Future Learners

This episode delivers good news for parents, whether you’re already homeschooling or still considering it: the research is on your side. Homeschooled kids tend to do as well as or better than their peers, both socially and academically. Dr Rebecca English has spent 15 years studying homeschooling, and she also homeschools her own children. She is one of Australia’s most respected researchers in home education. In this episode, Dr Rebecca and Ellen dive into key things that allow homeschooled children to succeed. This includes giving children a say in how they learn, the freedom to stay with a topic until it clicks, and the choice to lean into what genuinely interests them. Meet Dr Rebecca English, home education researcher Rebecca did not set out to research home education. Her first degree was in business, majoring in advertising, and she moved into teaching after deciding advertising was not for her. She taught in schools serving low socioeconomic communities, then completed a PhD on international students in Australian secondary schools. While pregnant with her first child, she discovered homeschooling was an option in Australia. She proposed it to her university as a research topic and began interviewing families in 2011. Her perspective matters to a parent weighing this up because she can speak from both sides. She has read the studies, and she has homeschooled her own children. In the full episode, she gets specific about the parts families worry about most. What the research actually shows about social and academic outcomes and the importance of agency for successful learning. Key points from this episode Why homeschooled students do as well as or better than their mainstream-schooled peers. Homeschooled students actually can go to university. Agency is a child’s ability to control their own learning experience. Why agency is important for intrinsic motivation. Running the day based on tasks not time. Parent engagement is one of the strongest predictors of educational success. Homeschooling allows a child to work towards mastery. Teachers are leaving mainstream school for the same reasons students are. What the research says about homeschooled children’s academic outcomes This is the part most parents want and rarely get straight. Rebecca’s answer is that the research shows homeschooled young people are advantaged both socially and academically. The size of that advantage varies. At one end of the range, the effect is mild, and schooling and homeschooling make little measurable difference. At the other end, homeschooled students are clearly ahead of their mainstream schooled peers. The evidence comes from meta-analyses, which pool the findings of every available study on a topic. Across the key learning areas, homeschooled students tend to do as well as or better than their peers in school. Maths sometimes trails English and the social sciences, but in the main these young people are outperforming their mainstream schooled peers. Our guide to whether homeschooling is as high quality as traditional school covers this topic in more detail. Homeschooled students can still go to university Rebecca names university entry as the second misconception, and her answer is direct. Homeschooled students can go to university, and there are many ways in. The example she gives is vocational. At the university where she works, a Certificate IV in any subject is enough to be accepted into teaching, which means the pathway does not depend on an ATAR. Our guide to how homeschooling affects university admissions sets out the Australian pathways in detail. Why homeschooled students tend to do better Two things in the conversation explain the pattern, and neither is about the curriculum. The first is parent engagement. Engagement with a parent is one of the best predictors of educational success we have, and no cohort is more engaged than a parent sitting down one-to-one with their own child. Rebecca’s example is a child stuck on squared numbers. A parent can trace it back to shaky times tables, fix that, and then explain that the small two does not mean multiply by two. Then they can keep going, because no bell is going to end the lesson. The second is mastery. In a timetabled day, a subject stops after 70 minutes regardless of where a child is up to. “We work towards mastery in homeschooling. We don’t work towards mastery in school. After 70 minutes, maths stops mattering.”– Dr. Rebecca English At home there is no rule about how long anything takes. If geography is going well, there is no reason to stop at Australia’s capitals; you could move on to other countries. On the other hand, if a particular topic is not working, you can leave it and come back to it later. More on this in our guide to learning at your own pace. Does homeschooling affect social skills? What the research says Socialisation is the other half of what Rebecca describes as advantaged, and it is the misconception she hears most often. Some of it comes down to how safe a child feels asking a question. As Rebecca puts it, admitting you do not know your eight times tables at home is not shameful, because there is nobody to be embarrassed in front of. Ellen’s experience matches, and she is direct that there is no environment as nurturing as home. Families often arrive worried that a child is a year behind in a subject, which is a strange idea in homeschooling, because a child is simply where they are. Once that child is free to say they do not understand something, they frequently go scooting ahead. What Ellen values most is the change in children’s beliefs about themselves. A child who has decided they are hopeless at maths has usually just missed some steps. That belief is no longer set by who else is in the room. As Ellen puts it, these children are no longer limited by who is in their class or by what a teacher thinks they are capable of. More on this in our guide to homeschool socialisation. What learning agency means, and why it drives motivation Agency is an academic word for something most parents already understand. Rebecca defines it as your ability to control your world and your surroundings, which in education means your learning experience. Her view is that this has been steadily withdrawn. Over the past two decades, curriculum and teaching methods have both been overly centralised and standardised. “When we’re talking about agency in an academic sense, what we mean is your ability to control your world and your surroundings. And in terms of education, it’s your learning experiences.”– Dr. Rebecca English The reason it matters is motivation. Intrinsic motivation is what gets a child to start something difficult that they do not particularly feel like doing, and Rebecca’s believes that control and choice feed it directly. Tasks, not time: how to give a homeschooled child some say over their day The practical version is simple enough to try this week. Rather than running the day by the clock, you agree what needs to be done and let the child have some say in the order and the pace. Her recommendation is to set out the work for the day and leave how they arrange their time up to them. Ellen recognises the pattern from her own parenting. The moment you tell a child they have to do something, it becomes the last thing they want to do. Give them the same list with room to move, and it tends to get done. Choice can also sit inside the learning itself. Rebecca gives the example of a child who must cover algebra but can do so through something they care about, whether that is cooking, bikes, or anything else. At Euka, this shows up in how a lesson is built. Alongside the content, there is usually a hands-on activity, a digital activity and a downloadable sheet, so a child has some say in how they learn something and how they show what they know. The same applies at the weekly level. Families can follow a week plan that moves across subjects, or a subject plan that lets a child stay with science for three weeks if that is where their interest is. Why working to tasks prepares children for real workplaces Schools run on time. Most workplaces now run on tasks. Rebecca’s example is that if you finish your work early while working from home, nobody minds if you put a load of laundry on. The work is done, and that is what is being measured. Her conclusion is that in many ways homeschooling prepares a child better for the world we live in. It reframes one of the most common objections families hear: what happens when the child gets to the real world. A child who has spent years managing their own workload against deadlines has been practising the exact skill most jobs require. Our guide to how homeschooling prepares children for the real world goes through the other skills that carry across. How to give choice to a child coming out of school Ellen raises the obvious complication. A child arriving from school may have had very little say in anything, and handing them a blank day is not a plan. Rebecca’s answer is that it is gradual, and she compares it to teaching a child to ride a bike. You hold on, you hold on, and eventually you let go. She names three things that help in the meantime. Allow time to adjust to a workflow that is not organised around a bell, target learning towards things the child is genuinely interested in, and set some limits on screen time. In her own house, free time does not start until half past three, and only if the day’s tasks are finished. A child can do them first thing in the morning or half an hour before the deadline, and either is fine. Some children need a deadline to get moving. Others prefer to start immediately and clear it. The point is that they learn which one they are. When an anxious child needs to settle before starting schoolwork For many families, the first stretch is not about workload at all. Rebecca notes that school refusal is strongly correlated with anxiety and neurodivergence, so many children arrive carrying a good deal of stress. A significantly anxious child is not going to move straight into formal lessons that look like school. What they need first is space and time to heal after a very stressful experience. She is direct that it does not have to look like school. Older, more integrated models have a lot to offer, where a child interested in bikes can reach maths, science, English and history through that one subject. She is equally clear that this is not something to manage alone. Government data shows that neurodivergence is more common among homeschooled children than in the school population, so working with psychologists and therapists matters. Our guides to special needs homeschooling and homeschooling with ADHD go further into the practical side, and our episode on school refusal covers what sits underneath it. If that is where your family is right now, our parent’s guide to school refusal in Australia walks through the options, and bullying and homeschooling covers the case where that is the trigger. Why teachers are leaving the profession, and how it connects to school refusal The conversation then turns to a group nobody applies this lens to. Rebecca points out that teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and her reading is that many are unhappy for the same reasons the children are. As she puts it, we do not talk about teachers as school refusing, or as “school can’t”, but in many ways they are. They are just as anxious as the young people in their care. She traces it back to agency. Teachers have lost the capacity to shape learning around the children actually in front of them, which is the one thing home educators can still do. That takes her somewhere unexpected. If a government genuinely wanted fewer families choosing home education, she argues the answer is not aimed at families at all: re-engage teachers with their classes and give them room to manage learning the way home educators do. She is careful not to lay this at the feet of schools or teachers. The settings have narrowed for everyone inside them, and her view is that teachers would do this differently if they could. Ellen notes the ground is already shifting. In Queensland, education authorities now meet with homeschooling families regularly and ask how they can support them, and families there describe the relief of no longer feeling like the educational police are on their back. We have covered the student side of this in far more detail elsewhere. School refusal: unlocking the potential of homeschooling for anxious learners looks at what changes when an anxious child comes home, and our earlier episode asking whether you should force a child to go to school sits alongside it. What a good education means, according to a home education researcher Ellen closes by asking Rebecca for her own definition. Her answer is to meet a child in the moment, and to understand that those are just moments and that those moments will change. It is about showing a young person how to love learning. She does not believe there is a child who cannot learn something, and she has a story that explains why. While teaching a certificate class, she was writing her master’s thesis, and one student, the one flagged on the roll as the hardest to teach, asked what she was working on. She explained the theory she was using: that your life experiences prepare you to succeed in some settings and not others, so some children arrive at school with what that setting rewards and some do not. The student immediately connected it to his own life and moved into a genuinely thoughtful account of his own path through school. This was a child who could barely write his own name, engaging with philosophical thought. “There is no young person who can’t learn. We just need to communicate with them in the right way. And that’s what education is, it’s communication.”