Home Schooling in South Africa

Home Education

Home Education is a program alternative to attending public or independent schools where a parent of a learner of compulsory school going age may provide education for his/her own child/ren at home.

Do you prefer to teach your child at home?  If so, apply to the head of your Provincial Education Department to register your child for Home Education. The lesson you offer your child must fall within the scope of the following compulsory phases of education:

• foundation phase (grades 1-3)
• intermediate phase (grades 4-6)
• senior phase (grades 7-9)

What records do I have to keep?

After your child has been registered for Home Education you must keep the following: –

• record of attendance
• portfolio of the child’s work
• up- to- date records of the child’s progress
• portfolio of the educational support given to the child
• evidence of the continuous assessment of the child’s work
• evidence of the assessment and or examination at the end of each year
• evidence at the end of grade 3,6 and 9, that shows whether your child has achieved the outcomes for these grades

What you should do

Apply electronically, using the applicable application form, to the head of your Provincial Education Department and attach the following documents with you:

• parent/s certified ID copy
• In case of foreign nationals certified copies of passport /study permit/work permit/Asylum document is required
• last copy of school report (if the child was in school before, but if the child is only starting school now you must attach an immunization card)
• weekly timetable which includes contact time per day
• breakdown of terms per year (196 days per year)
• learning programe
• certified copy of child’s birth certificate

Timeframes

It may take up to 30 days for your applications to be processed.