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Fair go? Some teachers get no pay

Fair go? Some teachers get no pay

schoolingCLA member Molly Glassey shines a light on a seeming inequity in the education system, where people who homeschool their children don’t get the public funding others get.

Some teachers get no ‘pay’

(Forgotten Funding: The Home-school Story
By Molly Glassey*

It may as well be thermo-educational warfare – political promises, school closures and ‘Better Schools’ – all of which has every parent and taxpayer equally concerned and confused.

However, even in war it’s a tad insulting to have your avenue of education not invited. Or even mentioned.

Home-schooling in Australia has long been a viable means of education, yet is rarely included in education reviews and funding schemes…an absence which segregates and demeans the thousands of families nation-wide who rely on it.

“The Hon Christopher Pyne MP will be Minister for Education and Leader of the House and will work with the states and territories to deliver real improvements across all aspects of education,” said new Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, nine days after his election win. Yet a rapid growth in home-schooling numbers continues to escape the attention of State and Federal governments.

The statistics

There are more than 30,000 registered home schooling families in Australia, none receiving any education-based funding for their schooling, something home-schooling father and principal, Stuart Chapman, has long disputed. “Many families in Australia would like to qualify for government tax refunds that other families receive based on their student’s school attendance,” he says. “Parents who home-school in Australia do not receive any government funding – although they support all other children who attend schools through their taxes.”

“The number of students registered for home education in Queensland has increased by 44%, from 772 in 2010 to 1108 in 2013,” says Gabrielle Sinclair, Assistant Deputy Director-General, Policy and Programs, at Queensland’s Department of Education. “The Education (General Provision) Act 2006 does not prescribe additional allowances for home education as it is up to families to consider the financial impacts of choosing a home education over enrolling their child in a school,” she says.

Students in public, private and independent schools each receive individual funding which equates to between nearly $7000 and $11,000 per student. The subsidy for one type of education only is something home-schooling parents have long considered unjust.

Beverly Paine: “We’re on our own”

Beverly Paine started home-schooling in 1986 and has been a prolific writer and spokesperson on the matter since. “There isn’t a lot of information on funding for home-educating families or students, because there isn’t any (funding),” she says. “As far as the Federal and State governments are concerned, we’re on our own.”

Parents are required by law to enrol their school-age children in either a state or private school, or register for home education. This entails ensuring their child ”receives a high-quality education” and providing the Education Department with either a formally mapped out educational program or learning philosophy for the student.

Families who educate their children at home can only apply for the same family support offered to parents who send their children to school. “Some families access the Isolated Children’s Payment provided they fit the strict criteria – it’s also available to families with children attending school, too,” says Paine. “The School Bonus which replaced the Education Tax Refund is also available…but is also available to families with schooled children too.”

The Better Schools plan proposed a $6.5billion per year funding increase to combat a number of student issues and boost Australia’s global education ranking. The review wanted to increase funding to around $8000 per primary school student and about $12,000 per high school student in Queensland, prices the state is exempt from paying for home-schooled children.

“While my children were home educated, it cost approximately $4000 a year to put a child through the local primary school,” says Paine. “That’s $84,000 I saved the government by home educating my children – and that’s for primary school only.”

Claire Jolley: “I needed more support”

Claire Jolley of Toowoomba has five siblings, three of whom were put through private schooling while the younger three, including herself, were home-schooled. She’s seen the financial differences and constraints of home schooling first hand and says the limited funding to families like her own is a pressing issue.

“Our fees are so minimalistic compared to institution fees, however there were so many resources that would have made all the difference to my education,” says Claire. “I needed more support, particularly ways for me to practically apply my learning: for example, I needed access to actual science experiments, real labs rather than outdated videos, real chemistry labs and face-to-face maths support.”

New Zealand gives subsidies

New Zealand has an established home-school funding scheme where, twice each year, the Education Ministry sends a declaration to parents asking to confirm their status as home-schooling families. Home-school families receive $743 a year for the first child, $632 for the second, $521 for the third and $372 for subsequent children.

ENDS

*  Molly Glassey is a journalist and keen writer building a career. She has undertaken an internship at Guardian Australia, and brings a student perspective to civil liberties issues.  She is a member of CLA.

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