improving the online enrolment forms, which should help:

On the online enrolment form for Young Adults, add the following questions/information:

• Does this student currently hold a homeschooling exemption? Y/N
• If yes, what is the total number of subjects this student intends to be enrolled in this year?

Note: If your home educated student enrolls in 3 or more subjects, their exemption and homeschool supervision allowance will cease. If they enroll in no more than 1-2 subjects, there will be no change to the exemption/allowance. 

I've already been told this would help a lot, as it would immediately alert the enrolment team to the situation, and allow them to ensure that they update ENROL in a way that will not cease the exemption where the student will only be doing 1-2 subjects and holds an exemption. The person in charge of changes however, is on leave until the 3rd of July. 

I've also received a note from Resourcing on 4th July saying:
"We have had situations where students have enrolled in 3 or more subjects, but then have only attended 2 of those subjects. If this is the case, the parents need to ensure that they have withdrawn the student from those subjects formally with Te Kura and advised us of this change."
​
So if that applies to your student, make sure you follow up. 

There are two departments involved in this - Te Kura's enrolment team, and the Ministry's resourcing department. In the first instance, it is best to contact Te Kura, because they need to update ENROL (if applicable) and also provide the Ministry with proof that your student is only doing 1-2 subjects. In theory they have already done that (via the lists), but the Ministry will not make further changes without evidence. You can contact the Te Kura enrolment team on 0800 65 99 88, select 1 from the menu. 

The Resourcing department is responsible for issuing a declaration if one was not already done, and making the missing payment. You will likely also want to contact them, quoting your homeschooling reference number and stating the issue. You might write something like this:

"My child (insert full name) has a home education exemption, family reference number (insert number). They were enrolled in Te Kura for 1 (or 2) subjects from (insert date). Their exemption/supervision allowance should therefore not have been affected, but we have not received the expected payment amount [OR: we have not received the declarations or payment]. Attached is evidence that (child's name) is only enrolled in 1 (or 2) subjects [OR: we have been in contact with Te Kura and requested that they ensure the record reflect he/she is enrolled in only 1 (or 2) subjects.]. We therefore request that you ensure that our exemption remains in force or is reinstated if necessary, and that the missing payment is processed."

You can email Resourcing at Resourcing@education.govt.nz 

Any payments that need to be made will usually happen within a month or so once Resourcing has things sorted. 

If your student is newly enrolled in Te Kura in 1-2 subjects, then until we know things have been fixed, it would be worth proactively checking with Resourcing prior to the next allowance payment that your student is correctly on the system and full payment will be processed for them. If they were enrolled at least a month prior to the declarations coming out, then how they are written on there should be accurate, but if they were enrolled later, it may not reflect what their system now says. In theory you could write on the forms, but I have no confidence that Resourcing actually reads/actions notes on the declarations which parents add. 

When you enroll a student, either for the first time, or when enrolling them at the start of a new year for continuing studies, or if you have made changes to the subjects they are enrolled in, I recommend you communicate with Te Kura to make sure they are aware, and appropriately note, that your student is exempt, and should remain so. 

However, note that if you do enroll in 3 or more subjects at any given time, the exemption will cease, and along with it the allowance. If they later drop out of Te Kura, or drop subjects, it is unlikely that they will be able to get the exemption back. 

If this situation has only now come to your attention, and you have been historically "short changed" over the last couple of years or so, you may have a case to make for back payment with the Ministry - though you'll need to take that up with them. 

If your student is enrolled in Te Kura full time (3 or more subjects) under the young adult gateway, there is also no student support payment (aka Te Kura supervision allowance) payable from Te Kura. 

If your student is enrolled in Te Kura full time under another funded gateway, they may be eligible for the student support payment, however, that is a completely separate system, managed entirely by Te Kura, and none of the above applies. This is also true if a previous exempt student transfers to full time free Te Kura (eg due to geographical isolation). 

Hopefully the above information will help you to resolve any issues you have may have experienced with missing supervision allowance payments for your child, and to proactively ensure that the issue does not arise again. I also hope that Te Kura and/or the Ministry can refine their systems to make it less complicated and more effective. 

