Higher Education and Careers – Home Education Network

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

Non-year 12 entry to university: an example

Non-year 12 entry to university: an example Home educated students have successfully applied to universities all around the country using non-year 12 pathways. In Victoria, high school students at school typically sit their VCE exams and receive their ATAR, which then allows them to enrol in a university degree if certain requirements are met. But what do you do when home educated kids can […]

November 21, 2020

Home educating teenagers and entering the workforce

November 21, 2020

Home ed teens and entering the workforce

HEN regularly answers questions about how home educated teens will access tertiary education, but some students will be more interested in joining the workforce, in either a part time or full time capacity. Sample CVs seem to focus on school achievements, so what does a teen who is not in school put on their CV? Work experience is extremely worthwhile. Not only does it […]

May 26, 2020

Leap of Faith

By Heather Haines Recently, when my son Samuel fulfilled a long term ambition by sky diving, it felt to me the culmination of our home education journey. All those years ago, I took a leap of faith in pulling him out of school, and here he is a capable young man confidently pursuing his interests. Sky diving seemed uncannily appropriate. Samuel started school […]

November 26, 2019

Ladder of Doubt

By Marnie Black We withdrew our eldest two sons, Anthony and Mitchell, from school back in 2000. What a leap of faith that was! We had to get out of the system after the havoc it had wreaked on our boys. Even our pre-schooler, Jeff, had been negatively affected as most of his life had been lived in a family under stress. We agonised […]

May 7, 2019

The Resilience of Home Educating Parents

By Lyn Saint The following statement may be depressing for parents of small energetic children – life is an emotional and exhausting roller-coaster ride for parents of teenagers and young adults. Small children are easy in comparison. We just have to pick them up and bandage their knees and show them how to do the million practical things they have to learn in life – […]

February 14, 2019

Other Ways to Uni and Careers

Home ed students have a wide choice of pathways to university and careers. They can tackle university courses whenever they are ready – anywhere between age 13 and 100. Career pathways and destinations can be almost as individual as home education itself. This is a 68 page PDF on pathways to university and careers written by home ed veteran, Sue Wight. Available now $20 Members […]

November 13, 2018

Skills First Submission

Home educated students are effectively locked out of VET funding at the moment and HEN is trying to get this changed. Our submission is below. An explanation of acronyms is provided below the submission for younger families. Acronyms and terms: VRQA: Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority – the registration body which registers home ed students of compulsory education age. DET: Victorian Department of Education […]

October 5, 2018

A Tale of Five Brothers

Carleen Sing home educated her five sons. Their story has been told over many years through Otherways and the family also appeared in a 60 Minutes segment on Unschooling in 2014 and an article in The Daily Telegraph in 2015. Here we look back at their journey… My husband and I both trained as primary school teachers, and it was whilst teaching that I began to question […]

September 18, 2018

Student Transition Form

Victoria Legally, teenagers are required to be at school or registered for home education until the age of 17. When kids aged under 17 move to a TAFE course, they may be asked for a Transition from School Form (form will download when you click the link) during the enrolment process. You can download the form using the link provided here, but it must be […]

September 2, 2018

Home Ed, Centrelink and Kids Aged 16+

If parents are receiving Jobseeker or Family Tax Benefit, they may lose it when their youngest child turns 16, but not everyone does. Jobseeker Once the youngest child turns 16, the automatic exemption from the Mutual Obligation Requirements ceases. You may still be eligible for an exemption but if so, you will receive the lower level of Jobseeker (not the higher level you received previously). […]

June 10, 2018

The Paradox: Home ed and VET funding

When Victorian home ed teenagers transition to full-time TAFE, they de-register from home education and enrol under the same funding arrangements as any other student. Many of our students do this and 48 TAFE courses becoming free in 2019 will help facilitate such transitions. However, if students wish to complete certificates as part of their home education, they face hefty fees. Meanwhile their school peers can […]

May 28, 2018

Home educating your teenager – you can do it!

Can it be done? Yes! Parents often feel pressure from those around them to put their children into school for the high school years. ‘What about university?’ is one of the most frequently asked questions of home educators. ‘What about VCE?’ is another. Home educating your teenager isn’t as big and scary an undertaking as some may have you believe. While it is understandable […]

September 2, 2015

University without VCE

By Jim Batt Yes it is possible, although not easy, to get into university without completing (or even starting) VCE. I have spent only a very insignificant amount of my time in high school but still wished to further my education at a university level. I began by undertaking the FAST course (Foundation Access Studies) at Ballarat University. This course is aimed at mature […]

September 2, 2015

Studying through Open University

By Sharee Cordes I think it all started for us when Jayden became interested in linguistics. I was searching on the internet for some way to help him find out more about linguistics when I came across the Open Universities Australia website. Unfortunately they don’t offer any undergraduate linguistics subjects, but there were so many other interesting sounding subjects on the list, so I […]

September 2, 2015

Postcards from Alumni

This is an excerpt from Otherways issue 128. It features a sample of former home educated students and details the pathways they took to university and other further education. Alumni Postcards

September 2, 2015

Teens continuing home education

For families who have home educated through the primary school years, in many ways home educating a teenager is no different – you just keep on providing a stimulating educational environment and seeking out information and opportunities on topics that match their interests. The main difference is that as kids get older you use higher level resources. Teens also become more independent at finding […]

September 2, 2015

Quitting school

Many people home educate teenagers so you won’t be alone. If they wish, teens leaving school can maintain school friendships in out-of-school hours; they also maintain or make friendships from sporting and hobby groups; and are made most welcome amongst the home education community. To be ‘in the loop’ about what’s on, it is worth joining the network. Members receive weekly emails with coming events. […]

September 2, 2015

Home ed all the way

It is quite possible to home educate right through to university entrance without VCE but keep in mind that, in Victoria, home education at this level does not result in a recognised qualification and students are therefore ineligible for Youth Allowance. Students who choose to home educate through to year 12 level then have the option to enter a further education institution, start businesses […]

September 2, 2015

VCE & Alternatives

Note: HEN members have access to free advice on pathways to courses and careers. Join now VCE is not necessary for university entrance (see university entry) but if you do want to do VCE, you can enter a regular school in order to complete it, or these options are worth considering: VCE via Virtual School Victoria (formerly known as Distance Education Centre Victoria/DECV). Home […]

September 2, 2015

TAFE & Adult Education Providers

It is quite easy to get into TAFE or enrol in courses with various Adult Community Education providers. There are generally no formal prerequisites although students undergo a basic literacy and numeracy entrance test. Where prerequisites do exist TAFEs often have bridging courses to get you up to speed. TAFE certificates and diplomas can be used as a stepping stone to university or to […]

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