– Dr Rebecca English Questions answered in this episode Is homeschooling better than school? + The research Rebecca cites points that way on average. Homeschooled students do as well or better than their mainstream schooled peers, socially and academically. She is careful about the size of that advantage, which ranges from negligible to large depending on the study. The two things she credits are parent engagement and the freedom to work towards mastery. Do homeschooled students perform better? + Meta-analyses show homeschooled students performing as well as or better than their mainstream schooled peers across the learning areas. The size of the advantage varies between studies. Does homeschooling affect social skills? + Rebecca names socialisation as one of the two biggest misconceptions about home education. Her reading of the research is that these young people are advantaged socially as well as academically. Can homeschoolers go to university in Australia? + Yes, and Rebecca is clear there are many pathways in. She gives the example of a Certificate IV in any subject being enough to be accepted into teaching at the university where she works. Why do homeschooled children tend to do better? + Two reasons come up in the episode. Parent engagement is one of the best predictors of educational success, and homeschooling allows a child to work towards mastery rather than stopping when a bell rings. What does “agency” mean in education? + It is a child’s ability to control their own learning: the order in which they work, how they use their time, and, where possible, how they approach a topic. Rebecca ties this directly to intrinsic motivation. How much choice should I give my child? + Enough that they are managing something, and not so much that the day has no shape. The usual starting point is to assign what has to be done and let the child decide when and in what order. My child has never had a say in how they learn. Where do I start? + Slowly. Allow time to adjust to a day that is not run by a bell, focus the learning on things they are actually interested in, and set some limits on screens while the habit forms. What if my child finishes their work in two hours? + That is normal, because the day is no longer padded with bells, recess, lunch, library and handing out sheets. The measure is whether the work is done, not how long it took. Our guide to how many hours a day you should spend homeschooling gives typical ranges by grade. Does this work for an anxious or neurodivergent child? + It can, but Rebecca is clear that the first stretch should focus on settling rather than academics, and that families should work alongside psychologists or therapists where needed. Why this episode matters For a parent lying awake, wondering whether they are doing the right thing, this episode offers something specific to hold on to. The research on social and academic outcomes points one way, and the reasons behind it are not mysterious. A child who has some say in how they learn, works alongside an engaged parent, and isn’t cut short by a bell tends to do well. It also gives families an answer to the two questions asked most often, about socialisation and about university. Start the free homeschooling course If this episode has you thinking about what your own week could look like, our Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling covers registering legally in your state, choosing and structuring a curriculum, building a daily rhythm, supporting a child who learns differently, and knowing your child is progressing. It is nine short video modules, about two and a half hours, hosted by Brett and Ellen. Free and self-paced. Start the free homeschooling course Related episodes. Do I need to be a teacher to homeschool? and Preparing your children for the real world. Related reading. Our guide to the signs a child is struggling at school. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "alternateName": "Euka", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder & Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#rebecca-english", "name": "Dr Rebecca English", "description": "Home education researcher who has studied homeschooling families since 2011 and homeschools her own children." }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#primaryimage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Ep-52-_-The-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9-1.png", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Ep-52-_-The-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9-1.png", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://euka.edu.au/podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#video", "name": "The Social and Academic Advantages of Homeschooling | 052", "description": "Ellen Brown talks with Dr Rebecca English, a home education researcher who has studied homeschooling families since 2011, about what the research actually shows on social and academic outcomes, parent engagement, mastery, and giving a child agency over their own learning.", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Ep-52-_-The-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9-1.png", "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aIE4s2NLLmc/maxresdefault.jpg" ], "uploadDate": "2026-09-01", "duration": "PT34M26S", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIE4s2NLLmc", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/aIE4s2NLLmc", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#audio", "name": "The Social and Academic Advantages of Homeschooling | 052", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "duration": "PT34M26S", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/", "sameAs": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIE4s2NLLmc", "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/id1717947259?i=1000787085345", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/55yc6xfePil8B0NpFEn1jM" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/", "name": "The Social and Academic Advantages of Homeschooling | 052", "episodeNumber": 52, "datePublished": "2026-09-01", "dateModified": "2026-09-01", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series" }, "associatedMedia": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#audio" }, "video": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#video" }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#rebecca-english" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "image": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#primaryimage" }, "description": "Ellen Brown talks with Dr Rebecca English, a home education researcher who has studied homeschooling families since 2011, about what the research actually shows. Rebecca explains why homeschooled students tend to do as well as or better than their mainstream-schooled peers, why that is not really about curriculum, and how giving a child agency over their own learning drives motivation.", "abstract": "Dr Rebecca English, a home education researcher who has studied homeschooling families since 2011 and homeschools her own children, tells Ellen Brown that the research shows homeschooled students are advantaged both socially and academically compared with their mainstream-schooled peers, though the size of that advantage varies by study. She credits two factors: parent engagement, one of the strongest predictors of educational success, and the freedom to work towards mastery rather than stopping a subject when a timetabled lesson ends. Rebecca explains agency, a child's ability to control their own learning experience, as the key driver of intrinsic motivation, and describes how families can hand a child more say by setting tasks rather than fixed times. She also notes that school refusal is strongly correlated with anxiety and neurodivergence, and that teachers are leaving the profession for many of the same reasons students are struggling in mainstream classrooms.", "timeRequired": "PT34M26S", "keywords": "advantages of homeschooling, is homeschooling better, do homeschooled students perform better, homeschool socialisation, can homeschoolers go to university, homeschooling research, Rebecca English, Future Learners Podcast", "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling academic outcomes" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Learning agency and motivation" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Agency", "description": "Rebecca's term for a child's ability to control their own learning experience, including the order and pace of tasks, which she ties directly to intrinsic motivation." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Tasks not time", "description": "Rebecca's practical framework for giving a child agency: setting out what needs to be done for the day and letting the child decide the order and pace, rather than running the day by the clock." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Working towards mastery", "description": "Rebecca's observation that homeschooling lets a family keep going on a subject until it is understood, unlike a timetabled school day where a subject stops after a fixed period regardless of progress." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Teachers as school refusers", "description": "Rebecca's argument that teachers are leaving the profession for similar reasons to why students struggle in mainstream school, having lost agency over how they teach the children in front of them." } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#webpage" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#webpage" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is homeschooling better than school?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The research Rebecca cites points that way on average. Homeschooled students do as well as or better than their mainstream schooled peers, both socially and academically. She is careful about the size of that advantage, which ranges from negligible to large depending on the study, and credits two things: parent engagement and the freedom to work towards mastery." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do homeschooled students perform better?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Meta-analyses show homeschooled students performing as well as or better than their mainstream schooled peers across the learning areas. The size of the advantage varies between studies." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does homeschooling affect social skills?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Rebecca names socialisation as one of the two biggest misconceptions about home education. Her reading of the research is that homeschooled young people are advantaged socially as well as academically." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can homeschoolers go to university in Australia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, and Rebecca is clear there are many pathways in. She gives the example of a Certificate IV in any subject being enough to be accepted into teaching at the university where she works." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why do homeschooled children tend to do better?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Two reasons come up in the episode. Parent engagement is one of the best predictors of educational success, and homeschooling allows a child to work towards mastery rather than stopping when a bell rings." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does \"agency\" mean in education?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It is a child's ability to control their own learning: the order in which they work, how they use their time, and, where possible, how they approach a topic. Rebecca ties this directly to intrinsic motivation." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How much choice should I give my child?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Enough that they are managing something, and not so much that the day has no shape. The usual starting point is to assign what has to be done and let the child decide when and in what order." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "My child has never had a say in how they learn. Where do I start?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Slowly. Allow time to adjust to a day that is not run by a bell, focus the learning on things they are actually interested in, and set some limits on screens while the habit forms." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if my child finishes their work in two hours?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "That is normal, because the day is no longer padded with bells, recess, lunch, library, and handing out sheets. The measure is whether the work is done, not how long it took." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does this work for an anxious or neurodivergent child?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It can, but Rebecca is clear that the first stretch should focus on settling rather than academics, and that families should work alongside psychologists or therapists where needed." } } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "The Social and Academic Advantages of Homeschooling | 052", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#webpage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/", "name": "The Social and Academic Advantages of Homeschooling | 052", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#primaryimage" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-01", "dateModified": "2026-09-01", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#breadcrumb" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-social-and-academic-advantages-of-homeschooling-052/#episode" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling academic outcomes" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Learning agency and motivation" } ] } ] } The post The Social and Academic Advantages of Homeschooling | 052 appeared first on Euka.

