Home education

Home education is where you take responsibility for teaching your child. It's an alternative to your child going to a school.

If you choose to home educate, you must apply for approval from the Northern Territory (NT) Department of Education.

The department has a legal responsibility to make sure all students receive a quality education.

You must keep your child enrolled and attending a school until you receive approval to home educate.

Home education approval is valid for one school year. You must reapply each year.

Home educators

Home education applications must show you can plan and provide for the educational needs of your child.

Parents can plan and deliver home education programs without the need for formal teacher training or teaching experience.

You can also employ a teacher to primarily develop and deliver the home education program. The teacher must:

Accreditation

Home education students do not receive accreditation, including the NT Certificate of Education and Training.

Registered training organisation certification applies for any successfully completed vocational education and training (VET) courses.

When to apply

New families can apply to home educate at any time during the year.

Continuing families wanting to home educate in 2024 must reapply by the following dates:

  • Monday 20 November 2023 for transition to year 10 students
  • Monday 18 December 2023 for senior secondary (year 11 and 12) students.

How to apply

To apply for home education, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in the relevant teaching, learning and assessment plan for your child's year level

Step 2. Attach self-developed or commercially purchased curriculum.

If you purchase your entire home education curriculum from a commercial provider, you must consolidate all the curriculum information into a single PDF document.

If you're using self-developed home education curriculum or a combination of your own and external curriculum, you must fill in the following plan for your child's year level:

Step 3. Fill in and submit your application online with supporting documents.

Go to Territory Services

After you apply

After you submit the application:

  • you'll receive a notification confirming its receipt and a reference number
  • you'll be able to print a summary of your application
  • your application will be assessed, this may take up to 4 weeks
  • you'll be notified in writing of the outcome of your application.

If your application is unsuccessful, you must make sure your child is enrolled and attending a school. You can also reapply at any time.

If you have approval to home educate, you're entitled to the:

If you plan to travel for short periods with your child during the home education period and won't be at your usual residence, contact the home education team to discuss the program.

If you're travelling for an extended period, you can apply to enrol your child in a distance education school.

Contact

Contact home education by calling 08 8944 9214 or emailing homeeducation.doe@education.nt.gov.au.


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