Should You Submit Homeschool Reports?

This article about homeschool reports and compliance is mostly applicable to families whose children are registered for home education with their provincial education department.

In March 2011, it was confirmed in the Pretoria High Court that the state curriculum is not binding on independent schools and parents who educate their children at home.

“Private educators can now safely ignore demands to teach according to the state curriculum.” ~ Pestalozzi Trust

It’s 2024 and this has not changed – or has it? What the law does say, is that the programme of education must be “suitable for the learner’s age, grade level, ability and covers the acquisition of content and skills at least comparable to the relevant national curriculum.” (Section 51 of the amended SA Schools Act, par. 2)
In March 2024, the Department of Basic Education confirmed this again: “The Department has no intention of taking away the freedom of curriculum choice from the parents.“⁽¹⁾
Mr Louw in the Western Cape Education Department, has recently re-iterated this in meetings with home educators and in writing, to parents: “Parents are allowed to make use of any curriculum which is not inferior to CAPS and which may include online support.“

But what if some official in another province decides that the content of your curriculum is not “comparable to” the national curriculum? The new law is not clear.

However, as we have repeatedly pointed out, the best interests of a child are always the highest priority in every decision pertaining to a child.

You May Question Authorities

Most of us have been raised in a system that conditioned us to submit to and obey authorities without question. Unfortunately, as adults, we learn that those in authority often have their own agenda and some officials act outside the boundaries of authority of their position.

When it comes to home education, experienced home educators have encountered very few government staff who have a proper understanding of home education and all its variations, benefits and intricacies. The majority seem to hold a view that home education is school at home and expect this form of education to conform to the bureaucratic systems that have been set up to administer and regulate the school system.

This is evident from the policies imposed on home educators by provincial education departments. Parents are treated as unpaid teachers who must hop, skip and jump through the hoops set by the DBE!

For example, in the Western Cape and Gauteng, quarterly as well as annual reports from parents whose children are registered, are requested. It is important for home educators to know that the LAW does not require quarterly reports. It requires annual assessment by a parent and a formal assessment at the end of every phase by a “competent assessor”. Is this in the best interests of your child? You decide!

You need to decide how often you will submit reports (if you do at all!) Don’t just conform blindly, without considering possible government overreach, which may not be in your family’s best interest! In the case where a child has to return to school, the state may not refuse to admit the child because there is no official report. A child must be placed in a grade that conforms with the age-grade norm. Read more at Removing and Returning a Child to School.

Law versus Policy

You should understand the difference between POLICY and LAW. The law is what is set out in the SA Schools Act. You can read the relevant sections pertaining to homeschooling in South Africa here: Homeschool Laws in South Africa

Laws are binding and usually have penalties and consequences for non-compliance.

What is Policy?

Policy refers to a set of principles, guidelines, or directives formulated and implemented by organisations or government departments to address specific issues or reach certain objectives. They may also provide guidance on how those issues should be handled. They may be subject to debate, revision, and review over time.

Where laws are legally binding and usually have consequences and penalties for non-compliance, policies are not legally binding. They may cover areas such as education, healthcare, or environmental protection. 

For example, the Western Cape has a language policy to ensure the equal status and use of the three official provincial languages, Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa.

Although there is a national Policy for Home Education, each province may publish its own policy for home education. Not all provinces have done so in South Africa.

Is the Policy for Home Education Unreasonable?

Many home education experts view the requirements set out in both the national and provincial home education policies as unreasonable and as not being in the best interests of the majority of children. The Constitution of South Africa, which is the highest law of the land, states that the best interests of the child must take priority in all decisions pertaining to that child. In other words, your child’s best interests trump any policy!

As a parent, the law therefore may allow for you to choose not to comply with policies that may not be in the best interests of your child. You need to understand the laws and be willing to stand up for freedom from overreach, if necessary. Sometimes, this may be uncomfortable as we are conditioned to take the path of least resistance and to avoid possible conflict by simply obeying and complying.

History shows that change happens when courageous individuals do not comply with unsound laws and policies.

