Diverse Learning Needs

This Standard is about any needs that your child may have which influence your decisions about your home education program. Diverse learning needs may include physical disabilities; learning disabilities; medical conditions; giftedness; behavioural conditions; psychological conditions; trauma and grief.

If your child does not have any diverse learning needs, you do not have to write under this Standard.

Your HESP should include:

• a description of your child’s needs and how these needs affect their learning. For example, if your child has dyslexia, reading and writing may be challenging and cause them to tire quickly.
• a description of the things you are doing to support your child. For example, you might provide lots of breaks during the day, use a set routine, work slowly through resources, work with your child one on one, follow a specific diet, use assistive technology, or use specific programs and resources.
• a description of any specialist support you are accessing for your child. Examples include medical professionals, allied health therapists, and support workers. It is useful to include the purpose and frequency of sessions if they have begun.

A diagnosis is not needed for home education registration. If your child has received a diagnosis or has had assessments that are relevant to their education, you may wish to:

• include those reports when you send your HESP and application
• show these to your Registration Officer at the visit.

During the visit, your Registration Officer will discuss the information you have provided in your HESP. You might talk about:

• the progress your child has made or the challenges they have had with their learning
• NDIS plans
• referrals to therapists, recommendations from specialist reports, and outcomes of specialist appointments.

You might like to:

• discuss specific areas or skills you have been focusing on
• explain and/or show the use of resources/tools that you have been using to support your child’s needs.

The Registration Officer can view medical letters and reports (i.e., assessments, medical reports, specialist notes, etc.) at the visit. You do not have to supply supporting documentation unless your child’s learning needs influence their education program. The Registrar will ask that you supply supporting documents if needed.

Through the registration report, the Registration Officer:

• confirms or updates the information you have provided in your HESP, informing the Registrar about what was discussed and viewed at the visit
• writes about any new information, updated diagnoses, recent and/or upcoming appointments, resources, strategies, support services and/or any progress or changes relating to your child’s diverse learning needs that you have not already described in your HESP
• writes about suggestions or recommendations concerning the development of your program, that were discussed at the visit.

The Office of the Education Registrar understands that every family, child, and program is unique.

The Registration Officer decides the overall assessment for the standard based on:

• the information in your HESP, and
• the discussion shared and evidence shown at the registration visit.

To ensure consistency and fairness, Registration Officers use the following guide to decide on the overall assessment of the Standard. There are three possible outcomes: Meeting Standard, Not Meeting Standard, and Working Towards Standard.

Meeting Standard

• The home educator has identified that the child has diverse learning needs and shows an understanding of how these needs impact on the child’s education.
• The home education program supports the child’s learning through the program design and delivery, including the home educator accessing or seeking specialist support where relevant. 

Working Towards Standard

• The home educator has identified that the child has diverse learning needs but has not yet fully understood the impact of these needs or organised suitable support for the child.
• Specific methods, resources and/or specialist support may still be developing.

Not Meeting Standard

• It is clear through discussion and/or observation that the child has diverse learning needs that impact on their education, but the home educator has not acknowledged these needs and/or tried to seek support in the program.
• There may be a lack of interest or refusal by the home educator to seek advice.

It is important to note that:

• Registration Officers do not make judgements about your child’s physical or intellectual abilities or their learning needs. Registration Officers assess the capacity of your home education program to identify and cater for these learning needs.

• Receiving a Working Towards Standard or Not Meeting Standard does not mean that your registration will not be approved. In the case of Working Towards Standard or Not Meeting Standard, the Registration Officer will work with you to support the development of your program to meet the needs of your child. Your Registration Officer may suggest a follow up visit or support phone call to discuss your program further and to offer extra support.  In some circumstances, the Registrar may request a further registration visit by another Registration Officer.