Homeschooling in Western Australia

Home education is one way of meeting the compulsory education requirements of the School Education Act 1999 (WA). Parents take responsibility for planning and delivering their child's education program at home.

The Department of Education's home education policy defines an education program as an organised set of learning activities that helps a child develop knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes relevant to their individual needs.

• Contact your local Education Regional Office for the registration form.
• Complete the form and lodge it with supporting documents, such as your child's birth certificate or extract, and evidence of guardianship if you are not the child's parent.
• For a child leaving a WA school, the application is due within 14 days of the child leaving school.
• Once your registration is processed you receive a certificate of registration and are assigned a home education moderator.

Your program plan does not have to follow the structure of the Western Australian Curriculum, but many families use its eight learning areas as a planning reference.

The program should be relevant to your child's individual needs, so it helps to begin by thinking about where your child is now and what they are ready to learn next.

Arranging evaluation meetings is your responsibility. Contact your moderator to book an initial evaluation within the first 3 months of registration, then an annual evaluation within 12 months of your registration date.

At each meeting the moderator looks at your child's learning and progress, then emails you an evaluation report. If there are concerns, the report explains them and recommends actions. Registration can be cancelled if concerns are not addressed.

There is no single right way to record learning. The department lists options such as portfolios, annotated work samples and reading logs, and notes that weekly or fortnightly samples may be enough.

Talk to your Education Regional Office before your child leaves school so you can lodge the registration form on time. The department's procedures set the application window at 14 days from the last day your child attended school, or from when they would first have enrolled.

Your moderator is your main contact once you are registered, and general enquiries go to your local Education Regional Office. The department's website has guidance on developing a program and showing your child's progress.