If you are considering homeschooling, have just started and are feeling overwhelmed, or have been at it a while and hit something unexpected, this episode is about finding support and navigating the questions and challenges that may arise. Most families come to Euka for the thing that sits at the centre of homeschooling: the curriculum. As Australia’s largest online K-12 homeschooling provider, we cover the full range of grades, and our team is where families bring their questions about lessons, progression, reporting and getting registered. Alongside that sits a different kind of help. The Home Education Association is an independent, volunteer-run member body offering advocacy with state authorities, local community connections, member resources and work experience insurance. Many Euka families are also HEA members. This episode covers both. How to choose between a structured program and building your own, and what to do if your school resists letting your child go. It also covers how children rebuild their confidence socially, which is often what brings experienced families looking for answers. Ellen Brown talks it through with Tina Smith, who homeschooled six of her own children and now helps other families through the same problems as Treasurer of the Home Education Association. Her sixth child is now at university. Meet Tina Smith Tina is Treasurer of the Home Education Association, a volunteer-run member organisation that supports homeschooling families across Australia. She is answering from both sides. She has been the parent working it out across six children, and through HEA she has helped other families through the same problems: getting a family registered, working through the options with a parent who had been told homeschooling was her only remaining choice, and helping a family rebuild their child’s social confidence after they left school. In the full episode, she gets specific about the practical parts. Which office to contact when a school will not release your child, what a structured program is genuinely good for, and the work experience insurance most families do not know is available. Key Points Key discussion points: Tina recommends Euka to families who want structure. Asked what she tells a family looking for a structured program, her answer is direct: go to Euka. Schools vary. Some actively recommend homeschooling. Others resist releasing a child at all. If a school resists, you have another avenue. State education departments and their home education units have become more open to helping families register. A structured program does a specific job. It is often what families use while a child settles; it is also helpful if you’re considering putting your child back into mainstream school down the line. Bullying is often a symptom. Underneath it, there is frequently a diagnosis or an unmet need the school setting could not accommodate. Social confidence can be rebuilt. Interest-based groups place a child among people who have chosen to be there, across a range of ages. Work experience insurance starts earlier than most families expect. Insurance is usually a key obstacle, and HEA covers members from age 12. Where families can find homeschooling support The questions Tina hears open in much the same way. Where do I find information? How do I start? I am overwhelmed because there is so much out there. And underneath them, the one that carries the most weight: I am a parent, and I have no idea what I am doing. Her approach with a new family is to hand over two or three things to look at rather than sending them off to survey everything. That matters because there are no guarantees. Every child is different, every family dynamic is different, and what works well for one child may not suit yours. Ellen’s own start was much the same, with everyone she met certain their way was the right one. What she took from it is that there are many great ways to do this, and that in the end, you are the only one who will know the right fit for your child. Tina names the comparison trap directly. “You look at a family and go, oh, I wish I could do that. But that’s not your family. So you have to work out your own rhythm, and the resources that work for you.”— Tina Smith, Treasurer, Home Education Association Finding a homeschooling community Tina points new families towards other homeschoolers, as connecting with other families is how you start to see the breadth of what is out there, and what works and what does not. Local support groups are the usual route in, and the Home Education Association runs homeschool community groups by area. Our guide to forming a community with other homeschoolers covers how families do it in practice. What if the school pushes back when you withdraw your child? Tina has seen it go both ways. She describes one family in which the school and the education department worked through the alternatives, found none viable, and told the parent directly that homeschooling was the right path. She also sees the opposite happen. Some schools do not accept homeschooling as a legitimate option, and some see releasing a child as a matter of authority rather than a family’s decision. In her experience, it can get quite heated. Who to contact when the school says no The school is not your only avenue. State education departments and the home education units within them have become more open to helping families who are being obstructed, and they can intervene. As Tina puts it, it comes down to knowing who to talk to. HEA publishes state-by-state registration information, and its advocacy work is currently focused on making registration a smoother experience with each state authority. Ellen adds the reframe worth holding onto. Choosing homeschooling is in the same category as choosing a public school, a private school, or distance education. It is a choice you are entitled to make as a parent. If the difference between those pathways is still unclear, our episode on homeschooling versus distance education sets them side by side, and our guide to whether homeschooling is legal in Australia covers the registration requirement. Structured program, or build your own? Some families arrive certain they could never write their own program, and a structured one removes that worry. If that sounds familiar, our episode with a teacher trainer on what actually makes a good teacher is worth a listen, since the answer has very little to do with formal qualifications. Tina also sees families use a structured program for another reason: to help steady a child. Time to reassess, re-ground them, and settle their emotional state. In her experience, those families often return to school afterwards, which is a legitimate outcome rather than a failure. Asked what she tells a family in that position, her answer is direct. “If you want to use a program that is structured, go to Euka.”— Tina Smith, Treasurer, Home Education Association The example she gives is a family who arrived from another country, were not confident with an English curriculum, and needed something structured while they moved between states for work. She recommended them to Euka. They kept using it as they changed states, and when they eventually moved back overseas, they did so knowing their children’s education had been properly covered. That continuity is the point. A complete K-12 curriculum means a family can move house, change states, or travel without the program restarting, and Ellen notes that families use it either way: some take the full program, others take a subject or two as their foundation and build the rest themselves. Cover the base, then add your own Tina built her own program at first. By the time her children reached the middle years, she was less confident, so she bought a program that covered the foundation skills and added her own material on top. This option worked well for her family, as they layered in what her children were actually interested in, which, for her family, was the part that mattered most. She is clear that this depends entirely on the child. Her children were academically inclined, and she knows families with very creative children for whom that same core-work approach did not work. A prescribed curriculum is useful. Being able to flex it is better, because it opens up everything else: nature, museums, libraries, the internet, and the history and geography a family picks up while travelling. Ellen adds that the curriculum is the base, not everything. Why more families are homeschooling for bullying and neurodivergence Ellen asks about bullying, noting a significant increase in students coming in because of it. Tina confirms she is seeing the same and then adds more context. Bullying happens for many reasons. As Tina puts it, it could be racism, health, disability, or just because you exist. Our guide to the signs your child may be struggling at school covers what this can look like before it becomes obvious. She describes bullying as a big proportion of the calls. Still, she says an even bigger one now comes from families whose children are managing a diagnosis such as autism or ADHD. Our tips for homeschooling with ADHD go further into the practical side of this. What those parents describe is the social side of school becoming overwhelming, in ways the setting could not accommodate. Ellen draws out the consequences of how this gets reported. Bullying and school refusal are the labels the media reaches for, but they are frequently the visible end of something else. A child managing anxiety or autism inside a system that cannot flex will often find that school becomes very difficult. Read that way, school refusal describes a setting that is not a good fit for that child, at that time. Withdrawal, in Tina’s account, buys back what was missing: time to stop, regroup, and learn to manage emotions and triggers in a safe place. Two episodes cover this from the family’s side. Episode 43 follows a mother who left school-based bullying behind, and Episode 45 specifically addresses school refusal. Episode 23 is one mother’s account of homeschooling with dyslexia, ASD and ADHD. How homeschooled children build social confidence The worry that stops families here is that leaving school means leaving socialising behind. The episode answers it with a worked example. Tina describes a family whose child was not fitting in socially at school. They withdrew, then rebuilt from what the child actually liked: art and board games. The child joined a board games group and an art class, and the parent enrolled in the art class alongside them. That produced an environment the classroom rarely does. The child was learning alongside adults, so they practised interacting with older people. In the board games group, they were among children of different ages, so they learned to build relationships with peers of different ages. The parent went along too, joining the art classes, which meant the child was building these skills somewhere they already felt safe. Tina’s point is that these skills travel. A child who has learned to interact with people of different ages carries that into a workplace or a course, along with the ability to recognise a trigger and step away from it. Ellen adds the observation that reframes the whole concern. “When you’re in school, your friends are only your friends because they happen to be the same age. That’s why you’re in that group.”— Ellen Brown Adult life does not work that way. You find people through shared interest, and you choose them. For a child who has been struggling, being good at something in front of people who care about it can be a platform they have not had before. Ellen also names something she saw as a teacher. In a classroom, the child who disrupts an activity is often the one with no interest in it, and the cost falls on the interested child. More on this in our guides to homeschool socialisation and special needs homeschooling. Other support available to homeschooling families There is more homeschooling support out there than most families realise, including free resources. It helps to know who handles what. Euka covers the curriculum and everything attached to it, with lots of free resources available for families: choosing a program, the lessons themselves, tracking progression, reporting, enrolment and your account. Our Help Centre answers the day-to-day questions, and the support team is there for anything it does not. If registration paperwork is the sticking point, our Registration Service prepares the learning plan and documents your state requires, ready for you to submit. HEA is a great complementary resource: independent advocacy with state authorities, local community connections, member resources and work experience insurance. Tina notes that HEA has been working alongside Euka and other organisations to make registration a smoother experience with the state bodies. The Home Education Association runs a free national helpline on 1300 72 99 91, weekdays 9 am to 5 pm. Callers speak with experienced homeschoolers, and the call covers registration, re-registration, and issues with the state department you are registered with. That is worth knowing about whether or not you ever join anything. Membership adds a set of teaching and learning resources on top of that, including software and reading materials for younger children. The current list is on HEA’s member benefits page. Some of their resources will add additional value for Euka families. Ellen picks out one example on air: Story Box Library, HEA’s reading resource for younger children, works well with Euka’s bring-your-own-novel option, where a family swaps the term’s set novel for a different book while keeping the same skills work. One item is worth calling out because so few families know it exists. Work experience placements usually stall on insurance, since an unpaid student is not covered by an employer’s policy. Some state education departments offer their own coverage, though Tina notes that in certain states it only starts at age 14. HEA covers members from age 12, across all states, with an agreement signed by the parent and the supervising employer. Details are on their insurance page. Ellen’s point is that this opens up something school-rationed. She had one week of work experience in Grade 10. A homeschooled student who wants to try several different workplaces during their senior years can, and our episode on when to do work experience covers how to time it well. Questions answered in this episode How do I start homeschooling in Australia? + You register with the education authority in your state or territory, then choose how your child will learn: a structured program, your own plan, or a mix. Requirements differ by state, so check yours first. Our guide to homeschooling in Australia covers registration, and our episode on registration and reporting goes through it in detail. Where can I get homeschooling help and advice in Australia? + Start with whoever provides your curriculum, since most day-to-day questions are really program questions. Euka families have the support team, the Help Centre and our free homeschooling course, which walks