UPDATED 2022
Once you have decided you want to go down the homeschooling / unschooling path,like many parents the last couple of years
due to the ongoing covid pandemic you may be thinking, now what? In each state of Australia , Its the same process to Unschool as it is to homeschool'.A good way to start is to check your states home-schooling laws/process you will be surprised that natural learning
(unschooling) - is actually on there websites for what sort of style pedagogy you choose to use.(Pedagogy refers to how you home educate. It includes educational methods and philosophies you believe in for your child's home-school education) There are many forms of Learning styles you can chose.Each state and territory are slightly different but most follow the same method as the 5 steps I have listed .
Below is helpful information on your states websites for new home schoolers and their registration requirements
Alert the authorities that you are applying for registration (your states education department)
You can do this by completing a Home Education Application Form for initial registration (SOME states this is online you can fill it out and send it back via email) to your states education registrar, you will have to do 1 for each child you choose to homeschool/unschool,you will need to send through Identification that confirms the name of the child, their date of birth and parents’ names. eg: birth certificate,also provide Evidence of the child’s place of residence in that state (if so requested by the Education Registrar) you can find these pdf forms here:
ACT - To request a home education registration application form: HomeEd@act.gov.au
WA - Contact your nearest regional education office and ask to speak to a home education moderator. You will be sent a form which you will need to lodge with them. Each office has its own individualised form. OFFICES
SA- You don’t register to homeschool – instead, you enrol your child at a school and then apply for an exemption from attending.To apply to home educate, you need to complete an online application form which you can request from the Home Education unit at education.homeeducation@sa.gov.au
Expect a call from a representative from the education department to arrange a interview with you to go over your homeschooling/unschooling program.
States like QLD & VIC do not require interviews- registration is done by them reviewing your learning plan
Generally within 2 weeks you will receive a call from a AP (Authorised Person, usually a teacher) after you have sent your registration form,this will be to make an appointment with you (some states require this as
a home visit,some states via webcall and some will not require a physically interview) - also note due to covid there is a temporary hold on house visits.
The interview is for the purposes of sighting your children and to read the written program for each child
you have made, this is so they can register you as a home-schooler, registration periods are different for each state, some are on a continus registration and some first timers start 3,6,12 and 24 moth periods of registration before renewal
If you haven't already,write
your Home Education Summary and Program (HESP) - learning plan!
Its a good idea to have your plan already written out before you first register your initial registration form,this will help save you the rush and stress to have it done before your interview, but if not now is the time to study and plan. Their is very useful information on how to write a program and learning plan templates on your states education site.You can write one yourself,based on your states standards and learning guidelines , this is either by following the Australian curriculum or your states curriculum,
Some states have templates you can fill out and tailor to suit your child, and learning philosophy. Learning plans explain to the education department how you'll address the learning areas within the home learning environment following its curriculum.
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when and where instruction will take place
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the subject matter you'll cover for each learning area
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the educational materials and resources you'll use
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how you'll record your child's learning outcomes
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some states may require the learning philosophy you have decided to use
You will find template & sample learning plan links for each state below
If your state has a template its a simple as printing it off and filling it in, otherwise you could create your own.
- NSW follow the NSW curriculum (NESA)
There is no template on the education site but for NSW your HESP ,
plan has to address the 6 key learning subjects based on the NESA syllabus
From year 7
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Vocational Education and Training (VET) (work studies )
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also 2 electives. You can choose your electives from any part of life and they do not need to be official subjects
Here is 6 great downloadable templates we found over at design- your-homeschool - 6 templates ,
The program can be as simple as cutting and pasting the stage statements from each Key Learning Area (KLA), and then list any resources you intend to use to cover those skills sets in the stage statements. or you can make a plan using The syllabus outcomes for each key learning area.
Tasmanians follow the Australian curriculum covering 2 main learning areas,
but its also a good idea to cover other learning areas if it suits your family like , science, geography, history, the arts, physical education, sociology, technologies, philosophy, cooking and life skills to name a few.