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!

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. 

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. But what about those families who gained an exemption during a 6 month period?

Note: for 2023 further updates and info, please see THIS article. 

Previously, it worked like this:
If an exemption start date was before the print-run date of all the declarations, the new student's declaration would be included in the normal mail out If it was gained after the print run, then either the period of time from start date to end of period would be included in the subsequent declaration, or Resourcing might send out a late declaration for the part period. 

However, recently they changed this. Now, in theory, it's supposed to work like this:
When a regional office grants an exemption, they are supposed to send out part-period declaration forms to the family for the period from the start date of the exemption to the end of the cycle. Subsequent full-cycle declarations will be sent by Resourcing. 

But, the wheels seem to have seriously fallen off this process over the last 6-12 months! Some regional offices have sent out some declarations, but lots and lots seem not to have been sent. I'm not entirely sure regional staff even know they're supposed to have been doing this! That said, with the huge increase in applications since Sept last year, most regional offices have been seriously struggling to keep up with applications alone, and so many things have "fallen through the cracks."

March 2023 update to the above: the declarations for the first half of this year are in the post to families. They include information which states that if the exemption was granted AFTER 2nd Feb 2023 (when the print run was done) then you should contact your regional office

So, what if a part period declaration was not sent out? Will those dates just be added to the next one?
No, they will not. If you are missing a part-period declaration, you need to contact your regional office, or more efficiently, Resourcing division directly. Their email is Resourcing@education.govt.nz. Quote your family reference number, and ask for the missed declaration. They will email it to you, for you to sign and return. Once completed, any supervision allowance payment will be loaded on the system and paid out in their next available payment run cycle (they do these approximately fortnightly-monthly depending on what payments they are making, but the schedule needs to be full before they do a run so sometimes it's longer). 

If you don't follow up and ask for this, it will remain outstanding for that part period, and you'll still need to ask for it next time around. So may as well just get it done. 

This is also the process to follow any time you happen to have not received a declaration. Also, don't forget to keep the Ministry up to date with your mailing address, as they send the regular declarations out by post. 

​Once you sign and return the declaration, you are eligible for the supervision allowance payment. The annual amounts are as follows - they are paid in two installments in about June and late November:

• first child $743.00
• second child $632.00
• third child $521.00
• subsequent children $372.00

The 6 monthly declarations are the main way that the Ministry follows up to ensure you're still home educating "as regularly and well." It is a simple form with just a couple of questions and tick boxes. Legally, they can't require you to submit these, so the allowance is the "carrot" for you to do so - if you don't return the declaration you can't get the allowance.

​However, if you don't return it, then they will follow up in other ways to ensure "as regularly and well." This will begin with a reminder. If you still don't send in the form, they may follow up with a phone call/email/letter asking for an update on your homeschooling programme. This can potentially lead to an ERO review, and if that is not satisfactory, the exemptions can be revoked. I don't say that to scare you - just to let you know that it's easier to simply sign and return the declarations. Don't consider them "optional" or "only if I want the allowance." You can read more about how homeschooling programmes are monitored HERE. 

Usually, the Ministry includes a return envelope with the declarations. But sometimes a few get missed as the folk in Resourcing are stuffing the thousands of envelopes. So the address, in case you need it, is:

Ministry of Education
Resourcing Contact Centre
PO Box 1666
Wellington 6140

Email  Resourcing@education.govt.nz

Families who hold certificates of exemption for their children are paid a small "supervision allowance" by the Ministry of Education twice a year. The amount has not changed since it was introduced in 1989. There has always been divided opinions on whether we should ask for more money, and whether doing so would bring more scrutiny. Here I outline the background of the allowance, it's basis in law and policy, and suggest options for the future. 

In the late1980's the then-Labour government led by David Lange undertook a sweeping review of education (much like the one Chris Hipkins has led over the last 3 years). At that time, the Education Act 1964 was the law in force around education. A number of big changes came out of that review, among them Tomorrow's Schools which changed forever the landscape and approach of state education, along with forming the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office, and creating the Education Act 1989 (after all, you can't make significant changes without the legislation to back it up).

