Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Lafaialii v Board of Studies Teaching & Educational Standards NSW [2014] NSWCATAD 200 Hearing dates: On the papers Decision date: 19 November 2014 Jurisdiction: Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division Before: J Kelly, Senior Member Decision: The Tribunal confirms the recommendation dated 18 March 2014 that the recommendation to refuse registration for home schooling of the applicant's daughter be endorsed. Catchwords: Education - home schooling - application for initial registration - minimum curriculum - syllabus - Registration for Home Schooling in NSW - Information Package Legislation Cited: Education Act 1990 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Joseph Lafaialii (Applicant) Board of Studies Teaching & Educational Standards NSW (Respondent) Representation: J Lafaialii (Applicant in person) Crown Solicitors Office (Respondent) File Number(s): 1410212 reasons for decision 1The applicant, Joseph Lafaialii, wants to home-school his daughter who was to begin Year 7 at the beginning of 2014. He has asked the Tribunal to review the recommendation that was notified to the applicant by letter dated 25 March 2014 that the recommendation to refuse home schooling registration for his daughter be endorsed. 2For the reasons that follow, the Tribunal confirms the recommendation that the recommendation to refuse registration for home schooling of the applicant's daughter be endorsed. 3The Education Act 1990 (the Act) provides for home schooling registration and the curriculum for all New South Wales children. The Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (the respondent) has various functions under the education and teaching legislation which includes the Act. 4Division 6 of Part 7 of the Act prescribes the process and the requirements for registration for home schooling. In summary, a parent may apply in writing to the Minister for registration of the child for home schooling. The Minister is to obtain advice on the application from an authorised person as soon as practicable after an application is made. The authorised person is to notify the applicant in writing of a recommendation to the Minister that the application be refused. The applicant can apply to the Tribunal for administrative review of a recommendation to refuse the application. 5The Minister has delegated his functions under the Act in relation to home schooling registration to the person holding the position of President of the respondent. 6Part 3 of the Act sets out the minimum curriculum. Section 9 specifies the following key learning areas for Years 7 to 10: (1)English (2)Mathematics (3)Science (4)Human Society and Its Environment (HSIT) (5)Languages other than English (6)Technological and Applied Studies (7)Creative Arts (8)Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) 7Relevantly, s 10 of the Act requires the following. The curriculum for Years 7 to 10 is to have courses of study in 6 of the 8 key learning areas, and courses of study in the key learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science and HSIT during each year. Courses of study in a key learning area are to be appropriate for the children concerned having regard to their level of achievement and needs. Courses of study in a key learning area are to be provided in accordance with any relevant guidelines developed by the respondent and approved by the Minister and are to be based on, and taught in accordance with, a syllabus developed or endorsed by the respondent and approved by the Minister. 8The relevant guidelines are published in the Registration for Home Schooling in NSW - Information Package (the information package) which was approved by the Minister on 22 July 2013. The information package is available on the respondent's website http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/parents/pdf_doc/home-edu-info-pack-13.pdf. 9Part 2 of the information package sets out the requirements for home schooling registration. Relevantly, they are: (a)The educational program is based on the minimum curriculum for Years 7 to 10 (b)The educational program is based on and taught in accordance with the relevant syllabuses (c)The educational program identifies the intended learning outcomes based on the relevant syllabuses and relevant content (d)The educational program is suitable to cater for the identified learning needs of the child (e)There is an adequate system of planning, supervising and recording teaching and learning experiences (f)There is an adequate system for recording the child's progress and achievement (g)The time allocated to learning is sufficient to allow coverage of the curriculum and is comparable to the time allocated by schools (h)The home learning environment is suitable for effective home schooling (i)The resources within the home and those accessed externally are adequate to support the learning needs of the child 10Part 4 of the information package sets out the minimum curriculum for Years 7 to 10. 11The application for home schooling registration requests relevant details and asks if the applicant is prepared for the assessment visit from an authorised person having read and addressed the requirements contained the information package. It requests a "yes" or "no" answer to find out whether the applicant has "records of the child's previous educational history and attainment", "an educational program based on relevant syllabuses", "a method for recording learning activities", and "sufficient resources and a suitable learning environment". 12There is a handbook for authorised persons, which is published on the respondent's website. 13Applications for home schooling registration are assessed by a home visit. The authorised person considers the documentation provided by the applicant to demonstrate the applicant's plan for developing and implementing an educational program for the child in accordance with the requirements for home schooling registration set out in paragraph 8. 14There is no prescribed format for a home schooling educational program. Part 6 of the information package provides some examples of approaches to documenting an educational program. 15The applicant's application was initially assessed by an authorised person, Ms O'Reilly, who recommended in her written report that the application be refused. 16When the applicant was advised of that decision, he sought internal review of the recommendation. Ms Hession carried out the review. She finalised her report on 18 March 2014. Ms Hession recommended that the original recommendation to refuse home schooling registration be endorsed. 17It is that decision which I am reviewing. In the application to this Tribunal, the applicant stated that the grounds for seeking review were: "Being that two issues were compliant for first registration, and the last two issues have been amended". 18The applicant was referring to Ms O'Reilly's finding that there was evidence of compliance with the requirements for registration for two of the nine criteria set out in paragraph 8 and Ms Hession found there was evidence of compliance with four of the criteria. 19Ms O'Reilly found that "the proposed time allocated for learning is sufficient to allow coverage of the curriculum and is comparable to the time allocated by school" was "compliant with areas for improvement". Ms O'Reilly commented that "a timetable was provided, however, the proposed allocation of time presented by the applicant does not provide sufficient learning time to allow coverage of the curriculum nor it is comparable to that allocated by schools". Ms Hession assessed that the evidence complied with this requirement for registration. 