through registering, structuring a program and building a daily rhythm. For the things that sit outside a curriculum, the Home Education Association runs a free national helpline on 1300 72 99 91, staffed by experienced homeschoolers, covering advocacy, re-registration and disputes with the state department you are registered with. How do I find a homeschool community or support group near me? + Local homeschool community groups and support groups are the usual starting point, and they are worth joining early. Tina’s point is that meeting other homeschooling families shows the range of what actually works, rather than assuming the first approach you saw is the only one. Can a school refuse to let me withdraw my child for homeschooling? + Some resist. If that happens, the school is not your only avenue: contact your state education department or its home education unit, both of which have become more willing to step in. HEA can tell you which office to approach. Should I use a structured program or build my own? + Both work, and the choice depends on your child. A structured program suits families who want the core covered without having to write it themselves, and Tina’s approach was to buy a program for the foundation skills and add her children’s interests on top. Will my child miss out socially if we leave school? + Not necessarily. School groups children by age, whereas interest-based activities group them by their choices across a range of ages. The catch is that it does not happen on its own, so you will need to put one or two regular activities in place. Does homeschooling work for a child with ADHD or autism? + It is one of the biggest reasons families are now calling HEA. The value is the ability to adjust the pace and social load in ways a classroom cannot, and to spend the first stretch on regulation rather than academics. My child is being bullied. Is homeschooling the answer? + It removes the immediate problem, which is sometimes exactly what a child needs. Tina’s caution is to look at what sat underneath the bullying as well, because an unmet need travels with the child if it goes unaddressed. Can homeschooled students do work experience? + Yes, and often earlier than in school. Insurance is the usual obstacle since employers do not cover unpaid students, and HEA covers its members from age 12 across all states with a signed work experience agreement. Why this episode matters This episode is for the practical questions that arrive when you’re considering or starting out homeschooling: what to do when a school will not let your child go, whether to use a structured program or build your own, and how a child who struggled socially at school starts to rebuild. The answers are specific. Which office to contact when the school digs in, what a structured program is genuinely good for, and why a board games group did more for one child’s confidence than the classroom did. It maps out how to find support and build confidence in your homeschooling decisions. More support for getting started If you want to go further on the questions this episode raises, these are the places to start. The free course. Our Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling covers registering legally in your state, choosing and structuring a curriculum, building a daily rhythm, supporting a child who learns differently, and knowing your child is progressing. It is a set of nine short video modules, hosted by Brett and Ellen, free and self-paced. Start the free course. If you enrol with Euka. Our Registration Service prepares the learning plan and registration documents your state requires, ready for you to download and submit. It is an optional add-on for enrolled families, not a general registration service. Reach HEA directly. The free helpline is 1300 72 99 91, weekdays 9 am to 5 pm. Membership plans are on the pricing page, and a set of free resources is available to everyone. Related reading. Our guides to exploring your homeschooling options in Australia and when bullying makes homeschooling the right move. Related episodes. The Ultimate Getting Started Guide, and what you need to know about registration and reporting. figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element { background-color:#fffdf5; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td{ padding:2em 2em; border:none; border-left:.2em #e8a838 solid; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td em{ display: block; margin-bottom: -1.1em; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td strong{ font-size:.8em; } h3{ font-size:16px !important; font-weight:900; } { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "alternateName": "Euka", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder & Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#tina-smith", "name": "Tina Smith", "description": "Treasurer of the Home Education Association who homeschooled six of her own children and now helps other families with registration, program choices, and rebuilding social confidence." }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#primaryimage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ep-51-_-finding-support-on-your-homeschooling-journey-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9.png", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ep-51-_-finding-support-on-your-homeschooling-journey-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9.png", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://euka.edu.au/podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#video", "name": "You're Not Alone: Finding Support on Your Homeschooling Journey | 051", "description": "Ellen Brown talks with Tina Smith, Treasurer of the Home Education Association and a mother of six homeschooled children, about finding support on the homeschooling journey, choosing between a structured program and building your own, and how children rebuild social confidence after leaving mainstream school.", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ep-51-_-finding-support-on-your-homeschooling-journey-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9.png", "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ncSsN_5vxGg/maxresdefault.jpg" ], "uploadDate": "2026-08-20", "duration": "PT34M22S", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncSsN_5vxGg", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/ncSsN_5vxGg", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#audio", "name": "You're Not Alone: Finding Support on Your Homeschooling Journey | 051", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "duration": "PT34M22S", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/", "sameAs": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncSsN_5vxGg", "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/youre-not-alone-finding-support-on-your-homeschooling/id1717947259?i=1000784711468", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VJSFQDKPwVv2tUd83OqAS" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/", "name": "You're Not Alone: Finding Support on Your Homeschooling Journey | 051", "episodeNumber": 51, "datePublished": "2026-08-20", "dateModified": "2026-08-20", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series" }, "associatedMedia": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#audio" }, "video": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#video" }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#tina-smith" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "image": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#primaryimage" }, "description": "Ellen Brown talks with Tina Smith, Treasurer of the Home Education Association and a mother of six homeschooled children, about finding support on the homeschooling journey. Tina covers choosing between a structured program and building your own, what to do if a school resists releasing your child, and how children rebuild social confidence after leaving mainstream school.", "abstract": "Tina Smith, Treasurer of the Home Education Association, who homeschooled six of her own children, tells Ellen Brown how families find support once they start homeschooling. She covers choosing between a structured program such as Euka and building your own, what to do when a school resists releasing a child, why bullying is often a symptom of an unmet need such as autism or ADHD rather than the root cause, how children rebuild social confidence through interest-based groups across mixed ages, and practical supports many families do not know about, including a free national helpline and work experience insurance for homeschoolers from age 12.", "timeRequired": "PT34M22S", "keywords": "homeschooling support, homeschool community, homeschool support groups, homeschool registration, homeschooling and bullying, school refusal, work experience homeschool, Future Learners Podcast", "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling support and community" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling and neurodivergence" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Structured program vs building your own", "description": "Tina's view that a structured program such as Euka suits families who want the core curriculum covered, while building your own works well once a parent is confident, and many families do both by using a structured base and adding their child's own interests on top." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "The comparison trap", "description": "Tina's warning against comparing your family to another homeschooling family, since every child and family dynamic is different and there is no single right way to homeschool." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Rebuilding social confidence through interest groups", "description": "Tina's example of a child who had struggled socially at school rebuilding confidence through a board games group and an art class, learning to interact with both adults and children of different ages." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Work experience insurance from age 12", "description": "The Home Education Association covers members for work experience insurance from age 12 across all states, addressing an obstacle most families do not know has a solution." } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#webpage" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#webpage" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I start homeschooling in Australia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "You register with the education authority in your state or territory, then choose how your child will learn: a structured program, your own plan, or a mix. Requirements differ by state, so check yours first." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Where can I get homeschooling help and advice in Australia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Start with whoever provides your curriculum, since most day-to-day questions are really program questions. Euka families have the support team, the Help Centre, and a free homeschooling course covering registration, structuring a program, and building a daily rhythm. For questions outside the curriculum, the Home Education Association runs a free national helpline staffed by experienced homeschoolers, covering advocacy, re-registration, and disputes with the state department a family is registered with." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I find a homeschool community or support group near me?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Local homeschool community groups and support groups are the usual starting point, and they are worth joining early. Tina's point is that meeting other homeschooling families shows the range of what actually works, rather than assuming the first approach you saw is the only one." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can a school refuse to let me withdraw my child for homeschooling?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Some resist. If that happens, the school is not your only avenue: contact your state education department or its home education unit, both of which have become more willing to step in. The Home Education Association can advise which office to approach." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Should I use a structured program or build my own?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Both work, and the choice depends on your child. A structured program suits families who want the core covered without having to write it themselves, and Tina's own approach was to buy a program for the foundation skills and add her children's interests on top." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Will my child miss out socially if we leave school?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Not necessarily. School groups children by age, whereas interest-based activities group them by their choices across a range of ages. The catch is that it does not happen on its own, so a family needs to put one or two regular activities in place." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does homeschooling work for a child with ADHD or autism?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It is one of the biggest reasons families are now calling the Home Education Association. The value is the ability to adjust the pace and social load in ways a classroom cannot, and to spend the first stretch on regulation rather than academics." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "My child is being bullied. Is homeschooling the answer?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It removes the immediate problem, which is sometimes exactly what a child needs. Tina's caution is to look at what sat underneath the bullying as well, because an unmet need travels with the child if it goes unaddressed." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can homeschooled students do work experience?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, and often earlier than in school. Insurance is the usual obstacle since employers do not cover unpaid students, and the Home Education Association covers its members from age 12 across all states with a signed work experience agreement." } } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "You're Not Alone: Finding Support on Your Homeschooling Journey | 051", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#webpage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/", "name": "You're Not Alone: Finding Support on Your Homeschooling Journey | 051", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#primaryimage" }, "datePublished": "2026-08-20", "dateModified": "2026-08-20", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#breadcrumb" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-support-for-families-51/#episode" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling support and community" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling and neurodivergence" } ] } ] } The post You’re Not Alone: Finding Support on Your Homeschooling Journey | 051 appeared first on Euka.

