These figures continue to concern us.

Children commencing home schooling during 2012:    1,163

Children finishing home schooling during 2012:            1,112

These figures have been quite consistent every year. Just over 1000 children begin home schooling each year while nearly that number finish. Many finish within a year of beginning and a huge number finish after just one year of home schooling. There are no statistics to show why these families give up home educating their children in the first couple of years of beginning.

Number of Students Commencing Homeschooling

Between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012, 1,163 students commenced homeschooling – an increase of 4.9% compared with the number starting during the previous year. Of those starting in the 12 months ending 30 June 2012, 41% were aged six years old and 84% were aged within the primary school age range (5-12 years old).

Figure 4: Number of Homeschoolers Commencing between July 2011 and July 2012 by Age

Number of Students Finishing Homeschooling

Between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012, 1,112 students finished homeschooling. Of these, 633 students (57%) finished in less than 5 years of starting, with 14% finishing in less than a year of starting. 15% had been homeschooled for 10 or more years (See Figure 5).

Figure 5: Duration of Homeschoolers Finishing between July 2011 and July 2012