As part of this process, Brian Picot led a taskforce to investigate education in NZ, and wrote a report of recommendations, which was published in 1988 entitled Adminstering for Excellence - more commonly known as the Picot Report. 

In the Picot Report, in respect of home education, was written the following:
"Each successive Education Act since 1877 has included the right of citizens to educate their own children, provided that a standard of education similar to that available in a state school is maintained. As part of our commitment to increased choice in the system, we wish that right to be continued and suggest that the procedures under which it is exercised be kept as straightforward as possible. We propose that the Review and Audit Agency [ultimately called ERO] be able to grant an exemption from enrolment and subsequent attendance. We also recommend that the children involved have the right of access to appropriate Correspondence School lessons. The parents of children studying at home should receive an allowance based on that currently given to parents of Correspondence School students: and they will - as now - have their programme and work checked by the Review and Audit Agency." (section 7.7.4)

Tomorrow's Schools, authored by David Lange, was the document written in response to the Picot Report, which formed the foundation of the new system and legislation. On home education, Tomorrow's Schools said:
"Home-Based Schooling (section 5.4)

• Parents will continue to be able to educate their children at home, provided that a standard of education similar to that available in an institution is maintained.
• Exemption from enrolment at school and subsequent attendance will be granted by the Review and Audit Agency.
• A standard charter for home-based schooling will be used as a basis for negotiations between the parent(s) who wish to educate their child at home, and the Review and Audit Agency. This charter will allow the agency to monitor the student's educational progress, and so ensure that it is regular and comparable to that provided by institutions. [NB: they did attempt this charter system, but it was dropped]
• Children being taught at home will have the right to enrol in Correspondence School courses. Their parent(s) will receive a home-based schooling allowance based on that currently given to the parents of Correspondence School students." 

As the reader will no doubt be aware, some of this translated into reality through the 1989 legislation, and some did not. Certificates of Exemption were to be granted by the newly-formed Ministry of Education, rather than ERO. While the government intended ERO to carry out regular reviews, legal ability to do so was not actually written into the legislation at that time, resulting (in part) in the practice being abandonded for a time a few years later (see THIS). Home educators were never given automatic right to enrol in Correspondence School courses (now Te Kura). Of most interest here, though, is the matter of the allowance being paid on the same basis of that which was paid to Correspondence School families.

Back in the 80's, families of correspondence school students had lobbied to be paid a supervision allowance, on the basis that they were doing part of the teacher's jobs by supervising their student's learning at home, and should therefore be paid for that. This was before my time in the home education world, but from what I'm told, they fought hard and it was eventually granted. To then have the government turn around and also grant it to homeschooling parents (who had never asked for it) was, to some of the correspondence parents, something of an insult. 

Be that as it may, the policy resulted in home educators being paid the following amounts for exempt students:

• first child $743
• second child $632
• third child $521
• subsequent children $372

Paid in two equal six-monthly installments, these amounts were the same as the correspondence school supervision allowance at the time. For home educators, these amounts have remained unchanged ever since. For correspondence (now Te Kura) families, there have been very slight increases. Today the Te Kura supervision allowance payments are:

• First child $760
• Second child $646
• Third child $533
• Fourth and subsequent children $380

All of this begs a couple of important questions:
1) If the home education supervision allowance is tied to the Te Kura supervision allowance, why has one changed and the other not?
2) The policy sets out on what basis the allowance is paid to Te Kura families. It is clearly linked to the parent's role in ensuring the student is completing work set by the school, keeping in regular touch with the school, and being available for meetings with teachers etc. In other words, the parents are being paid to support their children's learning by supporting the teachers who are providing the program. Much like the families originally argued - they are doing a part of the teacher's job, and this is being recognized. But the situation with home education is very different, so is the link/comparison appropriate?

