Qld homeschooling crackdown looms as parents fail to make grade

An unprecedented surge in the number of Queensland children being homeschooled has exposed dire shortfalls in the capabilities of some parents, triggering possible crackdown by the government.

Education Queensland will consider a crackdown on the rules surrounding parents homeschooling their children after an unprecedented surge in numbers.

The number of children registered as home schooling has ballooned since the pandemic and continues to rise, with the latest data showing more than 10,000 children in the state are now taught at home.

But The Courier-Mail can reveal that under the current guidelines parents have no obligation to teach their kids according to the Australian Curriculum – with children also not subjected to NAPLAN tests or required to undertake any testing to monitor their progress.

Instead, parents are simply required to submit a once-a-year report “summarising the child’s educational progress and demonstrating the quality of the educational program they have provided”.

“A parent must apply to register their child for home education,” a department spokesman said.

“While their child is registered, the parent accepts responsibility for planning and implementing a high-quality educational program and monitoring their child’s educational progress.

File picture: More than 10,000 children in the state are now taught at home.

“There is no preferred educational program or any requirement that the educational program complies with the Australian Curriculum.

“Parents may choose to purchase a commercially produced program and provide sufficient information demonstrating the suitability of the program in catering to the individual needs of their child.”

With numbers rising from about 3400 in 2019 to more than 10,000 this year – including a 20 per cent jump in the past year alone – Education Queensland is set to review the current arrangements.

“The Department of Education is undertaking a review of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006, focusing on protecting students and modernising the provision of education services,” the spokes man said.

“This included consideration of potential changes to the laws that establish Queensland’s home education requirements.

“As part of the review, stakeholder consultation has been undertaken and the government now needs to consider all of the feedback it has received.”

A survey conducted by the department on parents who homeschool last year revealed more than 61 per cent of children who were homeschooled had a disability or a health issue.

It also found more than half of parents who teach their kids do not have any training or teaching experience.