‘I have not found one child that is worse off’: Homeschooling surges in SA

Nine-year-old Hunter has improved in leaps and bounds since he started homeschooling, his mother has said – and new stats show homeschooling is booming.

A regular school day for nine-year-old Hunter Mamo might only last a couple of hours, and his commute to class is even shorter.

The Modbury youngster is one of a growing number choosing homeschooling in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mother Rebecca Mamo said the mask requirements in mainstream school threw her son, who has autism and an auditory processing disorder.

“He didn’t know what anyone was saying. We tried homeschooling and we haven’t looked back,” the 46-year-old said.

“People think that school has to be a six, seven hour a day thing (but) it doesn’t.

“What it might take a teacher an hour to teach 30 kids, you can teach your child probably in five minutes one-on-one.”

Rebecca Mamo with son Hunter, nine, who is autistic and is being homeschooled. Picture Dean Martin

The Mamo’s are among 1533 families, and 2443 children, who were registered for homeschooling in SA at the end of last year.

The number surged by more than 440 families in one year – from 1092 registered at the end of 2021.

The number of new children starting homeschooling is also rising swiftly year on year, jumping from 597 in 2021 to 902 last year.

Some children may only do home education for a short time, and may return to mainstream schools.

Education Department chief executive Martin Westwell said every state in the country had “seen an increase in interest” in homeschooling in the wake of the pandemic when many families were homebound during lockdowns.

UniSA early childhood senior lecturer Martyn Mills-Bayne said other factors driving the trend could include parents seeking more supportive environments for children who were neurodiverse or experiencing bullying.

Dr Mills-Bayne said it was a big responsibility for parents to take on the role of educating their children.

“My concern is for those children that may be missing out on some of the social interaction with their peers (at school),” he said.

South Australian families must enrol a child at a school but can then apply for an exemption from attendance and homeschool instead.

Professor Westwell said exemptions were regularly reviewed and families had to show “evidence of learning to indicate student engagement and progress”.

Rebecca Mamo with son Hunter, nine, who is autistic and is being homeschooled. Picture Dean Martin

For Hunter, this is clear.

“We were told when he was in Year 1 ‘Don’t bother with reading and writing, he’s never going to be able to do it’,” said Ms Mamo, who works from home in the disability field and has a diploma in early childhood education.

“He is now reading age-appropriate novels … and his handwriting is not the neatest but he still writes.

“We don’t have to teach it the way the school teaches it as long as we meet the curriculum needs.

“So far, in the homeschooling community I have not found one child that is worse off.”

Ms Mamo said homeschooling should be offered as an option to more children, “not just as a last resort”.