Do you need to be a qualified teacher to homeschool your child? No, and the clearest explanation of why comes from someone who trains new teachers. It is one of the questions we are frequently asked, and for a lot of families it is the one that stops them before they start. Ellen Brown puts it to Danielle McGregor, who covers what makes a good teacher, why parents consistently underrate what they already bring, and what to do on the days you have no idea what you are doing. Meet Danielle McGregor Danielle is Head of Educator Development. Her job is training teachers and giving them the skills and confidence to succeed. Her current work is with volunteer teachers who teach English to adult migrants and refugees. Consider what that asks of someone: teach a language to adults you have just met, who may share almost no words with you, with no relationship to draw on. If untrained volunteers can manage that, a parent teaching their own child is starting several steps ahead. You already have the relationship, the history, and years rather than a single term. She is not a schoolteacher and not a homeschooling parent, which is what makes her worth listening to here. She has no classroom to defend and nothing to sell you about home education, only years of watching untrained adults turn into good teachers. In the full episode she gets specific about what decides whether learning sticks: why watching an expert teaches your child almost nothing, the point most families stop at when they should keep going, and how far you are allowed to change the material in front of you. Key Discussion Points Formal training isn’t what makes a great teacher. Danielle has watched many great teachers arrive without it. You already bring more than you think. Your own experience of learning, your knowledge of your child, and the relationship you already have all come with you. Nobody knows your child the way you do. A specialist arriving from outside has to guess, and usually reaches for something generic. A child who feels safe learns more. Lower stress and freedom to make mistakes are what let a child stay in the hard part of learning. Skills outlast content. How to learn, think and adapt are transferable to everything. This is much more valuable than the content itself. Watching is not learning. Knowledge is unlikely to stick without practice and application. Adapting the material is expected, not cheating. Change the activity, keep the skill. Children engage more if they feel what they are learning is relevant to their life. Why a Teaching Qualification Isn’t What Makes a Good Teacher Ellen puts the hardest version of this to Danielle. A parent starts homeschooling, they did not finish Grade 11 and 12 themselves, and now they are responsible for a senior student. Danielle does not soften her answer. One thing I’ve observed is that formal training in education doesn’t necessarily produce a good teacher, and great teachers come without formal education.— Danielle McGregor Her point is not that training is worthless. It is that the qualification is not what makes the difference, and she says it as someone who develops teachers professionally. What she tells her volunteers is that they already carry most of what the job asks for: their experience, their knowledge, their personality. If you have ever learned anything yourself, a language, a trade, an instrument, a recipe, you already know what learning feels like from the inside, including the part where it is hard. In Episode 48, Euka parent David Smith describes the same belief from the other side, as the trap of assuming a trained teacher must be better at teaching your child than you are. What Do Parents Have That a Qualified Teacher Doesn’t? Danielle names three things, and a parent already holds all of them. You Know Your Child Better Than Any Specialist Nobody knows your children the way that you do. Nobody learns in the same way. And so someone coming in from the outside and offering them a cookie-cutter method is not going to work for everybody. But for your child, you know what will work.— Danielle McGregor You Have Time, and Permission to Get It Wrong A classroom teacher has a term and thirty children. You have years and one child, which means you do not have to get this right on day one. Danielle’s advice is to muddle through, work it out, and protect the relationship while you do, because the relationship itself feeds the learning. Why a Child Who Feels Safe Learns More When Ellen raises how much difference it makes for a child to feel loved and accepted, Danielle points out this is not sentiment. People learn best where stress is lower, where they feel accepted, and where they are free to make mistakes. That matters because real learning is uncomfortable. A great deal of it happens in the struggle, and a child will only stay in the struggle if they are certain the adult beside them is on their side. Why Teaching a Skill Matters More Than Covering Content This is the most practically useful stretch of the conversation, and it turns on a distinction Danielle uses constantly: covering content is not the same as teaching a skill. What we actually keep from a lifetime of learning, she argues, is not the content but the skill of learning itself. How to think, how to analyse, how to decide, how to notice what genuinely interests us. Those skills transfer. The content mostly does not. That is good news for a parent, because it moves the job away from knowing every answer. The Trumpet Lesson: Why Watching Isn’t Learning Imagine paying for a trumpet lesson where the teacher plays beautifully for the full hour while your child watches. Danielle would not pay that teacher to teach her child. The child has learned nothing, and often feels worse, because they cannot do what they just watched someone do effortlessly. Teaching well requires breaking down a task and guiding through the skills, with opportunity to practice and fail. The Cake Test: Four Depths of Learning Her second example lays out four depths of learning. Being told how to bake a cake teaches you a little. Watching someone bake it teaches you more. Baking it yourself, with an adult standing back as support rather than taking over, teaches you more again. Then comes the step most people skip: taking the recipe and changing it, turning the chocolate cake into the caramel one you actually wanted. The last step is what proves understanding. Following a recipe proves you can follow a recipe. Changing it proves you know how it works. The same trajectory applies whether the subject is baking or soccer. How This Maps to Learn, Practice and Apply Ellen connects this to how the Euka program is built, where each lesson moves through a Learn section, then moves into a practice section where they do something hands-on with the information. Then they go through and apply their learning. The temptation, especially for new homeschooling parents, can be to finish the Learn part and mark the lesson done. Danielle’s advice: you do need to impart information, but without the practice and the application it is very unlikely to stick. Episode 24 goes further into how learning actually sticks. Can You Change the Euka Program to Suit Your Child? Yes, and Danielle believes you should. Asked about teaching styles, she corrects the premise first. The old research saying we each have one fixed learning style has been largely debunked. Most of us like variety. What she offers instead is more useful. Know your own preferences well enough not to assume they are your child’s, and engage as many senses as you can. Then watch for the moment your child comes alive, and pay attention to what caused it. She also suggests an approach that works well beyond schoolwork. When something your child does irritates or surprises you, notice the reaction, then get curious about it rather than acting on it. This extends to the material itself, including Euka’s own. Nothing should be written to be used exactly as it is, she says, because no two learners are the same. Ellen makes it concrete. If a measurement activity asks your child to pour water between jugs and your child would rather bake, bake. The skill being applied has not changed. For parents who find that daunting, Danielle’s advice comes from her work with overwhelmed volunteers: break the task into its steps, slow down, and connect it to something in your child’s actual life. Episode 23 shows this working, where one mother lifted her dyslexic son’s reading level by rebuilding the material around his love of dogs. Why This Episode Matters If you have been putting off homeschooling because you are not a teacher, this episode removes that specific obstacle, and it does so from a highly credible source. Danielle’s work is evidence that untrained adults can teach well when they are given the right tools and support. It is worth being clear about the limits of that. Danielle is not promising it takes no effort, or that you will never feel out of your depth. Her view is: the qualification does not stand between you and doing this well. You are your child’s greatest advocate. And your love for them, your commitment to them, and your creativity, and all that you model to them, is a gift that you can give them.— Danielle McGregor More Support for Getting Started If you want to go further on the questions this episode raises, these are the places to start. The free course. Our Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling covers registering legally in your state, choosing and structuring a curriculum, building a daily rhythm, supporting a child who learns differently, and knowing your child is progressing. Nine short video modules, hosted by Brett and Ellen, free and self-paced. Start the free course. Related reading. Our guide to the benefits of homeschooling your child covers how families use the flexibility day to day. Related episodes. Episode 49, The Real Benefits of Homeschooling, where a Euka graduate answers the same question from a student’s point of view, and Episode 47, Preparing Your Children for the Real World. Answered Questions Real questions Australian parents ask about qualifications, confidence, and what homeschooling really requires. Do I need to be a qualified teacher to homeschool my child? + No. Many of the people Danielle trains arrive without the qualification and become good teachers anyway. The credential is not the variable that decides whether this works. Am I smart enough to homeschool my child? + Intelligence was never the requirement. It asks you to know your child, to learn beside them, and to stay patient while they find something hard. A qualification measures none of those. What if I didn’t finish school myself? + Have you ever taught yourself something, or stuck with something difficult until it clicked? That is the experience you draw on. Danielle’s point is that your schooling is not the qualification here, your memory of learning is. What if I don’t know the answer to something? + Say so, and look it up together. Ellen describes a long-time Euka parent who found this one of his most powerful teaching tools, because learning alongside your child models curiosity and shows them it is safe not to know. How do I know if my child is actually learning, or just getting through the work? + Look at what your child can do afterwards, not what they sat through. If they can use the skill somewhere new, it has landed. If the lesson ended at the explanation, expect it to fade. Do I have to follow the program exactly as written? + No. Danielle’s position is that material which cannot be adapted is not worth much. Keep the skill the activity is practising, and change everything around it to suit your child. What if I get it wrong? + Treat it as part of the teaching. Acknowledge it in front of your children and work out together why it did not go to plan, which models something more useful than getting it right first time. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "alternateName": "Euka", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder & Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#danielle-mcgregor", "name": "Danielle McGregor", "description": "Head of Educator Development who trains volunteer teachers of English for adult migrants and refugees. Not a schoolteacher or homeschooling parent herself." }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#primaryimage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ep-50-_-Can-I-homeschool-if-Im-not-a-teacher_-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9.png", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ep-50-_-Can-I-homeschool-if-Im-not-a-teacher_-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9.png", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://euka.edu.au/podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#video", "name": "Do I Need to Be a Teacher to Homeschool? | 050", "description": "Ellen Brown asks Danielle McGregor, who trains volunteer teachers of English for adult migrants and refugees, whether homeschooling parents need to be qualified teachers. Danielle explains why the answer is no, and what parents already bring that formal training does not teach.", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ep-50-_-Can-I-homeschool-if-Im-not-a-teacher_-_-Thumbnail-_-16_9.png", "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ciBdR2w0OiQ/maxresdefault.jpg" ], "uploadDate": "2026-08-12", "duration": "PT24M50S", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciBdR2w0OiQ", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/ciBdR2w0OiQ", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#audio", "name": "Do I Need to Be a Teacher to Homeschool? | 050", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "duration": "PT24M50S", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/", "sameAs": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciBdR2w0OiQ", "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/id1717947259?i=1000783049502", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/27ruDZfZs4xzK6KP1ZvkQw" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/", "name": "Do I Need to Be a Teacher to Homeschool? | 050", "episodeNumber": 50, "datePublished": "2026-08-12", "dateModified": "2026-08-12", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series" }, "associatedMedia": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#audio" }, "video": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#video" }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#danielle-mcgregor" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "image": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#primaryimage" }, "description": "Ellen Brown asks Danielle McGregor, Head of Educator Development at a Sydney migrant education provider, whether you need to be a qualified teacher to homeschool your child. Danielle's answer is no, and she explains what parents already bring that a classroom teacher does not: the relationship, the time, and years rather than a single term.", "abstract": "Danielle McGregor, who trains volunteer teachers of English for adult migrants and refugees, tells Ellen Brown that a formal teaching qualification is not what makes a good teacher and is not required to homeschool. She argues parents already hold what matters most: knowledge of their child, an existing relationship, and time rather than a single school term. Danielle distinguishes covering content from teaching a transferable skill, using a trumpet lesson and a cake recipe as examples, and says homeschooling parents should freely adapt any lesson material to fit their own child rather than follow it exactly as written.", "timeRequired": "PT24M50S", "keywords": "do you need to be a teacher to homeschool, homeschool without a teaching degree, am I ready to homeschool my child, homeschool confidence, teaching your own child, learning styles homeschooling, how kids learn, Future Learners Podcast", "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Teaching without a formal qualification" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "How children learn" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Skills over content", "description": "Danielle's core distinction that what people actually retain from a lifetime of learning is not the content itself but transferable skills such as thinking, analysing, and deciding, which is why parents do not need to know every answer." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "The trumpet lesson", "description": "Danielle's example that watching an expert perform a skill teaches a child almost nothing. Real learning needs the task broken down with guided practice and room to fail." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "The cake test", "description": "Danielle's four depths of learning, being told, watching, doing it yourself, and changing the recipe, where changing it is what proves real understanding." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Adapting Euka material", "description": "Danielle and Ellen's shared view that no lesson activity should be used exactly as written. Keep the underlying skill and change the activity to fit what the child actually enjoys." } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#webpage" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#webpage" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do I need to be a qualified teacher to homeschool my child?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Many of the people Danielle trains arrive without the qualification and become good teachers anyway. The credential is not the variable that decides whether this works." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Am I smart enough to homeschool my child?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Intelligence was never the requirement. It asks you to know your child, to learn beside them, and to stay patient while they find something hard. A qualification measures none of those." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if I didn't finish school myself?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Have you ever taught yourself something, or stuck with something difficult until it clicked? That is the experience you draw on. Danielle's point is that your schooling is not the qualification here, your memory of learning is." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if I don't know the answer to something?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Say so, and look it up together. Ellen describes a long-time Euka parent who found this one of his most powerful teaching tools, because learning alongside your child models curiosity and shows them it is safe not to know." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I know if my child is actually learning, or just getting through the work?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Look at what your child can do afterwards, not what they sat through. If they can use the skill somewhere new, it has landed. If the lesson ended at the explanation, expect it to fade." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do I have to follow the program exactly as written?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Danielle's position is that material which cannot be adapted is not worth much. Keep the skill the activity is practising, and change everything around it to suit your child." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if I get it wrong?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Treat it as part of the teaching. Acknowledge it in front of your children and work out together why it did not go to plan, which models something more useful than getting it right the first time." } } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Do I Need to Be a Teacher to Homeschool? | 050", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#webpage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/", "name": "Do I Need to Be a Teacher to Homeschool? | 050", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#primaryimage" }, "datePublished": "2026-08-12", "dateModified": "2026-08-12", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#breadcrumb" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/do-i-need-to-be-a-teacher-to-homeschool-050/#episode" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Teaching without a formal qualification" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "How children learn" } ] } ] } The post Do I need to be a teacher to homeschool? | 050 appeared first on Euka.

