Home-school overhaul welcomed as state bows to parent power

Home-school parents have had their calls for a system overhaul answered after the state accepted all eight recommendations of an independent report into the sector, boosting family supports and opening communication channels.

It comes after a backlash to previous changes – that would have required home educators to teach to the Australian curriculum – forced the government to launch an independent review into the state’s Home Education Unit in May last year.

Last Friday, Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek accepted the review’s eight recommendations, adding some changes had already been acted upon.

Patricia Fitzgerald (right) and Amanda Bartle (left) created grassroots home-schooling campaign group Free2Homeschool after the former government announced a sector crackdown last year.Credit: Patricia Fitzgerald

Patricia Fitzgerald, one of two co-founders of Free2Homeschool, a grassroots campaign that helped rally the home-schooling community to push against the state’s proposed curriculum requirement, said the accepted recommendations were promising.

“Queensland home education is child-centred ... it’s around the child’s goals and ensuring that the child’s needs, interests, and everything are met,” she said.

“If we turn that around and base that on a curriculum, we’re going to have to be making sure that we’re ticking curriculum boxes … rather than something that is specific to our child.

“It’s going to take up more time, more learning, and a lot more work.”

Fitzgerald said the home-schooling community – which grew by more than 230 per cent in the past five years – had also been concerned about regulation crackdowns mooted by the former government that could complicate administrative processes for home-schoolers.

The review instead called for the state’s Home Education Unit – renamed Queensland Home Education – to shift from a purely regulatory role to also offer support for parents and families.

It recommended greater accessibility to resources, clearer communication, and structural changes such as appointing a unit leader and expanding it to be both regulatory and supportive for home educators.

Chief among the changes, the state also expected to establish a permanent advisory board and hold annual stakeholder briefings that highlighted major updates in the sector.

“I think one of the main things we want people doing home education to appreciate is that we want to make sure they understand what our expectations are of them,” Langbroek said.

He said the advisory group would also ensure communication was a two-way street.

“We … [will] have a group that we consult all the time, so we don’t just say, ‘Oh we discussed that, and now we’re not going to refine anything we’ve done’,” he said.

Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said a permanent home education advisory committee would mean the state could continue to improve its home education regulation and resourcing. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Fitzgerald said the biggest and most time-consuming issue home educators faced was communicating with the government’s home-schooling unit.

“[The home education unit staff] have got to tick the boxes to ensure we’re working within the legal framework and everything else ... and there was no support level in between that,” Fitzgerald said.

She said the unit’s leader – appointed earlier this year – had already begun engaging with the home-schooling community.

Katter’s Australian Party deputy leader Nick Dametto – a long-time supporter of the home educators’ campaign – said acceptance of the recommendations was a “far cry” from the former government’s decision.

“It was the persistent voices of parents, carers, and home-education sector advocates that turned the tide and really brought this issue to the attention of the whole state,” Dametto said.

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