Home education popularity soars in past year as state school attendance sunk by floods, Covid

Classroom closures due to Covid and flooding, as well as vaccine mandates and mask rules are being blamed for tumbling state school attendance rates and a spike in homeschooling.

The Queensland Education Department has been slammed for failing to engage and retain students with the number of home school enrolments more than doubling in the past four years.

State school attendance rates plummeted this year, while home education registrations soared, according to Department figures.

The data revealed a gradual increase in home education registrations from 2018, with 3232 home school enrolments to 2021, with 5008, before a leap of almost 3500 to bring the 2022 level to 8461.

Shadow Education Minister Dr Christian Rowan said the state government had failed in student engagement and retention.

“Between 2017 and 2021, (Semester One state) school attendance rates have declined in every single educational region and it’s even greater among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander state school students,” he said.

He said Queensland families had experienced “profound difficulties” in enrolling their children in distance and home education.

“The time it takes for processing applications is leaving students at home and not learning. The lack of consultation and ongoing delays has caused parents immense distress,” he said.

The Department of Education said it does not fund home education programs and registrations still only accounted for one per cent of all enrolments.

Elizabeth Galbraith who educates her three children at their acreage property in Sheldon – Rebekah, 13, James 10, and Patrick, 7. Picture: Liam Kidston

However, it has commissioned research “to better understand the likely future demand for home education registration services”, due to be completed at the end of the year.

Home Education Association state leader Samantha Bryan said she was surprised by the jump in registrations, describing the 69 per cent increase as “staggering”.

“The pandemic did a few things,” she said.

“People have chosen to home educate because a family member is vulnerable and they wanted to minimise the risk, some did not want their kids to be subjected to the directions around vaccinations and masks, while others found they liked homeschooling during the pandemic and decided to keep going with it.”

Meanwhile, department data also showed a slow decline in Semester One state school attendance rates from 2018-2021, before a nosedive in 2021-2022.

Education Minister Grace Grace described the past few years as “disrupted”.

“For large parts of 2021, Queensland’s schools were the only ones on the eastern seaboard that had face-to-face learning,” she said.

“Like everyone, students were asked to stay home if they were sick, and that’s exactly what they did. Widespread flooding and an influenza outbreak also impacted attendance figures this year.”

Elizabeth Galbraith pulled her children out of private education in October 2019. The family lives on acreage in Redland City, 20 kilometres southeast of Brisbane.

Ms Galbraith said 13-year-old Rebekah was getting lost in the crowd, 10-year-old James wanted to be around older children, and seven-year-old Patrick preferred to work on vehicle engines.

“I felt the system was failing them,” Ms Galbraith said.

“For their individual needs, I felt the best way to meet them was independent learning, allowing them to work at their own pace on their own interests.”

“And once the children are done for the day, they can ride their bikes, or the two older ones go horse riding as part of a job-ready program.

“I used to do three pick-ups and drop offs, so this has also relieved so much stress, particularly because my husband works remotely.”

Ms Galbraith sends her children’s tests into Australian Christian Homeschooling every month for marking and they then receive an end-of-semester report card.

“The children say the only thing they miss about going to school is not playing sports, but they can still play sports at private clubs,” she said.

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