I would also note, for clarity, that families with children enrolled full time in Te Kura under one of the free gateways are not considered to be home educating (under law), because their children are enrolled full time in a school (Te Kura is a registered school); they will receive the supervision allowance from Te Kura if they fulfil the criteria. Some families, however, have home education exemptions and choose to pay fees for Te Kura subjects for their 6-15yo students. These families ARE home educating; Te Kura is just a resource they have chosen to use for selected subjects, and eligible for the home educator's supervision allowance.

Ever since that time, the question has arisen from time to time whether we should collectively ask the Ministry of Education for an increase in the supervision allowance. Many folk would advise against doing so, for the following reasons (my paraphrase):

• We didn't ask for the allowance, they just gave it to us - we should be grateful
• The allowance is not actually written into law or policy; if we ask for more and they investigate, they might just decide to stop paying it all together
• If they give us more money, they could attach "strings" - these could be things like having to submit annual reports, routine ERO reviews, standardised curriculum or testing etc etc
• Home education is a choice - we chose this, so it's up to us to cover the costs, and not look to the government
• It's better to "fly under the radar" and not draw attention to ourselves

Let's take a closer look at these:
We didn't ask for it - maybe not, but someone decided it was appropriate to pay to home educators - ie parents who have chosen to educate their children at home but still pay taxes that pay for the school system - a token amount in recognition of the supervision they are providing to their children at home. We don't have to take it - they ask every six months whether you want the supervision allowance, and only pay it to you if you say yes. Just because we didn't personally ask for something, does that make it wrong to accept what is offered, or to suggest a revision of the amount if it seems inappropriate? Consider Working For Families tax credits. Did you or a group of families you know lobby for this? Do you receive it, possibly even count on it to make ends meet? I'm sure you are grateful it exists if you qualify for it and need it, and we certainly should be grateful for the supervision allowance. But that does not make it wrong or inappropriate to point out that it has not changed in over 30 years and needs looking at. We don't have to do this with WFF, because revising it is part of the government's annual budget and policies - some years it changes, some it does not, but clearly it has increased a great deal over the last 30 years. Family Support tax credits were introduced in 1986; then the maximum rates for Family
Support were $36 for the first child and $16 for subsequent children. Imagine if that had not changed since!

"Not written into law or policy"  - this is not correct. The Picot Report and Tomorrow's Schools both form part of government policy, and both recommended the payment of the allowance. While the 1989 Education Act did not explicitly lay out the payment of a supervision allowance to either home educators or correspondence school parents, it must be understood that a government department cannot pay out any of the public funds they adminster unless there is a law that grants them the power to do so. For correspondence families, the funding is part of the bulk funding to Te Kura, who in turn pay the families the allowance. For home educated families, I would posit that the section of the Act which makes this possible is this one - quoting from the now-in-force Education and Training Act 2020 (wording is very similar to the previous Act):
Section 556 Grants to educational bodies
(1) An educational body may, on conditions that the Minister thinks fit, be paid grants out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.
(2) However, a grant may not be paid to a tertiary education provider or a workforce development council unless the Minister is satisfied that the payment is in the national interest.
(3) The Minister may determine the amount of, and the conditions that apply to, each grant.
(4) Before a grant is paid, the Minister may give the educational body written notice that the grant, or a part or parts of the grant (specified as a particular sum or as a proportion of the total grant), is not to be used except for purposes specified in the notice.
(5) If notice is given, the educational body must ensure that no part of the grant to which the notice relates is used for purposes other than those specified for it in the notice.
(6) Apart from this restriction, an educational body to which a grant is paid may apply the grant as it sees fit.
(7) In the financial year during which a grant was paid to an educational body, and during the next financial year,--
  (a) the Secretary may, by written notice, require the educational body to provide the Secretary with any financial report, or statistical or other information, relating to the educational body, within a time specified in the notice and in writing; and
  (b) the educational body must take all reasonable steps to comply with the notice.
(8) The Minister may, for the purposes of this section and section 557, recognise a body that provides any educational or developmental service or facility, including a tertiary education organisation, as an educational body.
Compare: 1989 No 80 s 321

Notice that this gives the Ministry the right to give a grant of any appropriate amount, on conditions the Minister sees fit, to anyone providing "an educational service." So far, the Ministry has seen fit to give a grant of the amounts outlined above to families who are home educating. The "conditions" set are that you sign and return the six monthly declaration - if you do not, they will not pay it. (More on this and how it benefits the Ministry below).

