Partial Enrolment for Registered Home Schooling Students

Frequently Asked Questions

Why has the Victorian Government committed to registered home schooling students being eligible to partially enrol at their neighbourhood Government school?

The Education and Training Reform Act 2006 was introduced in 2007 and specifies that children of compulsory school age are required to be enrolled in a school or registered for home schooling.

As part of the introduction of new home schooling registration requirements, the Victorian Government committed to making various support mechanisms available to the home schooling community, including partial enrolment at the neighbourhood Government school for specific activities, as agreed by the school and the parent.

Who is eligible to enrol?

A home schooling family is eligible to approach their neighbourhood Government school to seek to partially enrol a home schooled student (of compulsory school age) in specific activities, providing the student is registered with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA).

At the time of enrolment, families will be required to show the school the official letter issued by the VRQA confirming the child’s registration. This letter is provided to the home schooling family by the VRQA upon successful registration and is the only form of evidence a principal can accept proving the child is registered for home schooling.

Can the school decline a request for partial enrolment?

Principals have the discretion to decline a request from a registered home schooler for partial enrolment where there are reasonable grounds for doing so.

It is envisaged that reasonable grounds could include capacity issues resulting from a school decision to cap class sizes in particular year levels and/or subject areas.

Any complaints regarding declined enrolments which are unable to be resolved at the school level should be referred to the relevant Regional Director.

Can a student be partially enrolled beyond the February census?

Home schooling students can be partially enrolled at any time during the year. However, students enrolled after the February Census (29 February 2008) will not attract Student Resource Package (SRP) funding.

How does the school deal with absences? Are there any implications for CASES21?

Partially enrolled home schooling students should be marked absent when they are not in attendance for the activity or program for which they are enrolled.

At the point of initial enrolment, the home schooling student’s agreed attendance ratio should be entered into CASES21 (i.e. if attending school for half a day each week, the ratio would be 0.1). The remainder of the time fraction should be assigned to the ‘home schooling’ option.

For further advice, please contact the DEECD Service Gateway (http://servicedesk.education.vic.gov.au) as the preferred option, or the DEECD Service Desk on 1800 641 943.

What is the period of the enrolment?

The period of enrolment for partially enrolled home schooling students is at the discretion of the principal in consultation with the parent.

It is possible that a school’s capacity to enrol a student in specified activities may change from year to year. Enrolment arrangements should be reviewed on an annual basis, or as otherwise determined at the point of the initial enrolment.

Under what circumstances would a partially enrolled student be exempt from school-level policy?

School-level policies should be discussed by the school and the family at the point of initial enrolment.

In certain circumstances, the principal may decide to exempt a partially enrolled home schooler from particular school-level policies. For example, in instances where a student has enrolled solely in the sports program provided by the school, the principal may determine that regular school uniform requirements are unnecessary.

Unless otherwise determined by the principal, all school-level policies and procedures should apply.

Can students with disabilities be partially enrolled? Will they be eligible for funding through the Program for Students with Disabilities?

Registered home schooling students with disabilities are eligible to be partially enrolled in their neighbourhood Government school.

These students may be eligible for funding through the Program for Students with Disabilities, on a pro-rata basis, if they meet the eligibility criteria. For more information, see Program for Students with Disabilities.

What extra-curricular activities should be offered to partially enrolled students?

It is at the discretion of the principal in consultation with the parent as to what, if any, extra-curricular activities and school programs partially enrolled home schooling students will be able to access. It is expected that the home schooling family will be required to pay for any access to extra-curricular activities that full-time students are expected to pay for.

Examples of extra-curricular activities and school programs include: out of school hours care, camps, excursions, school concerts and performances etc. 

What parent payments apply to home schooling families?

It is expected that partially enrolled families will pay for essential education items, as outlined in Departmental policy. Where appropriate, this should be on a pro-rata basis.

Parents of partially enrolled students who choose to access ‘optional extras’ (such as the school magazine and extra curricular activities), will be required to pay for these items and services accordingly.

Schools can invite parents of partially enrolled students to make voluntary financial contributions, subject to Departmental policy and legislative principles.

For more information, see Parent Payment in Victorian Government Schools.

More information

The Legislation Implementation Unit can be contacted with any queries by phone on 9637 3207 or by email at legislation.implementation@edumail.vic.gov.au

For further details regarding the registration requirements for home schooling families, see VRQA Home Schooling. (http://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/homeschool/)