What is Homeschooling

Homeschooling or home education by law is defined as:

Education a child receives at his or her OWN home by a parent, extended family member, guardian or tutor.
The emphasis is on own home. When a child receives the bulk/majority of his or her education at another venue it falls under the banner of a private or public school.

Tutor centres, cottage schools, micro schools or small private schools are popping up everywhere. Some of these schools refer to what they do as homeschooling but their function doesn't fall under the scope and sequence of home education. They are unregistered and not regulated by the Department of Education, in fact the Department is actively searching out these centres and closing them down. Some of these mini schools claim to have "all their papers" but they are merely affiliated with certain curriculum providers. The problem that keeps popping up is that the curriculum providers also take no responsibility for the validity of these centres operating under their banner.

Buyer beware!

All parents who want to homeschool their own children should try to register at the Pestalozzi Trust, this is a trust formed specifically to protect the rights of parents. Homeschooling is completely legal in South Africa but the Department does make unlawful requirements for registration and you should be aware of what the laws in this regard state.

Please read all the links on the Pestalozzi Trust website, more information can be found here and I wrote down my own views about registering with the department, or not here