THEAC Chair Quarterly Newsletter

Isn’t it funny how this time of year brings so much excitement to kids but mostly dread and overwhelm to adults?  How does life get so busy and what is it about the month of December and time?  Time seems to disappear faster than the Christmas pudding at this time of year.  ‘That’ time of the year is upon us, whether we want it to be or not, it’s here and it’s so hard not to get caught up in the whirlwind of Christmas chaos.  Time is such an important thing.  Time to reflect, time to finish projects, time as a family, time to take time out-in whatever way gives you a break, time to sit and chat to your kids about their year of learning.  As you wind up your programs for the year, I urge you to take a break, take a breath and relish in both your and your child/ren’s achievements this year. 

For some this might have been writing your first HESP, for others it may have been learning to count, learning to read or for some learning to drive, being able to attend a social group, learning a new skill…however BIG or small, achievements should be celebrated.  It is so easy in this fast-paced world to forget to sit and talk about where the learning year has taken you and your family.  To laugh and enjoy the learning adventures from the year, to hug and cherish the memories of those who may have left us, to create new goals and aspirations for the new year ahead.  Enjoy the journey ahead.

It has been a busy time for THEAC.  We were supported by the OER to provide 4 Diverse Learning Needs seminars for the home education community.  These were delivered by both Alison Hopwood (OT) and Catherine Silcock (SP).  It is difficult to find a suitable time to run these events as there is no perfect time for everyone.  For this reason, we have enabled access for the home education community to recordings of the last two events.  These have been made available to you via email.  If you have not received a link via email, please do not hesitate to contact Belle in the Hobart office on 6165 5754.  For anyone with children with diverse learning needs, I would highly recommended making the time to watch these and don’t forget you can list these in the Research standard in your HESP. 

Moving into 2024, we are working with the OER to provide some pre-recorded sessions on several topics that will be readily available to the home education community to view at a time that is convenient to you!  This is an exciting development and one that we are working hard to make available so watch this space!

Home education numbers continue to remain steady.  As of December 1, 2023 we had 1487 children registered in home education from 893 families across Tasmania.  This is an increase of 21 students since the Spring Chair newsletter.  Again, it is wonderful to see so many varied programs within home education.  The home education community continues to provide an array of social opportunities and catch ups. 

If you are new to home education and are struggling to find your feet, I encourage you to attend one of the many social opportunities organised within the home education community.  These not only provide social opportunities for your child, but for us as parents also and it is easy to forget that we need some social time too.  The opportunity to share experiences, discuss resources, listen to what has and hasn’t worked for others can be so valuable for us as educators.  They can also provide some validation that you are on the right pathway, and it might just be time that you and your child need to enable further progress.  Please don’t feel alone, there is always someone going through a similar experience.  If you need help in knowing where to find out about all the different home education social opportunities, please contact the OER. 

Most of you using the online platform, Education Perfect, will know by now that Education Perfect are no longer providing this learning platform to the home education community effective from January 1, 2024.   This is a decision made by Education Perfect.  Education Perfect, like all learning platforms, is separate to the OER and THEAC and we have no control over the decision made.  This means that you need to make sure that you have downloaded your progress within that platform before 1 January , as you will not have access to it after this date and therefore, not be able produce the evidence of learning for your registration visit.  

While researching an alternative, please remember that while it is OK to use a purchased curriculum as part of your program, as the home educator you are the person responsible for the design, implementation and evaluation of your program and you therefore can’t rely solely on a purchased curriculum.  I think it is also important to note that it is Ok for programs to change.  A lot of families will start with a particular program and find after a few months it is not working for them and will follow a different learning pathway.  This is completely fine and demonstrates good evaluation of the overall program.

THEAC are really looking forward to being able to continue strengthening our relationship with Allied Health in 2024 in working together with the OER to provide more online seminars/information to the parents and carers of children with diverse learning needs.  We are also hoping to be able to do something similar for those parents with gifted children. 

We would like to extend our thanks to both the home education community and the OER, the Education Registrar -Jo Spencer-for all their ongoing support.  It has been a time of considerable change for the OER this year and Jo has managed to guide everyone through the process as smoothly as possible without any disruption to THEAC.

Please take the time to appreciate all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes at the OER and within your own household.  It is not an easy job at times, and you should all be proud of your achievements and your child’s achievements.  I hope you all find the time to have a break, refresh and restart in the new year.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish those leaving home education every success in life.  For those heading into mainstream school next year, I wish you a smooth transition and hope that many learning pathways are made available to you.  For those finishing year 12, firstly a big ‘Congratulations!’.  You made it.  Sometimes the journey seems so far away but here you are ready to take on the world.  Take a deep breath, enjoy the next chapter in your life and please remember to thank your educators for all they have done for you and your learning pathway over the past years.  Grab hold of opportunities that come your way.  Learn from your mistakes, we all make them, and never stop growing in knowledge!

I wish you and your family every joy over the Christmas period and may your learning journeys take you on many new and wonderful pathways in 2024!  Enjoy the journey it takes you on!

Denise Cox

THEAC Chair