MoE offices: Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton and Lower Hutt

As most of you know we have had the Red Tape Cluster Buster Meetings, Getting to know you meetings and now we have the Problem Scoping Survey due in today (if struggling by early Monday morning). The new staff in the National office of the MoE want to hear and are hearing the problems we have had and are still having in the local offices of the MoE. We need to be patient – it is going to take time to see changes in the local MoE offices. The findings from the Red Tape Cluster Buster Meetings and the Problem Scoping Survey will be put together by the end of November and home educators will be able to comment on them. So it is going to be next year before we see any major changes in the local MoE offices. In the meantime there are some new staff handling home education exemption applications in some local MoE offices. If we are concerned about some of their practices then we need to bring this to their attention.

Some MoE Local Offices:

Whangarei

The new Whangarei office has been making it part of the exemption application process to visit the family before issuing an exemption. This is part of the “children at risk” initiative that is happening in Northland (and a bit more here), they were tentatively doing these “extra checks,” as a way of ensuring that children will be safe and educationally provided for. Meredith from NCHENZ has rung both Jim Greening and the Whangarei office and as a result of those phone calls home educators do not need to have the visit in order to get an exemption. It is voluntary to have the meetings. So if you are scheduled to have a meeting you can ring or email the Whangarei office and tell them that you are uncomfortable with the meeting and cancel it. If you decide to go ahead with a visit then please think seriously about having a support person (or even 2) there. We have found this to be valuable in many cases in the past with both the MoE and the ERO.

Auckland

Sad news: Steve McGregor has retired after many years of working in the MoE office and having a wonderful relationship with home educators. Fay Norman is now processing the exemption applications in the local Auckland MoE office. Let’s hope Steve stayed on long enough to train Fay really well.

Hamilton

Good news: We are not hearing of people having difficulties with the local Hamilton MoE office at the moment.

Lower Hutt

There is a new manager in the Lower Hutt office, Andrea. Gail is still processing exemptions applications and asking for way too much information.

Don’t forget to get your Problem Scoping Surveys into the MoE today (at a stretch early Monday morning – the MoE wont be working over the weekend, we have until midnight to get the Problem Scoping Survey in, so early Monday morning will get the Surveys to the MoE before they start processing them).

Addresses for sending the Scoping Survey back:

email: Home.Schooling@minedu.govt.nz

snail mail: Lucy Ambrose, 45-47 Pipitea St, Wellington

phone: 04 463 8946 | Ext 48946

or look for the addresses in Jim Greening’ letter.

Links:

–Education Law in New Zealand – updated with extra links

–A Brief History of Home Education in New Zealand by Craig Smith.

–Home Education Foundation letter which covers exemption form, beneficiaries, International home educators and Keystone.

–Three letters to the National Office and Jim Greening’s replies

– MoE/ERO issues

– Changes in the MoE

– MoE discussions introduction to the Red Tape Cluster Buster meetings

– Preparation for the MoE discussions with Red Tape Cluster Buster meetings and relevant for the Problem Scoping Survey
– Discussions home educators had online at Clutter buster group or (for ease of reading as not everyone can get onto the Google docs) here…https://hef.org.nz/coming-events-archives-2012/red-tape-cluster-buster/ (Also a lot of very good information to aid you in filling out the Problem Scoping Survey)

– Record of Progress and Achievement (an example of the new National MoE office staff understanding home educators)

– Truancy and the Home Schooler/Home Educator (another success with the National Office in that Megan showed us alternatives)

– Scoping Meeting 15 July 2014 – Getting to know you

– 2nd Meeting 28 July 2014 – Red Tape Cluster Buster Meeting

– MoE scoping Home Educators – email

– Feedback Form (Problem Scoping Survey) on MoE website

– Email to the MoE about the Scoping Survey from a Home Educator

– Problem Scoping Survey: ideas and deadline

– MoE’s reply to Yumiko’s email about the Scoping Survey

– MoE Problem Scoping Survey: please make it known and fill it out

– The last of Craig Smith’s writings before he died 3 years ago

– MoE Problem Scoping Survey