At worst, non-compliance with registration processes may be regarded as administrative negligence, but in the instance where a parent acts in the best interests of a child, the onus is on the other party to prove, in a court of law, if necessary, that this was not the case. Parents are assumed to be the best judge of what is best, unless proven otherwise. This has never happened in the context of home education between a parent and the education department.

To date, no parents that we know of have been prosecuted for choosing home education by the Department of Education or for non-compliance with either the law or the policy. It is highly likely that the DBE has neither the funds for expensive court cases nor the staff to investigate such matters. They have bigger problems – bigger fish to fry!

For example, the Department of Basic Education has admitted its own educational failure: The Ministerial Task Team appointed to investigate and report on the quality of the National Senior Certificate said in May 2014 that “there is no escaping the conclusion that South Africa has one of the poorest performing school education systems in the world”. ⁽²⁾

Minister Angie Motshekga in January 2016 used words like national catastrophe and crisis to describe the education system. She referred to mediocrity spreading “like cancer to the highest echelons of the basic education system, thereby threatening the very foundation of the system.”⁽³⁾

This is where we think time and energy should be spent… not prosecuting home educating parents for administrative negligence.

Take Courage and Stand up for Freedom in Education

Almost daily, we deal with insecure parents who are products of the school system and are petrified of going against the norms, even though they know that the System is failing their children. They have been groomed to be obedient followers who trust the ‘experts’ to tell them what to do with their lives and their children’s lives and so making a decision, taking the responsibility and facing the possible consequences is very scary. We understand. We have been there too. 

As young parents, most of us constantly doubt ourselves and try to assess how we are doing.

We all start out parenting and home educating as AMATEURS. It’s a bit daunting at first, but we grow in knowledge, experience and self-confidence the longer we do it.

Just do it. If you are doing the best you can on any given day, then that is enough.

You can easily outperform the requirements of the national curriculum and now you know that you are free to use any resources you like. While the school system tends to over-rely on formal assessment and neglects daily informal assessment, one of the great strengths of home education is that parents can daily assess their children’s learning through non-invasive means. Research has shown that this is highly beneficial and that formal testing is actually detrimental to young children, in particular. Our article in Part 1 – Homeschool Assessment, Reports and Compliance outlines how you can use both forms of assessment effectively and if you choose, you can create your own informal Homeschool Assessment, using our template.

If you use our guideline in Part 2 for creating formal Homeschool Reports with scores, such as those used by the DBE, you can rest assured that you have complied with the duties of parents, set out by the provincial education departments. These are not laws. You can choose when to submit reports as you consider to be best for your family. Remember, a child may not be refused admission to a school because they were homeschooled. They must be placed in the age-appropriate grade too!

If you have chosen home education, you are among the BRAVE. You deserve admiration for having the courage to make this unconventional choice. You have said “No” to the failing school system and voted “Yes” for finding a better option. You are pioneering a new educational path for your family.

We do not recommend using online schooling or a school-at-home type of programme as these are not well-suited to the home learning environment. They were designed for mass delivery of a curriculum in the school system, rather than the personalised, intimate one-on-one scenario of home education. Read School-at-Home versus Eclectic Homeschooling.

If you find yourself, like David and Goliath, face to face with the “giant” demanding conformity and compliance that would not be in your family’s best interests, will you lie down and submit or will you stand against intimidation and say, “No” again and choose the best interests of your child? You would be aligning yourself with an army of other home educating parents who are taking a stand for freedom in education. Model informed choice for your family and protect your children’s best interests. You are not alone!

References:

(1) Basic Education concern with misleading information regarding intention of BELA Bill, 11 March 2024, https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/basic-education-concern-misleading-information-regarding-intention-bela-bill, accessed 6 May 2024

(2) Ministerial Committee Report on National Senior Certificate, Department of Basic Education, May 2014, page 108, http://  db3sqepoi5n3s.cloudfront.net/files/141119nsc.pdf, accessed 10 December 2014

(3) Angie Reads Riot Act, News24, http://city-press.news24.com/News/angie-reads-riot-act-20160123

Last updated 1 October 2024