Petition here
There are more details about the changes on the Home Education Association website hea.edu.au/. Essentially they have removed any acknowledgement that there are different approaches to education and that each child does best on an approach specific to them. They require that each program should be targeted towards the learning 'outcomes' in the NSW curriculum (that the schools use) and there is an increased emphasis on written documentation (more so than any school has to provide for each individual child). Furthermore, if we decide to teach our children (or they choose to teach themselves) at any level other than the one they would be in if at school with children the same age as themselves, it has to be approved by someone from the Board of Studies. And, worst of all, the child is expected to be present for the visit and the 'appointed person' can choose to drop in at any point to check that you are working on the program you stated.
I have been home educating my eldest son for 2 1/2 years and my second eldest for nearly a year. I am very concerned about the proposed changes to the regulations as they will severely limit my opportunities to provide an individualised education for each of my children, responding to their needs and interests and employing their preferred learning styles. It really seems like a huge step backwards.
Please indicate to the NSW government and civil servants that this kind of change is undemocratic and not in the children's interests and cannot be accepted.
Thank you
P.S. I know I haven't been on Mumsnet for ages but you can search the archives to see I'm a real person and have been around since Mumsnet was very young.