Homeschool Exemption Applications

One of the questions I get asked most often is whether I can give any help and advice for writing the exemption application. I remember the first time we had to do this, and how overwhelming it all was! So I totally understand the need for some encouragement and guidance.

So for those in the process of getting your head around the exemption process, here are some tips off the top of my head..

1. Have a read through this post on Getting Started with Homeschooling

Hopefully it provides a helpful overview of the entire process of getting started, including where to find info from the Ministry of Education.

2. Consider using Cynthia Hancox’s guides

Homeschoolers in New Zealand have an amazing resource in Cynthia Hancox. She sells a guide to writing an exemption application and has heaps of useful advice. She also can help you through the process personally, although she has been extremely busy of late and has had to outsource a lot of this to other experienced homeschoolers.

3. Set aside time to think and research

You really need to treat the application like an assignment, and spend some time researching resources and talking to others. Once you have an idea of the resources you might use, this makes writing the application much easier. If you need curriculum ideas, attend a workshop on this or buy a recording of a talk by Erin Parkinson on this very topic.

Brainstorm what your child’s strengths, weaknesses and interests are. Think about what you are aiming for – what you want the end product to be – e.g. a character trait you might want to develop in your child is effective time management, or a good work ethic. You may want them to have particular skills. All of this will aid you in your planning, and will actually inspire you as well.

What do you want your homeschooling day to look like? How are you going to test your child or measure how well they’re doing? How are you going to make sure your child gets plenty of social contact? Think about all the possible questions others might have and address those. Answering these questions is actually very helpful to your own planning.

For the topic section, come up with some topic ideas and in designing your plan make sure you can cover lots of different subject areas (Maths, English, Spelling, Geography etc) in your project.

4. Look at the NZ Curriculum

Whatever your thoughts on the NZ curriculum, this document has been approved by the Ministry of Education and is therefore an extremely helpful place to go to for ideas on what sorts of things they might be looking for in a homeschooling application. Obviously you want your application to be a true reflection of what you intend to do, but it doesn’t hurt to be aware of what is considered useful by those in NZ education.

5. Ask a homeschooling friend or acquaintance for feedback

It’s worth asking an experienced homeschooler or two to have a quick read-through of your application. While most will be unwilling to show you their own exemption applications, many are happy to offer comments and advice on others’.

As an aside, the reason most homeschoolers (like myself) aren’t keen to show others our own applications is because they are written and personalised for our own children, and take an awful lot of time and energy to produce. Many like me still have children to write future exemptions for, and we want to be able to use our own previous ones as templates without risking accusations of plagiarism! The upside of this is that once you have perfected your own first version, it is much easier to produce a second and third etc.

6. Get started!

In the end, you just have to take the plunge and get started on it. Allow yourself several weeks to complete it – it’s not going to come together in one sitting! You basically want to prove to the MoE that you are competent to teach your children (or facilitate their learning using various resources) and have some kind of plan to make it happen. They want to know that you will be teaching them at least as regularly and as well as they would be taught at a State school.

I would suggest using the form provided by the Ministry of Education to submit your application, as it will help you to keep it succinct and focused on the most relevant pieces of information – which will make it easier for the person assessing it to read.

That’s it for now – all the best with your writing!