In terms of being written into policy, the matter of the supervision allowance is also written into the Ministry's internal Home Education Policies and Procedures manual, and from a legal perspective, the fact that it has been paid for the last 30 years sets a significant precedent for it to be expected to continue.

If we ask for more, they could add more " strings" - As noted above, the law that permits the payment of the allowance also permits the Minister to set conditions. Thus far the only condition is the return of a signed declaration. Let's consider that for a moment:
As discussed HERE, since 2008 the government has not wanted to pay for routine reviews of home educators by ERO - it cost too much for too little return. The six monthly declarations are their way of continuing to be "satsified" that the child continues to be taught "as regularly and well as" - in other words, they take care of their need to show some sense of checking in with families by having families sign a six monthly declaration to this effect. BUT, the law does not require this declaration. They cannot revoke the exemption if you refuse to sign and return them. And if you don't, they would have to follow up another way, which would involve the far more costly process of paying staff and attendance services to investigate the family and whether they are still homeschooling, and consider whether an ERO review is needed, and if so, pay for it. Therefore, they use the declaration as the "carrot" to get you to sign and return the form. Ultimately this saves them money; in government-think this is cost-effective and value for money to them.

Now, if we ask for more, might they add more strings? Maybe. But again, they would be weighing up the cost. They already know that ERO reviews cost more than they returned. If they ask us to write annual reports on our children's progress, who is going to read them all? That's over 6,500 reports each year. If each one only took an hour to read and deal with (highly unlikely), that would require over 3 full time equivalent staff doing NOTHING but reading reports all day every day, year round to get through them all. For what? What would that cost? I cannot see it being considered cost effective either. (By the way, the Ministry did think this was a good idea once upon a time. They abandoned it soon after). Any time staff at the Ministry come up with an idea they want to put into action, they have to go through a bunch of internal wrangling, including applying for funding. Each department has limited funding they can ask for. A lot of ideas never make it even to the point of asking, because they have higher priority items to pursue and try and get money for, so they simply drop those of lesser priority.

So what strings might they realistically attach? If some are proposed, bear in mind that there would be room for discussion and negotiation (or outright pushing back) by the community, AND that they can only attach those strings to a payment which you would have the right to refuse if you did not like the conditions. Refusing payment does not in any way, under law at present, affect your exemption itself.

So shouldn't the home education community also consider risk vs reward? i.e. IF we ask for more, we may risk further conditions being attached, but on the other hand we could gain an increased amount which may not actually have any additional conditions at all - or at least none we can't live with. If we say/do nothing, then the status quo remains, and we're stuck with the same unchanged amount. Not just us, but those who come after us also. Worth thinking about!

Our choice - our cost: Yes, home education is a choice, but for some, not in the freest sense. I have significant numbers of families come to me each year, or see them comment in the forums, who are homeschooling because they felt they had no choice - the schools could not or would not provide for their children's needs, or keep their children safe, or whatever, and in some cases when they've asked for support they have been effectively told by the Ministry that they should just home educate their children. That's great for the Ministry - they no longer have to provide funds for that child's education and additional support, making it "the parent's problem." Yes, even in such cases parents could still choose NOT to home educate, but most of them are loving parents who want what's best for their children above all, so they take the plunge even if it is not what they want to do, expected to do, or can afford to do. Home education does cost money. How much varies a lot. But to do it well WILL cost. Yes, the children and their needs are the parent's responsibility anyway, and yes, going to school is not "free" either. My point is, though, that the argument that we should not ask for more simply because we chose to do this lacks real merit. Remember, if you don't want the money, you don't have to accept it. For some families, though, it is so, so needed.