20Ms O'Reilly assessed that the home learning environment is suitable for effective home schooling, and commented "a desk and computer were sighted at the visit". Ms Hession made a similar assessment based on Ms O'Reilly's report which had been prepared after a home visit. 21Ms Hession found that the proposed method of planning, supervising and recording teaching and learning experiences and activities is evident and complied with the requirements for registration. She commented: "The applicant provided several templates which could be used for planning, supervising and recording teaching and learning experiences and activities". 22Ms Hession found that the proposed method of maintaining records of the child's progress and achievement is evident and complied with the requirements for registration. She commented: "The applicant provided several templates which could be used to record (the child's) progress and achievement". 23Following are the criteria for which Ms Hession found that there was not evidence of compliance with the requirements for registration, and her comments in relation to each. 24"The written plan for the proposed educational program demonstrates a capacity to comply with the relevant curriculum requirements". Ms Hession commented that "The applicant provided a list of subjects and resources for (the child) for 2014. The applicant did not provide a proposed educational program and was therefore unable to demonstrate compliance with the relevant curriculum requirements." 25"The written plan for the proposed educational program demonstrates that the program will be based on and taught in accordance with the relevant (respondent's) syllabuses, including identified intended learning outcomes and the selection of relevant content." Ms Hession commented that "As the applicant was not able to provide a proposed educational program, there was no evidence that the proposed plan would be taught in accordance with the relevant (respondent's) syllabuses". 26"The proposed educational program demonstrates that it will be suitable to cater for the identified learning needs of the child." Ms Hession commented: "The applicant provided copies of past school reports for (the child) for year 5 (2012) and year 6 (2013) but did not make any reference to these as being used to identify (the child's) learning needs. The applicant did not provide a proposed educational program and therefore was unable to demonstrate that the proposed educational program would be suitable to cater for (the child's) learning needs." 27"The resources within the home and those accessed externally are adequate to support the delivery of the proposed educational program". Ms Hession commented: "As the applicant did not provide a proposed educational program based on the relevant (respondent's) syllabuses, the applicant was not able to provide evidence that the resources available are adequate to support the educational program." 28The applicant provided a bundle of documents to the respondent with his request for an internal review dated 7 February 2014. He provided no new documentation to the Tribunal in addition to what was considered by Ms Hession but did provide a statement dated 16 July 2014 which attached the seven type-written pages discussed below which had previously been provided to the respondent. 29In addition to the school reports and template material referred to by Ms Hession and mentioned above and the seven type-written pages, the bundle of documents included a further three typewritten pages and a medical report that states that the child suffers from motion sickness. That matter is not relevant to the Tribunal's consideration. 30The first of the seven type-written pages was headed "The proposed educational program for (the child)". It contained seven numbered paragraphs, each beginning by stating an objective which was elaborated upon in the balance of the paragraph. Those objectives were to "Provide Structure with Flexibility", "Plan a Variety of Activities", "Give (the child) Choices", "Provide Opportunities for (the child) to Input", "Pay Attention to the Particular Needs of the Program", "Pay Attention to Time, Environmental, and Constraints", and "Pay Attention to the Budget". 31The following six pages included sections addressing the needs and interests of the child and the tutor, factors that might influence "how we plan activities", concepts on which the home schooling program is based, scheduling, current and future needs, reporting findings, personal development plan and assessments, identifying priorities, and "support/Resources through Oxford University Press to help us achieve our development objectives". 32The further three type-written pages included the following. The first half of the first page was headed "Homeschooling 2014 year 7 (the child)". It set out the following information. Forty-five minutes a day, from Monday to Friday, was allocated to English, Mathematics, History, Science and Geography. Forty-five minutes two days a week were allocated for Home Economics, Physical Education, Language and Music. Beside each subject a resource was listed. For example beside English, "Oxford English 1 (year 7 -8)" was listed. Beside Geography, "Australian Curriculum Geography" was listed. "Extra activities" included Art, Computers, Swimming and Ice Skating. 33The balance of the three pages addressed "Observing and Recording Student Progress", including one page on "Preparing for Tutoring" and another on "Evaluation of Tutoring Session". 34Two of the template documents have been filled in, in whole or part. One is a "Quarterly Academic Planner January-March". For each month, a "theme", "project", "book to read" and "field trip", have been identified. 35The second is a "Student Goal Setter" for four quarters. In each quarter there is room to fill in "Academic goals" and "character goals". Under "Quarter 1", academic goals are "reading faster, punctuation, capitalization and spelling rules, read from multiple sources, express ideas and moods of texts". The character goals are: "memorizing all times tables, socializing with friends more, practise better hygiene". 36I understand that the applicant firmly believes that the documentation he has provided is sufficient to satisfy the requirements for registration of the child for home schooling. However, I accept the opinion of Ms Hession that it does not, in the respects that she has identified. The applicant did not provide a proposed educational program. He was therefore unable to comply with requirements depending on the provision of that document. 37The task of providing evidence of compliance with the requirements for initial registration for home schooling is, understandably, a demanding one, requiring a detailed understanding of a lot of material, including the curriculum and syllabuses. In this case, the applicant has not been able to do that. 38The Tribunal confirms the recommendation dated 18 March 2014 that the recommendation to refuse registration for home schooling of the applicant's daughter be endorsed. ********** I hereby certify that this is a true and accurate record of the reasons for decision of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales. Registrar DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated. Decision last updated: 19 November 2014