What are the real benefits of homeschooling, from someone who actually lived it? Not the marketing version. The honest one, from a graduate looking back. In this episode of Future Learners, Ellen Brown sits down with Jessica Garner, who was homeschooled with Euka from Grade 7 through to Grade 12, then went straight from graduating into a career at Euka, helping other families work through the exact decision her own parents once made. Jessica is one of the rare guests on this show who can answer the questions parents quietly worry about, because she has been the child on the other side of them. She is warm and clear about what made her homeschooling years so good, candid about the one thing she found hard, and revealing about why almost every family she has spoken with arrives with one reason and stays for a completely different one. If you are weighing up home education and you want a real answer from someone who has genuinely been through it, this is the conversation to listen to. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Discussion Points The benefit she rates highest: following your passions. Jessica used homeschooling&#8217;s flexibility to get years ahead in biology, which set her on the path to studying nutrition. Socialisation came easily. Far from the isolated stereotype, Jessica&#8217;s week was packed with groups, sport, and community. Mixing with all ages, adults, older kids, and younger kids, taught her to communicate far more broadly than a single-age classroom would have. A childhood not ruled by someone else&#8217;s schedule. Jessica describes an enriching childhood with the freedom to travel, work, and follow her interests. Homeschooling made Jessica and her siblings the reliable hires who could work during school hours. How Jessica&#8217;s friends moved into TAFE, university, and careers, often earlier than their mainstream-schooled peers. The real reason families stay. From thousands of enrolment conversations, Jessica saw families arrive for one reason and stay for a completely different one. From student to staff. Jessica went from graduating Euka&#8217;s senior program to helping thousands of new families through their own questions. The Benefit She Rates Above Everything Else When Ellen asks Jessica for the real upside of homeschooling, the thing you would tell a friend rather than read on a website, her answer is not about convenience or flexibility for its own sake. It is about depth. My favourite thing about homeschooling is being able to prioritise things from a young age. For example, I loved biology, so I got years ahead in that, because that&#8217;s all I really wanted to do. And now I&#8217;m studying nutrition.— Jessica Garner This is the part of the homeschooling benefit that rarely gets named. In a mainstream classroom, the bell rings after forty minutes and the class moves on whether or not a child has found what they love. Homeschooling let Jessica follow a genuine interest as far as it would take her, and that interest became a career direction before she had even finished school. It is also worth noting what this says about how homeschooling actually works day to day. This was not passive box-ticking. As Jessica got older, she describes taking the reins of her own learning. As you get to year seven and get older, you start to get that independence and realise what you actually want to focus on. So as soon as we started to become our own people, we were able to just focus on the subjects we really loved.— Jessica Garner If you want the fuller picture of what families gain, our guide to the benefits of homeschooling your child walks through them in detail. Socialisation: Busier and More Social Than School Kids The single biggest worry parents raise about home education is socialisation, and Jessica has been answering it her whole life. Her answer flips the stereotype on its head, because people are genuinely surprised when they learn she was homeschooled. I&#8217;ve had actual people surprised when I tell them I was homeschooled, because they go, oh, you&#8217;re not, you seem to be able to have a conversation relatively well.— Jessica Garner Far from being isolated, Jessica&#8217;s problem was almost the opposite: her week was so full she jokes there were more social events than days in it. And it came easily, because her mum made it part of everyday life. We had a million social events because my mum was a social butterfly, so she just filled our week.— Jessica Garner That week was ice skating every fortnight, basketball, a homeschool group that ran a different sport every term, and Monday and Wednesday groups doing drama and debate. Jessica and her sister even played basketball on a team through a mainstream school, made real friends there, and stayed with the team for years. The only awkward part, she laughs, was walking through the school in their own clothes rather than a uniform. The deeper benefit she describes is who homeschooled children learn to talk to. Because homeschool groups mix everyone together, she was comfortable with adults, older kids, and younger kids from a young age, and she credits that for how well it prepared her for life after school. We were actually able to learn to socialise with all age groups from a very young age, which prepared us so much better for the real world. You don&#8217;t just sit with your age group the whole day listening to a teacher, instead you&#8217;re actually supposed to be able to communicate with lots of different people.— Jessica Garner Jessica is honest that this depends on a family staying open to the world, and the one time she has seen homeschooling go wrong is when families cut themselves off and stop socialising. But in her experience, a connected, social homeschooling life is not just possible, it is the norm. If you want to see both sides before you decide, our piece on the disadvantages of homeschooling is an honest read. Working From Fourteen, and Why Homeschoolers Get Hired One benefit that surprises people is how well homeschooling sets a young person up for work. Jessica and her siblings all found jobs early. As soon as we turned fourteen, we were looking for work, and I got a job at Subway. My boss would keep asking me if I had any homeschool friends that wanted to work there too, because we were hard workers, and we could work during school hours, unlike school kids.— Jessica Garner The flexibility that lets a child go deep on biology is the same flexibility that lets a fourteen-year-old take a shift on a weekday morning. It is a small example of a bigger pattern: homeschooled young people are used to managing their own time. Life After Homeschooling For many parents, the real fear underneath everything is the future. Will my child fall behind? Will they be able to get into university? Jessica&#8217;s answer is grounded in what she watched her friends do. I had tons of friends who finished school quite early, then they immediately started a TAFE course, and then they got into university the next year, starting university earlier because they could work at their own pace.— Jessica Garner She makes an argument that many parents do not expect: that homeschooling is actually good preparation for university, precisely because of the independence it builds. Homeschooling is actually a better preparation for university when it comes to the independent side of it. You&#8217;re kind of meant to show up as an adult, you go to your classes, no one&#8217;s going to remind you if you&#8217;re not showing up.— Jessica Garner If the after-school pathway is your worry, our resource on how homeschooling affects university admissions lays out the options clearly. From Homeschooled Student to Helping Thousands of Families The full-circle part of Jessica&#8217;s story is what makes this episode rare. After Subway and a bit of work experience in Euka&#8217;s Sydney office, she joined the support team and spent her days helping families work through their questions. I feel like I&#8217;ve been defending homeschooling my whole life. So that passion, coupled with the desire to work hard, went really well.— Jessica Garner That vantage point gave Jessica something no single family story can: pattern recognition across thousands of conversations. And the pattern she describes is one every hesitant parent should hear. Most families arrive with one reason, often that their child was being bullied, but that is almost never why they stay. That was never the reason they stayed homeschooling. Their family got to spend more time with their kids, they got to learn the way they learnt best. It only took a couple of terms to get up to speed, and they were finally learning in the way that works for them.— Jessica Garner Why This Episode Matters If you are a parent researching home education, you have probably read plenty of provider websites and still felt unsure. This episode is the thing that is hard to find: an honest, first-hand account from a graduate, followed by the perspective of someone who has since heard your exact worries thousands of times over. Jessica&#8217;s message to a nervous parent is the heart of it. No one is going to care about your child succeeding more than you. You don&#8217;t need to worry about having a teaching degree. Your child is going to succeed best with somebody like you backing them up every step of the way. So don&#8217;t stress about it.— Jessica Garner And that is exactly why we built our free course. You do not have to piece all of this together alone. Ready to feel confident about homeschooling? Our free, self-paced course, A Parent&#8217;s Guide to Confident Homeschooling, covers everything we wish someone had told us in week one, from the practical side of registration and reporting through to understanding your child&#8217;s learning needs and planning their pathway. Nine short video modules, hosted by Ellen and Brett, completely free. Start the free course today. Answered Questions Real questions Australian parents ask about the genuine benefits and challenges of homeschooling. Is homeschooling isolating? What does a homeschooled child&#8217;s social life actually look like? + The opposite, in Jessica&#8217;s experience. Her week was so full she jokes there were more social events than days in it: ice skating, basketball, drama, debate, and homeschool groups. Because her mum kept them out and about, socialising came easily, and mixing with all ages meant she learned to talk comfortably with adults, older kids, and younger kids from a very young age. Is homeschooling active learning, or just working through a book? + For Jessica it was active and self-directed. As she got older, she chose her own focus and drove her own learning, getting years ahead in the subjects she loved. &#8220;As soon as we started to become our own people, we were able to just focus on the subjects we really loved.