We shouldn't draw attention to ourselves: If anyone believes we are invisible, they are mistaken. Especially now, with COVID, home education has been very much in the limelight. But that aside, the Ministry knows we're here - they deal with us on a regular basis. If we "make some fuss" over the allowance, will that make us more visible, and thus targets for additional scrutiny and demands? Maybe - no one can guarantee one way or the other that would not happen, least of all me. On the one hand I fully expect that home education will become more restricted in years to come, but I think that will happen no matter what we do or don't do. And yet, we've been saying that for the past 30 years - and so far successive governments have for the most part had bigger fish to fry. They will not focus their time, policies and funds in any significant way on such a small group of people relative to the overall population. Changes to our freedom to home educate are far more likely to result from societies/governments overall shift in a more statist direction, than from any small action by home educators ourselves, especially over a little money. Meanwhile, we should enjoy our right and freedom to home educate as much as possible - of course - but that does not mean we can't also present our needs, discuss our rights, and make a good case for change that benefits us in the meantime. I think ignoring the latter out of fear of losing the former is somewhat misplaced. Of course, we should do so in a respectful, considered, and articulate fashion - not act like rabid maniacs; that might indeed draw unwelcome attention!

​The "supervision allowance" is really only called that because of the link with the correspondence supervision allowance. However you view it and whatever it is called, these are funds that you, the home educator, are free to do with as you wish. You do not have to spend it on homeschool resources (though the majority of families do). If you want to spend it on something different, or save it, that is up to you.

In 2014-2015 the Ministry conducted a review of home education which included consultation with the home education sector through meetings and opportunities to complete surveys/provide feedback on what home educators saw as needing changing or addressing. In March 2015 they issued a report summarizing the findings, and stating the actions they agreed to take. You can read all about the review and the report here: ​parents.education.govt.nz/primary-school/schooling-in-nz/home-education/home-education-review/. 
​
Their summary of the feedback they had received regarding funding is as follows:
"There was consensus amongst home educators that the amount of funding paid to home educators is too low. They noted that funding has not been reviewed or increased in at least 15 years and is not inflation adjusted. Respondents were of the view that current funding is not enough for home educators to purchase the resources they need. A number of respondents considered there were significant inequities compared to students in schools who are funded at higher rates than home educated students. Respondents also considered that funding should not decrease for consecutive children who are home educated. A few respondents said they would like funding to start at age five and continue until the child finished their education (eg up to age 18 if they can prove they are gaining qualifications). A few respondents said they would like extra funding for activities that require specialist teachers, such as music lessons." (page 14 of report)

In the Next Steps section of the report, where the Ministry responded to this feedback with statements about what actions, if any, they would take, they said in response to the request to look at additional funding that "MoE will explore options for increasing funding in the 2016/17 budget round."

It didn't happen by then (many of the next steps were delayed) but NCHENZ, in a subsequent meeting with the Ministry's national office, followed up on this (along with other agreed next steps) and the Ministry promised to make sure that this was looked into. The outcome of this when they reported back on the matter was that they had a number of matters requiring funding, and could only ask for so much, and considered this a low priority compared to other matters, so had not even presented it to more senior staff in the funding round. Nothing has been done about it since. 

Because this is how it works internally, if we as a home education community ever do decide to pursue a request for additional funding, I believe we would need the support of an MP or similar person who can advocate for additional funding at a level outside of internal Ministry of Education processes.

As discussed, the home education supervision allowance was founded on a comparison with correspondence school parents. That perspective, though, is fundamentally flawed. Correspondence school families have their children's education provided, including teachers, resources and ongoing support. They can access STAR and Gateway courses which are funded by Te Kura, along with other resources such as funding for devices, internet etc. The supervision allowance is in recognition of their time spent supervising the children, and is entirely in addition to the taxpayer funded education package they receive. 

Home Educators, however, pay for all resources out of their own pockets. They do not have access to teacher guidance or support unless they pay for it (or have willing friends/family members). Their children cannot get funding for STAR or Gateway courses, or for internet, devices or most other things. Meanwhile the family still pays the same taxes as everyone else, funding the state education system.

In my view, there is no reasonable comparison between the two groups of families, other than that their children happen to be learning in their own homes.

