THEAC Winter Edition Newsletter

Brrrrrrrrr…..winter has certainly arrived on our doorstep over the past few days.  The cooler months bring us inside for valuable family time sharing discussions, snuggling up and reading together, playing board games, and sipping hot chocolate.  Winter is a great time for reflection on what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done.  It is a great time to slow down and catch up on those unfinished projects, start new projects, connect with those we love and just generally cherish our time together.

THEAC have continued to be kept busy over Autumn.  Recently I had the pleasure along with William Linton from THEAC, and the Education Registrar, Katharine O’Donnell, to represent THEAC by addressing the Legislative Council and outlining the home education application process in Tasmania.  This came about due to a question raised by Josh Willie on behalf Ruth Forrest during question time in a Legislative Council meeting.  Together we were able to provide a clear outline of the home education pathway and process in Tasmania highlighting the robustness of the system.

Home education is still on the rise in Tasmania.  As of March 31, 2022, Tasmania had 1467 students from 853 families registered to home educate.  This is in comparison to 1143 students from 664 families at the same time in 2021.  Since 2018, the increase in home education registrations has been steadily rising with an overall increase of 46% since 31 March 2018.  The increase, combined with Covid implications, is putting the OER under increased pressure to process HESPs so please be patient during this time.  It is delightful to see numbers increasing.  It does however, present new challenges and one of THEAC’s next steps is to request a meeting with the Minister for Education to request funding for the home education sector in Tasmania. 

The Education Registrar, Katharine O’Donnell recently announced the completion of a booklet titled ‘Understanding the Standards’.  Much time and effort has been poured into this by the fabulous Registration Officers at the OER.  Please take the time to read through the booklet.  I am sure you will find it be a valuable resource for writing your HESP.

THEAC have continued to be in discussions with Allied Health regarding running an online information session on home educating children with Diverse Learning Needs.  More information will be available on this shortly.

As the days close in and the temperature drops, take a moment to reflect on your journey so far this year.  Cherish the cooler, wet days that draw us inside and create magical, happy memories challenging your children to board games, relishing in the time the winter months provide to prepare food and create a feast together. Snuggle on the couch sipping hot chocolate and reading together or watching a documentary.  Winter always seems to be the longest season to pass but it won’t be long until the buds are forming on the trees, the birds are chirping happily, and the sun is poking its head through the clouds to melt the frost.