&#8221;— Jessica Garner What is the honest downside of homeschooling? + Jessica&#8217;s candid answer is that the risk sits with the family&#8217;s effort and openness, not the model itself. Families who cut themselves off from the world and stop socialising are, in her view, not homeschooling well. You can read a fuller, balanced take in our resource on the disadvantages of homeschooling. Can homeschooled students still get into university? + Yes. Jessica had friends who finished school early, moved into TAFE, and got into university the next year, often starting earlier because they could work at their own pace. She argues homeschooling is actually good preparation for university, because students are already used to managing their own time. See how homeschooling affects university admissions for the pathways. What do families really worry about before choosing to homeschool? + From thousands of conversations, Jessica found most families arrive with one reason, often bullying, but stay for completely different ones: more time together, and their child finally learning in a way that works for them. &#8220;It was never the reason they stayed. They stayed for all those other reasons.&#8221;— Jessica Garner I&#8217;m a parent feeling anxious about homeschooling. Where do I start? + Jessica&#8217;s message is reassurance grounded in both sides of the experience: you do not need a teaching degree, and no one will care about your child&#8217;s success more than you. A good first step is our free course, A Parent&#8217;s Guide to Confident Homeschooling, which walks you through it module by module. Your Family, Your Journey Jessica&#8217;s story demonstrates that the real benefits of homeschooling are less about avoiding the downsides of mainstream school and more about what becomes possible when a child has the freedom to follow their interests deeply, learn at their own pace, and build connections across the whole community rather than just within a single-age classroom. If you are weighing up home education and want to understand what it actually looks like day to day, our free course walks you through everything: how to register, how to choose a curriculum, how to build a rhythm that suits your family, and how to know your child is progressing. Start the Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling today. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "alternateName": "Euka", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder & Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#jessica-garner", "name": "Jessica Garner", "description": "Euka graduate who was homeschooled from Grade 7 to Grade 12, later worked on the Euka support team, and is now studying nutrition." }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#primaryimage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/V3-New-Episode-49-1920x1080-1.png", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/V3-New-Episode-49-1920x1080-1.png", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://euka.edu.au/podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#video", "name": "The Real Benefits of Homeschooling: A Euka Graduate’s Honest Answer | 049", "description": "Ellen Brown interviews Euka graduate Jessica Garner about the real benefits of homeschooling, from prioritising the subjects she loved to a busy social life, working from fourteen, and why families often start homeschooling for one reason and stay for a completely different one.", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/V3-New-Episode-49-1920x1080-1.png", "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mgR5KR1teaI/maxresdefault.jpg" ], "uploadDate": "2026-08-04", "duration": "PT25M29S", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgR5KR1teaI", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/mgR5KR1teaI", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#audio", "name": "The Real Benefits of Homeschooling: A Euka Graduate’s Honest Answer | 049", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "duration": "PT25M29S", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/", "sameAs": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgR5KR1teaI", "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-real-benefits-of-homeschooling-a-euka/id1717947259?i=1000779624619", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mqhZafIqNJ5d5HI2BJFk5" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/", "name": "The Real Benefits of Homeschooling: A Euka Graduate’s Honest Answer | 049", "episodeNumber": 49, "datePublished": "2026-08-04", "dateModified": "2026-08-04", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series" }, "associatedMedia": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#audio" }, "video": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#video" }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#jessica-garner" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "image": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#primaryimage" }, "description": "Jessica Garner was homeschooled with Euka from Grade 7 to Grade 12 and later joined the Euka support team. She gives an honest, first-hand account of the real benefits of homeschooling, from prioritising subjects she loved to a busy social life, working from fourteen, and why families who start homeschooling for one reason almost always stay for a different one.", "abstract": "Ellen Brown talks to Jessica Garner, who was homeschooled with Euka from Grade 7 to Grade 12 and later worked on Euka's support team, about what homeschooling was honestly like from the inside. Jessica covers prioritising subjects she loved from a young age, a socially busy homeschooling week, working from fourteen, university pathways through TAFE, and the pattern she saw again and again with families: they start homeschooling for one reason, often bullying, and stay for a completely different one, usually more family time and learning that fits their child.", "timeRequired": "PT25M29S", "keywords": "benefits of homeschooling, homeschool graduate story, homeschooling socialisation, is homeschooling isolating, homeschooling and university, Euka graduate, homeschool student experience, Future Learners Podcast", "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling socialisation" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling and university pathways" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Prioritising subjects early", "description": "Homeschooling let Jessica try a broad range of subjects through primary school, then focus deeply on biology once she was older, letting a genuine interest become a career direction into nutrition." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Mixed-age socialisation", "description": "Homeschool groups mix children with adults, older kids, and younger kids at once, which Jessica credits for teaching her to communicate comfortably across every age group rather than just her own." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Working from fourteen", "description": "Homeschooling's flexible timetable let Jessica and her siblings take on paid work as soon as they turned fourteen, including weekday shifts that mainstream-schooled peers could not take." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "One reason to start, a different reason to stay", "description": "From thousands of enrolment conversations on Euka's support team, Jessica found families most often start homeschooling because of bullying, but stay because of more family time and learning that fits their child." } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#webpage" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#webpage" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is homeschooling isolating? What does a homeschooled child's social life actually look like?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The opposite, in Jessica's experience. Her week was so full she joked there were more social events than days in it, including ice skating, basketball, drama, debate, and homeschool groups. Because her mum kept the family out and about, socialising came easily, and mixing with all ages meant she learned to talk comfortably with adults, older kids, and younger kids from a very young age." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is homeschooling active learning, or just working through a book?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "For Jessica it was active and self-directed. Once she had tried a broad range of subjects in primary school, she chose her own focus as she got older and drove her own learning, getting years ahead in the subjects she loved, including biology." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the honest downside of homeschooling?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Jessica's candid answer is that the risk sits with a family's effort and openness, not the model itself. In her view, families who cut themselves off from the world and stop socialising are not homeschooling well. Euka's resource on the disadvantages of homeschooling covers the fuller, balanced picture." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can homeschooled students still get into university?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Jessica had friends who finished school early, moved into TAFE, and got into university the following year, often starting earlier because they could work at their own pace. She argues homeschooling is good preparation for university, because students are already used to managing their own time without someone reminding them to show up." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What do families really worry about before choosing to homeschool?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From thousands of enrolment conversations on Euka's support team, Jessica found most families arrive with one reason, often bullying, but stay for completely different ones: more time together as a family, and their child finally learning in the way that works for them." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "I'm a parent feeling anxious about homeschooling. Where do I start?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Jessica's message is reassurance grounded in both sides of the experience: parents do not need a teaching degree, and no one will care about a child's success more than their own parent. A good first step is Euka's free course, A Parent's Guide to Confident Homeschooling, which walks families through it module by module." } } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "The Real Benefits of Homeschooling: A Euka Graduate’s Honest Answer | 049", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#webpage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/", "name": "The Real Benefits of Homeschooling: A Euka Graduate’s Honest Answer | 049", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#primaryimage" }, "datePublished": "2026-08-04", "dateModified": "2026-08-04", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#breadcrumb" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/benefits-of-homeschooling-euka-graduate-story-49/#episode" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling socialisation" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling and university pathways" } ] } ] } The post The Real Benefits of Homeschooling: A Euka Graduate&#8217;s Honest Answer | 049 appeared first on Euka.

