An independent review into home education has begun following outcry from Logan homeschoolers.
What started as an attempt by the state government to “over regulate” homeschooling has now turned into an independent review of the industry.
A group of 12 home educating parents, as well as representatives from home education lobby groups, will help provide input into the review thanks to advocacy from some local parents.
“The Expert Group will be an opportunity for parents and families to share their unique experiences and expertise in home educating their children,” the Queensland education minister Di Farmer said.
“I would like to thank all the members of the Home Education Expert Group and all the people who put their hands up to be a part of this important process.”
As part of the review, the group will:
- provide a forum to share and learn from the home educating parent community and better understand their experiences of home education;
- consider topical issues such as delivery of high-quality education and provision in the best interest of the child;
- broadly consider home education regulation;
- provide perspectives about supports for home education parents; and
- consider possible approaches for ongoing consultation with the home education sector.
In April, home-schooling families celebrated after the government announced it would “pause” its home education reform.
Proposed laws would have required homeschooling parents to follow the Australian national curriculum.
At the time, the government said the reforms would enhance child safety and wellbeing, and were “much-needed” as the number of homeschooled Queenslanders had almost tripled since Covid.
But following backlash from the homeschooling community, Minister Farmer withdrew the proposal because it “could lead to unintended consequences”.
Boronia Heights mother and homeschooling advocate Patricia Fitzgerald was firmly against the changes, claiming the national curriculum was inferior to the level of education she offered her two children.
“We’ve saved the home education community,” Ms Fitzgerald said in April.
“We put forward all our submissions, and there were a lot of concerns with nearly every single point of the bill that was about home education.
“So, we worked really hard on outlining how those clauses would actually affect us in our home education and how we do what we do.”
Beyond curriculum reforms, one of the major concerns from parents was the government’s desire to drop provisional registration for families entering home education.
Ms Fitzgerald said this was a safety risk to children who needed to urgently leave school.
“Families who need to leave school in a moment – whether it’s a safety issue or whether the child’s not coping – they wouldn’t have a provisional time that allows them to get their head around how to home educate before having to actually register,” she said.
There were over 1300 submissions made to the government from those in home education, ranging from parents to students, including Ms Fitzgerald’s children.