A far more reasonable comparison would be between home educators and private schools. Private schools are an optional choice that parents have made, usually with the intention that their children will receive a superior education, or better access to particular courses or options, or because they in some way meet the needs or preferences of their children or family better than state schools available. Parents who choose this option pay significant fees, because private schools do not receive the same government funding that state schools do - they are expected to pay for teachers salaries, buildings, resources, STAR and Gateway etc mostly out of funds they raise from the fees they charge. They do, however, receive some funding. The amount is on a per-student basis. It does not go down because there are more than X number of kids in the school. There is some additional allowance for new entrants, who are recognised as having higher costs than established students; otherwise the funding is at a flat rate for primary students and for secondary students in two groups. The total pool of funds, however, for private schools is fixed (with periodic revisions); schools get a share of the pool based on the number of enrolled students. In rough figures, the amounts are around $1000 for Year 1-8 students, $1300 for Year 9-10 students, and $2000 for Year 11-13 students.

I think a good argument could be made for funding home educators on a similar basis to private schools. It should not be directly linked to private school funding (because sometimes governments target this and consider dropping it all together). It's more about pointing out the similarities in independent responsibility for students' education and resources, with responsibility to continue ensuring "as regularly and well", and some available funding that the schools can use at their discretion (appropriately of course). Like the funding for home educators, the wording of the Act says that the Minister has the right to require certain reporting etc from private schools, but I'm told that they are not currently required to write reports or anything similar.

The Ministry likes to repeatedly state how dedicated they are to ensuring quality education for ALL students (including home educated ones). Yet home educated students do not have equal access  - our students cannot access training programs, secondary-tertiary programs or vocational pathways like kids in state high schools can. We cannot access funded STAR or Gateway courses - we can access these if we pay for them. Our students cannot get early leaving exemptions to take part in Youth Guarantees programs on the same basis as other 15yo students. Again, our students can do these courses if we pay for them. (Still funded over 16). Our students cannot begin NCEA Level 1 courses at 15. The point is, our students do not have equality of access. 

Some would argue that they should have access to the same funding for these resources as state educated kids That would be tricky for a number of reasons, not least of all administration. A far easier way to address this inequality would be to increase the supervision allowance, so parents had additional funds available and could pay for such courses for their students if appropriate.

The supervision allowance has never been increased since it was introduced over 30 years ago. Without action by the home education sector to lobby for change, it's unlikely to ever change. What other govt funding do you know of that is never adjusted at least for inflation?

If we ask for more, yes, there is some risk of the Ministry wanting "something in return" - but realistically anything they ask for will cost THEM in resources to administer it. I consider the risk fairly small, but it should be up to the home education community whether they want to pursue this.

For those of us who represent sections of the home education community, such as myself in the role of Government Liaison for NCHENZ, our roles rightly require that we act in accordance with the overall desires of the communities we represent. NCHENZ has been reluctant to pursue additional funding (other than following up on the Ministry's own stated intention as described above) because we have not had the mandate of NCHENZ membership to do so.

In the interests of full disclosure, since I no longer home educate my own children (they're all grown), any outcome of pursuing a revision of funding will have no direct effect on me and my family (other than for my likely soon-to-be-home-educated grandchildren). This makes me very conscious of not pursuing something as significant as this just because I think it is the right and sensible thing to do, without having the majority support of the NCHENZ community to do so.

Seeing change come about would need many voices with clear leadership and the enlisting of support from a suitable MP or similar. 

I encourage you to weigh up the situation for yourself, and to think also not just of your own family, but of others who may be in a more difficult financial position, and those who will come after you. 

The upcoming NCHENZ survey will ask you about what you think about pursuing additional funding. Please cast your vote so we know where the community stands. If you are not yet a member of NCHENZ, you can join here (it's free): www.nchenz.org.nz/online-form-for-individual-membership/. Only those who are home educating (with exemptions) or intending to home educate, or have previously held exemptions for at least 4 years, are able to join NCHENZ (but even without membership you can find lots of great info and resources on the website).