Here is a template from their site
In Victoria schools they use the Victoria curriculum but to home educate
you do not have to ,
as long as you Cover the 8 key learning areas you can chose how you deliver them
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English
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mathematics
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sciences (including physics, chemistry and biology)
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History & geography (humanities and social sciences )
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the arts
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languages
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PDHPE (health and physical education)
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Technologies (information and communication technology, and design and technology.)
Victoria have 2 templates to choose between
1 subject based - This template helps those intending to follow a curriculum or structured learning approach. It divides your intended program across the learning areas.
2 activity based - This template helps those intending to unschool or follow a natural learning approach. It addresses the learning areas through educational activities.
NT recommends parents use the Australian Curriculum
Key learning areas
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English
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Mathematics
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Science
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History
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geography (Studies of Society and Environment )
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PDHPE (Health and Physical Education)
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Technology and Design (problem-solving, designing, producing and appraising)
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The Arts (visual and performing
Also note
NT says,The key learning areas form the broad requirements for home education curriculum. The method of delivery will be at the discretion of parents, based on the needs of the child. While parents are responsible for ensuring that the eight key learning areas, taken as a whole, are substantially addressed, this does not mean that instruction in each key learning area must occur every year
Check out Here for great learning plan guidelines
Here is a template from their site
Western Australia follow the WA Curriculum and Assessment Outline SCSA
Key Learning Areas
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English
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Mathematics
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Science
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Technology ( design technology & digital technology ) k - year 8 .In year 9 and 10 technologies is optional
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geography & history ( Humanities and Social Sciences )
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The Arts ( visual arts, dancing and music,drama,media arts) The Arts curriculum is written on the basis that all students will study at least two Arts subjects from Pre-primary to the end of Year 8. It is a requirement that students study a performance subject and a visual subject.In Years 9 and 10 the study of the Arts is optional.
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PDHPE (Health and Physical Education )
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Languages: In WA your child is expected to study a Language subject (second language )from Year 3 to Year 8. In Year 9 and Year 10 the study of Languages is optional - find out more Here
I could not find any WA learning plan templates, but feel free to use one of the above templates as long as you are covering the western Australian curriculum
south Australia follow the Australia Curriculum (or similar)
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humanities and social sciences – history, geography, economics and business, civics and citizenship
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the arts – dance, drama, music, media arts, visual arts
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technologies – design and technologies, digital technologies
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Work studies -Elective for year 9 and year 10 students only
I could not find a template but the SA education websites says:
That in your learning plans you will need to provide a list of specific topics, learning activities, skills, projects, and/or unit studies that will be a focus in each learning area. This will be guided by the Australian Curriculum,
contents of educational resources, formal or informal learning activities, a child’s interest, planned excursions and/or educational workshops. This may be entered as a statement or through the use of dot points, for example, an entry in technologies may include: James will design and create a vegetable patch to gain an understanding of practical food production. Or science may include: Life cycles – plant and animals / understanding food chains / needs of animals for survival / environmental factors.
the ACT use the Australian Curriculum Covering key learning areas
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English
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mathematics
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sciences (including physics, chemistry and biology)
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History & geography (humanities and social sciences )
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the arts
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languages
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PDHPE (health and physical education)
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Technologies (information and communication technology, and design and technology.)
Its very hard to find resources for ACT homeschooling - its best to contact their education unit HomeEd@act.gov.au
you could use the templates provided by NSW, but follow the Australian curriculum
In Queensland the Australian Curriculum is used from k-10
In Years 11 and 12, Queensland schools are required to select curriculum to be implemented
from a range of subject options available through
the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA).
The learning areas include:
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English
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Mathematics
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Science
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Humanities and Social Sciences
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Health and Physical Education
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Technologies
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The Arts
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Languages (are encouraged to teach a language from Prep to Year 12 where possible.)
