Future Directions

The purpose of this Standard is to encourage you to assist your child to think about and plan for their future.                                                                                                                                

Examples include conversations and discussions, observations of your child’s strengths and providing suitable material to extend and enhance their interests.

Learning activities may include work experience, part-time employment, attending career expos, starting their own small business, receiving career counselling, undertaking units of study through TasTAFE, Open University or similar options, reading biographies of people working in fields of interest, or interviewing friends and relatives about their work.

There are opportunities to undertake School-based Apprenticeships or Apprenticeships/Traineeships in Grades 9-12 – please contact the OER or a Registration Officer to discuss this further. 

There is no requirement to follow the Australian Curriculum or any other curriculum.

Your HESP should include enough information for your Registration Officer to understand your program.

New applications

Your HESP should provide information under the Plan heading describing the opportunities your teenager will have to explore future pathways for study or work.

Renewing applications

Your HESP should provide a Summary of the opportunities you have provided for your teenager to explore future pathways for study or work since your last HESP and a Plan for the coming year.  

Examples of areas you may explore and opportunities that you can include in your HESP under this Standard include:

• discussions about your child’s future direction – what are their thoughts?  
• observation of your child’s areas of interest, or what sparks their imagination and thirst for learning
• thoughts about a pathway plan through to the end of Year 12 or Year 10 
• exploration of a part-time enrolment at school/college as part of the home education program – this could allow your child to investigate different areas of interest, whether it be Drama, Art, Music, Science, History, Physical Education, Languages, English or Maths
• involvement in family activities which can provide valuable opportunities for learning skills of cooperation, reliability, and teachability; working in a team; and completing less enjoyable tasks well
• the use of board games as an excellent way of teaching the skills of strategy, problem solving, collaboration with other players, coping with competition, and following the rules.
• an understanding of your child’s passions and interests with study and research opportunities relating to their interests. This could include outside mentors, tutors, classes, groups, tools, Eisteddfods, competitions, examinations, etc., or merely exploration that is facilitated and supported by you to allow your child to develop higher level skills in their interest area (online research, YouTube teaching, opportunities to practice their interest, e.g., photography)
• resume and application letter writing, interview skills, etc. (is your child intending to seek casual work or are they already working casually)
• entrepreneurial business skills (market stalls, online sales, etc.) or helping you with your own business ventures
• use of workbooks specifically aimed at developing work-ready literacy and numeracy skills
• higher level learning such as the teaching of skills like research, academic writing, public speaking
• other ‘adult’ skills/qualifications such as working towards a driver’s licence (or other licenses), or experience filling out official forms
• training with an organisation that will lead to employability skills (such as wildlife care, gymnastic coaching, music exams). Involvement with youth organisations that support their interests and provide experiences and opportunities for development. Many youth organisations teach leadership skills and other specific skills.
• volunteering activities and work experience in interest area
• other experiences such as working towards the Duke of Edinburgh award (ages 14-24) or child exchange opportunities.  

You may have your own business whereby your children can “learn the ropes” of having a business.   You may have friends who are willing to take your child under their wing in their business.  Part-time work can be a way of your child learning about being employed in any job and may help to clarify their direction.  

Often colleges have taster days to showcase their educational programs and, if you decide to send your child to college either fulltime or part-time, a course counsellor is available for discussion. 

Likewise, the University of Tasmania and TasTAFE run Open Days, involving exploration of campuses, hearing about courses, pathways, and scholarships, as well as hands-on activities, food, live music and more. 

The Registration Officer:

• may ask your child if they know what career or employment they would like to pursue, or they may ask if you and your child have identified strengths and interests which may lead to future directions
• will discuss the information provided in your HESP.
• may discuss the value of home education in the high school years because it provides time and opportunity for a child to explore their interests meaningfully and to experience the options available to them as deeply as the child wants, before committing to a set career pathway.

You may ask for suggestions to further explore or seek resources to support your child’s interest, such as Australian School-based Apprenticeships (ASbA), work placement (experience) forms, and part-time school enrolment options.  If it is relevant for your child, you can ask for information about university enrolment options.

Sometimes parents may comment that their child is too young to consider future directions, or that they do not wish to commit him/her to something that may change. Your Registration Officer can discuss the intention behind the Standard and help you to identify areas where the Standard is already being addressed within your program or recommend ways that you could meet this Standard in the future in keeping with your family’s philosophy.

NOTE: This information is intended as a guide only and you do not have to include everything noted here. Every home education program is unique. What Registration Officers look for in the HESP and at the visit can vary from one program to the next, depending on the Pedagogy for that program and the specific needs of the child. 

Through the registration report, the Registration Officer:

• confirms, updates and/or elaborates on the information you have provided in your HESP, informing the Registrar about what was discussed and sighted at the visit 
• writes about any new information, or any progress or changes to your program that are 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.

If there is not enough evidence available for the Registration Officer to view, you may be asked to supply more evidence after the visit. This is to help the Registration Officer decide on the overall assessment of the program.

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 can show that the provided resources and learning opportunities show that topics relating to Future Directions are an intrinsic and ongoing part of the whole program.
• The home educator has discussed Future Directions with their child, has a good idea of where they are heading and has found or knows where to find resources to help their child explore their future options. 
• The home educator shows an awareness of the child’s needs and suitable resources, and intentionally addresses topics relating to Future Directions as part of the program.
• There is enough evidence presented for the Registration Officer to recommend registration approval.

Working Towards Standard

One or more of the following:

• The home educator is unsure of how to help their child but has discussed interests or observed strengths which can direct career possibilities.  Parent and child are receptive to help and interested in finding information to help decision making. 
• The program is still developing, i.e., activities lack breadth, resources and/or style of delivery may not yet be settled upon or in place.
• Plans or resources are listed but there is no evidence of action. The child may not be engaging with the methods or the choice of topics, or the pedagogy is not right for the child.
• The home educator shows a lack of understanding about how to design, deliver and evaluate a suitable program but is receptive to suggestions from the Registration Officer.
• The child is not engaging with the program due to a wellbeing issue. Mental health issues, lack of ownership in program, inappropriate pedagogy or lack of goal setting may be contributing to lack of engagement by the child.
• Evidence presented is not sufficient for the Registration Officer to recommend registration approval.

Not Meeting Standard

• The home educator is not aware of Future Directions for their child and is not interested in pursuing help or information to help them.  The child is not engaged in learning how to find a career. 

It is important to note that:

• Registration Officers do not make judgements about your child’s abilities – they assess the capacity of your home education program to identify and cater for their learning needs.
• Registration Officers are not educational consultants. The responsibility for the design of the program lies with you as the home educator.
• Receiving a Working Towards Standard or Not Meeting Standard does not mean that your registration will not be approved. If this Standard is assessed as 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 in three to six months to discuss your program further and to offer more support.  In some circumstances, the Registrar may request a further visit by another Registration Officer.