Homeschooling in SA – South Australia
Homeschooling is a popular choice for families in South Australia who want to take a more hands-on approach to their children’s education. However, before you start homeschooling, it’s important to understand the legal requirements and curriculum options available to you. This guide will provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision about homeschooling in South Australia.
Do I Need To Register For Homeschooling in SA?
When homeschooling in SA you don’t actually apply for homeschool registration, you apply for a school exemption.
If you live in South Australia and plan on homeschooling your child the DECD (Department of Education and Child Development) states it is a legal requirement for your child to go to school from ages 6 to 17.
In order to be able to homeschool in SA, you need to be enrolled in a South Australian school and then get an exemption. If you are moving to South Australia and have been homeschooling in another state, you still need to enrol in a South Australian school. The Principal can give you a Principal’s Exemption for a month while your application takes place.
The Exemption Process For Homeschooling in SA
To get more information you will need to email DECD homeeducation@sa.gov.au for an application pack. It will tell you all the nitty-gritty details of registration but I’ll give you the simplified version.
STEP ONE: Fill in your registration form.
STEP TWO: Start preparing your education plan.
FAQ – Homeschooling in SA
Here is a quick overview of the basic facts that you need to understand for homeschooling in SA.
I’ll start with a few frequently asked questions.
Can I Travel When Homeschooling in South Australia?
Yes!
You can also apply for a special travel exemption from a school and don’t need to apply to home educate if you are planning on returning to school after your trip.
Can I Homeschool Part Time?
No you cannot do part-time homeschooling in South Australia. However, if you wish to attend a school for language lessons that can often be arranged. From Year 8 music instructions can also be accessed through the Home Education Department.
The SACE (South Australian Certificate of Education) can be done for Year 11 & 12 students via Distance Education – Open Access.
When Can I Remove My Kids From School?
In South Australia you need to be enrolled in school in order to register to homeschool. Then you apply for an exemption.
This process can take a month. The Principal can give you a Principal’s Exemption for a month while your application takes place.
Your Education Plan
In South Australia you need to prepare your plan according to the Australian Curriculum which incorporates the following key learning areas.
Key Learning Areas
- English
- Mathematics
- Science and Technology
- Humanities and Social Science (Includes: history, geography, civics and politics)
- Arts (Includes: visual arts, dancing and music)
- Health and Physical Education
- Languages
The Registration Visit For Homeschooling in SA
STEP ONE: Involves your registration visit from a Home Education Officer (usually a retired school teacher).
What Happens On The Visit?
The Home Education Officer will come and stay about 45 minutes. They will ask to see your plan and meet your child. They will not test your child. They will ask to see where your child takes their lessons.
What you should show them:
- Resources you have bought.
- Your yearly homeschool plan (My Homeschool provides these with your graded course).
- Your Weekly Plans (My Homeschool provides these with your graded course).
- Show them some resources you are using.
Approval Recommendation
After they have spent some time talking to you, they might ask you a few questions about how you plan on covering this or that. Your stock standard answer should be you’ll follow the curriculum.
Nine times out of ten, they will then tell you that you have been approved for registration and that you will be sent a registration approval form in the next month or so.
On the rare occasion that you are not approved you can contact the HEA and ask for help. (This is a support body for home educators in Australia and you can join if you wish). Continued exemption from school is almost the same as your initial application. You will need to make another application every 12 months.
Continued Exemption For Homeschooling in SA
STEP TWO: You will be called by the Home Education Department when your exemption is due for renewal. They will organise a time to meet you.
STEP THREE: Prepare a record of learning for the previous exemption period. This doesn’t have to be all book work learning. The Home Education Officer is happy to see photographs and hear presentations from the children.
- Organise your reports of work done over the year. (If you use My Homeschool you will have your term reports and a completion certificate).
- Put some samples of work in your child’s portfolio. (My Homeschool also provides prompts and reminders on collecting samples throughout the year).
STEP FOUR: Prepare for the visit which will be similar to other visits.
My Homeschool has been the perfect fit for our family. It has provided the "hand-holding" I needed as a new homeschooler while still being flexible enough to be workable in everyday life.
It took the stress out of writing the application for exemption to homeschool as everything was laid out for me, and we were granted 18 months exemption.
I love that it uses a relaxed CM style, can be taught from a Christian worldview and is Australian. The weekly plans are not overly prescriptive so can easily be implemented according to the child's individual interests and pace of learning and whatever else is happening in our week.
Can I Buy A Plan?
Yes! When you use My Homeschool we give you the essential building blocks for your personalised learning plan.
We’ve done 75% of the work. We provide idea prompts and suggestions to help you personalise your application to suit your child’s specific needs.
With each grade we include:
- A learning plan in an editable Word document. Just fill in the sections we recommend.
- A scope and sequence with all syllabus outcomes and codes linked to resources.
- Editable Term Reports to make re-registration easy.
100% of our members report passing their registration and reregistration when using our templates.
You’ll find more information on home education registration and planning here.
What a relief and blessing for homeschool families to have all the nitty gritty details of daily homeschool and homeschool registration designed for us. It is wonderful to see how simple registration can be.
Michelle you have created a method for recording that oozes simplicity and that is what we all want. Michelle and Jo you are a very present listening ear and help on the My Homeschool forum and your advice is all about making homeschool work for each one. I have absolute freedom in how I use this resource.
I have not followed the schedule as is but have felt encouragement from you to make it work for my busy family lifestyle, quirks and passions. Year 5 is helping our ten year old to move into written narrations and I have found Our Sunburnt Country broken into small chunks with a notebook page for each reading, is so simple and achievable. My daughter's confidence in writing has grown in the first term of using My Homeschool following this very natural method.
Thank you Michelle and Jo, for your commitment to making homeschool simple. What a blessing you are. Kindest Blessings Renelle x
Let Us Help You On The Homeschool Journey
My Homeschool is more than a curriculum, it is a holistic education community that supports parents and children on their homeschool journey. When you buy a graded homeschool program through My Homeschool you are joining a community that supports and mentors parents interested in educating their children academically and spiritually.
We give you a shortcut to help you get straight into giving your child a delightful and robust education without spending days and days researching and tweaking unsuitable content.
We Wanted A Curriculum That Worked For Home Educators
Our curriculum writers have already done the juggle of homeschooling a few children at once.
- We knew how lovely and important it is to learn as a family so we made some lessons and read alouds possible to teach as a group.
- We reduced the time needed for formal academics by crafting our curriculum so our resources and books often teach multiple topics.
- We made each grade fit each state’s syllabus so you can get registered easily.
- We gave you a streamlined intentional curriculum so you could give your children a wholesome integrated education from kindergarten to high school.
- We made sure it was academically challenging so your children will have career options, and a pathway to university if needed.
- We put it all in one place so you weren’t hunting around looking for resources every time you wanted to begin lessons.
- We made it easy to access your lessons and planner when you were out and about or travelling just by picking up your smartphone.
Disclaimer: This is general information on homeschooling in SA and is not meant to be used as legal advice.