You can chose between 3 templates
1 - Australian Curriculum (ACARA) Home education program
Is the Department of Education’s official way of learning – focusing on disciplinary knowledge and skills in the eight learning areas of the curriculum: English, Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, The Arts, Technologies, and Languages
2 - Goal directed Home education program
Students use technology tools to set goals, plan activities, monitor progress, and evaluate results rather than simply completing assignments without reflection
3 - Thematic/interest-driven investigations Home education program
A way of teaching and learning where many areas of the curriculum are connected and integrated
within a theme. It is a way to integrate the curriculum by selecting a theme the students are familiar with
and material can be taught, with the student drawing connections with the information being taught and the students own, previous knowledge
There is other great approved learning plan examples for various states at the educating parent
For more information on how to write a Unschooling Learning Plan
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multiple samples from their website
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This is a great natural learning approved sample for year 1
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multiple samples from their website
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this is a great natural learning approved sample high school
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multiple subject-based and activity- based samples on their website
The appointment with the education personnel
Not applicable for QLD & VIC you will be approved based on your learning plan you sent via email- continue to step 5
Next is your appointment with the authorised education personal ,this can be a bit nerve racking for some people ,- i know i felt extremely nervous leading up to it, but once i started explaining my learning plan, how i will keep records , the resources i will use, and how i believe my children will learn naturally through daily life and their interests it felt relieving the hard part was over and i even surprised myself how the interview went smoothly, and all that stress was for nothing. This interview will determine your acceptance as a home educated, you will be legally allowed to have your child home to learn if approved. Once your interview finishes the home educated will normally tell you how long you are registered for, they will alert the home education department of their decision , your state department will then consider this decision and send you your home-schooling certificate note: some states you will have to wait until you receive your registration certificate before you can pull your child out of school (This can take up to several weeks in some cases) - click your state below for registration timetable
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Be prepared, clear and confident when explaining your methods and learning plan- remember you know whats best for your child,you understand their learning needs and the education department understands that to, so they are their to help you get registered to home educate.
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do not mention the word "Unschooling" if you do not have to - i just used words like "natural learning" "child led learning", and "daily life learning" when explaining philosophy and talking through my learning plan
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have your paperwork "learning plan" organised beforehand- i put mine in a sleeve folder-easy to show, and not loose any important papers you need! - also this help look more sophisticated to the education department
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be polite, node yes and listen to any feedback or recommendations they may have and remember Most, but not all, authorised personnel understand the concept of "natural learning" -it may not be their personal choice but as long as you provide a good learning plan,they will accept any learning philosophy.
start the deschooling processes & your unschooling journey begins
Once you receive your home-schooling certificate, you now can begin your Unschooling journey.
If your child has already been to a public school, you can start by de-schooling
De-schooling is used by all styles of homeschooling learning methods , and its a great way to start your unschooling learning approach,
De-schooling means to change the transition from thinking education is only limited to a school like environment to seeing education as part of everyday life. For children who have lost the love of learning, it’s a time to reconnect, and for them to be allowed to follow their own interests. de-schooling is about breaking free from the mindset our children and we - parents develop when we are so used to the school system.This is a time were parents and children both leave what they have considered a normal part to education and life in general behind.
Its about not filling out workbooks,not having learning expectations, and not doing school like activities,
its about just living as you would on a weekend or on school holiday break.
You will start to notice the joy to learn reborn again as your childs curiosity and creativity rekindle. Its a time to observe them while they discover new things they are interested in.
You will begin to notice how they operate, How they learn and What they enjoy .Most of all you will notice them relearn how to make use of their own time.
Deschooling seems easy, but when you are so used to following a " system" - it takes time for the whole family to adjust and it takes time to find your family's own rhythm to life & learning again,
( like how it was before your toddler went of to pre school), The general formula for deschooling is 1 month for every year your child has attended "school"
Remember to take notes in your learning plan for your unschooling learning records, even if you are "deschooling "