Is homeschooling worth it? It&#8217;s the question almost every parent on the fence keeps asking, and in this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Ellen Brown puts it to someone with eight years of answers. David Smith, a long-time Euka parent, talks through what it was really like to homeschool three children. David&#8217;s family didn&#8217;t come to homeschooling looking for something better on paper. They came looking for a way out of a school where his eldest son, who is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD, was being bullied and wasn&#8217;t thriving. David covers the whole journey: deciding to leave, telling the school, the first six to twelve months, keeping learning fluid rather than recreating school at home, discovering hidden strengths in subjects like maths, using AI as a patient tutor, and watching an eldest son who once &#8220;wasn&#8217;t working at all&#8221; move confidently into the workforce. He also shares the small, practical things that worked for his family. A whiteboard maths race with his middle son. Letting the kids build their own timetable. Staying involved even after a long day at work. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points David&#8217;s homeschooling journey, in brief: Why they started: persistent bullying and an eldest son on the autism spectrum with ADHD who wasn&#8217;t fitting in, with a year-three teacher warning he wouldn&#8217;t thrive at high school. Telling the school: the family quietly ran homeschooling in parallel at first, and found the school more supportive than they&#8217;d feared. The first six to twelve months: hidden strengths surfaced fast, including an undiscovered passion for maths, once the pressure of the classroom was gone. Keeping it fluid: letting the kids choose subjects and build their own timetable so homeschooling never felt like &#8220;school again.&#8221; AI and the internet as tools: using ChatGPT to break maths down step by step, and giving kids the freedom to research anything. From homeschool to the workforce: an eldest son who &#8220;nailed it&#8221; from day one in a customer-facing job, and a middle son mapping a pathway towards becoming a GP. Advice for parents on the fence: you know your kids better than anyone, so don&#8217;t leave the decision too long. Practical ideas from David&#8217;s family: Use a whiteboard &#8220;who can solve it first&#8221; race to make maths feel like a game rather than a chore. Let a child keep going in a subject they love rather than holding them to one week at a time. Use &#8220;misdirection&#8221; when a subject stalls. Switch to PE, the park, or arts and crafts, then come back to it. Learn alongside your child when a subject scared you at school, instead of pretending to know it all. Where the homeschooling journey started Like a lot of families, David&#8217;s homeschooling journey didn&#8217;t begin with a plan. It began with a problem the school couldn&#8217;t solve. His eldest son, a &#8220;beautiful, beautiful kid&#8221; who is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD, was being bullied, wasn&#8217;t fitting in, and David was being called into the office a lot. (If that&#8217;s your family&#8217;s starting point too, our guide to homeschooling on the spectrum and special needs homeschooling walks through what it can look like.) David describes a trap many parents fall into: assuming that because someone trained to be a teacher, they must be able to teach your child better than you can. When he searched online, most options overwhelmed him with &#8220;oodles and oodles of material&#8221; that wouldn&#8217;t work around his job and his wife&#8217;s day at home. Then the family found Complete Education Australia, which evolved into Euka, with the work laid out in manageable weekly chunks. Once his son started working through it, David could see a change straight away. He was focussed and giving far more of himself than before. &#8220;The outcome was phenomenal&#8230; we could see that he was focussed, that he was actually giving a lot more of himself to his work.&#8221;— David Smith, Euka parent They applied for homeschool, and, as David puts it, &#8220;the rest, literally eight years later, here we are now.&#8221; Telling the school One of the most common worries for parents leaving mainstream school is how the school will react. David&#8217;s family were concerned enough that they ran homeschooling in parallel at first, without telling the school, worried that fighting the system would only invite roadblocks. In the end, the school was more supportive than they expected. David believes that, deep down, the teachers had his son&#8217;s best interests at heart and could see this was something they couldn&#8217;t control. The moment that made the decision for him was a teacher warning that his son, leaving year three, wouldn&#8217;t thrive at high school. It was the kind of comment that makes alarm bells ring and sends a parent into overdrive, asking what they can do to make sure their kids get a good education, and a safe one. Ellen is careful to add that a supportive response isn&#8217;t a given for every family. But she reframes the underlying issue warmly: schools often do care, yet the system simply isn&#8217;t built for the individual child, with one teacher and 28 children in a classroom. Where a family can share their concerns and get a supportive response, she says, it&#8217;s a wonderful thing. Making homeschooling fluid, not another school The turning point in David&#8217;s story is a mindset shift. Homeschooling only worked once the family stopped trying to recreate school at home. The kids didn&#8217;t want to do maths every Monday, David explains, because if they knew maths was coming every Monday, it suddenly became almost like school again. So they let the children choose their subjects and build their own timetable. Ellen connects this to a deliberate design choice in the Euka program. The lessons are grouped into weeks rather than pinned to named days. There are five maths lessons and five English lessons a week, with no days attached, precisely so families can flow with what suits their child. David is honest that the first couple of weeks are an adjustment for everyone, and it&#8217;s easy to hit the panic button. His advice is to persevere, and to use what his wife calls &#8220;misdirection.&#8221; If maths isn&#8217;t working, go outside, do PE, or get the arts and crafts out, and come back to it later. Nothing, he says, is set in stone. When maths stops being scary Maths is the subject that scares parents most, and it&#8217;s where David&#8217;s story offers the most hope. At school, his eldest was &#8220;average, borderline on everything,&#8221; and sometimes below. At home, within weeks, a completely different picture emerged. &#8220;We found out he had a passion for maths that had gone undiscovered.&#8221;— David Smith Two things made the difference. The first was time and patience, without the classroom rushing on to the next thing. The second was technology. Where a school lesson moves on whether or not a child understood it, AI will wait. David describes sitting down with ChatGPT and asking it to &#8220;hold you by the hand,&#8221; breaking things down very easily with no rush, especially where maths is concerned. Ellen builds on this for parents who fear maths themselves. Missing one &#8220;little nugget&#8221; in maths snowballs, she explains, because maths needs its building blocks, which is why so many adults wrongly decide they&#8217;re &#8220;hopeless&#8221; at it. Her encouragement is to model curiosity instead of certainty. Even saying to your child, &#8220;I actually don&#8217;t know that either, let&#8217;s have a look together,&#8221; is a fantastic lesson in itself. David&#8217;s own family lived this out. His wife, who&#8217;d also been left behind in maths at school, learned alongside the kids. And for his middle son, the tool that worked best was low-tech: two whiteboards and a race to see who could solve the question first, because kids love the bragging rights. (For more hands-on ideas along these lines, see our 8 tips for homeschooling with ADHD.) Fostering a love of learning Beyond any single subject, what David values most is that homeschooling fostered a love of learning &#8220;everything and anything.&#8221; His middle son now gets on his laptop after school finishes and researches whatever he&#8217;s curious about, something David says would have been far harder to nurture in mainstream school. That freedom produced one of the episode&#8217;s most charming stories. David&#8217;s middle son came up with his own theory of time travel off his own back, ran it past AI, and the AI gave the playful theory a name of its own: the Van Gogh paradox. It&#8217;s a fun anecdote rather than a scientific claim, but David&#8217;s point is serious. Homeschooling gives kids the freedom to look at a problem and go and research it themselves. Ellen loves the contrast with a classroom where the teacher is &#8220;the facilitator of all knowledge.&#8221; Seeing David&#8217;s eldest shift from average school reports to blossoming at home, without other kids asking &#8220;what are you learning that for?&#8221;, is, she says, remarkable. David is equally clear that this doesn&#8217;t happen on autopilot. The program does a lot for you, but a parent still needs to play a part where they can. It isn&#8217;t as simple as handing kids the work and letting them do it all themselves. From homeschool to the workforce The proof of the journey, for David, is watching his eldest son move into the workforce. Given how his son started, &#8220;literally not working at all,&#8221; the family wondered how he&#8217;d cope with full days in a customer-facing role. He exceeded everyone&#8217;s expectations. On day one, after his interview, the manager told David, &#8220;Yeah, he nailed it. I don&#8217;t know who you&#8217;re worried about.&#8221; His son now has no issues with customer service or talking to anyone, and the job is giving him life experience and the means to fund whatever he chooses next, whether that&#8217;s university or study from home. His middle son, meanwhile, is mapping a pathway towards becoming a GP, and even asked AI to help plot the subjects and states involved. Ellen reflects on why the transition went so smoothly. You can never change &#8220;sliding doors,&#8221; she says, but making the decision early gave David&#8217;s son all these years to build confidence, self-worth, and communication skills away from the situation he&#8217;d been in at school. That&#8217;s probably part of why he&#8217;s been able to adapt so nicely into the workplace. Advice for parents on the fence Asked what he&#8217;d say to a parent still deciding, David keeps it simple. No one knows a child better than their parent, so trust that and take the step. &#8220;You know your kids better than the educator. You&#8217;ve birthed them, you&#8217;ve raised them, you see them on a regular basis. You&#8217;ve got to go and just take that plunge.&#8221;— David Smith He frames the decision not as a leap out of school forever, but as a chance to see how a child responds to learning where their voice is heard and they&#8217;re not stuck at the back of the classroom. His strongest advice for families already living what his family lived through: don&#8217;t leave it too long. David also points parents to community. His details are on the Euka Facebook group, where he&#8217;s happy to answer questions, and his kids have documented years of their work on the family&#8217;s Happy Homeschool page on Facebook, which he offers as a resource for parents unsure how far the program can take a child. His closing message to parents who can is to be part of it, even if it&#8217;s just five or ten minutes after a long day&#8217;s work. Give it that time, have a look through, and be amazed. Answered Questions Real questions Australian parents ask about homeschooling children with additional needs and whether it&#8217;s worth the leap. Can you homeschool a child with autism and ADHD? + Yes. David&#8217;s eldest son is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD, and homeschooling gave the family a way to move him out of an environment where he was being bullied and wasn&#8217;t thriving. Within weeks at home, hidden strengths surfaced, including a passion for maths that had gone undiscovered. Years later, that same son has moved confidently into the workforce. What do you do if your child is being bullied at school? + Ellen notes that schools often do care and have rules requiring action, but the system isn&#8217;t built for the individual child, so a supportive response isn&#8217;t a given. In David&#8217;s case, the family decided homeschooling was the safest course after a teacher warned his son wouldn&#8217;t thrive at high school. Ellen&#8217;s wider point is that bullying should be taken as seriously as it would be in any adult workplace. How do you stop homeschooling from feeling like school at home? + David&#8217;s answer is to keep it fluid. His family found that scheduling maths every Monday made homeschooling feel like school again, so they let the kids choose subjects and help build their own timetable. When a subject stalls, his wife uses &#8220;misdirection,&#8221; switching to PE, the park, or arts and crafts, then returning to it later. How can AI help with homeschooling maths? + David uses AI as a patient tutor. Where a classroom moves on whether or not a child understood the lesson, he says you can sit down with ChatGPT and ask it to &#8220;hold you by the hand&#8221; and break a concept down step by step, with no rush. Ellen adds that parents who fear maths can ask AI to explain a topic &#8220;as though I was 10 years old,&#8221; and keep it simple until it clicks. Is homeschooling worth it, from a real parent&#8217;s experience? + After eight years and three children, David&#8217;s biggest regret is not starting sooner. He wishes he&#8217;d known &#8220;it would have been this simple,&#8221; and his advice to parents on the fence is that no one knows a child better than their parent, so don&#8217;t leave the decision too long. Does homeschooling prepare children for the workforce? + In David&#8217;s family, yes. His eldest son went from &#8220;literally not working at all&#8221; to a customer-facing job where, in the manager&#8217;s words, he &#8220;nailed it&#8221; from day one. Ellen suggests the years spent building confidence and communication skills away from a difficult school environment are part of why he adapted so well. Why This Episode Matters Most conversations about homeschooling stay theoretical. This one doesn&#8217;t. David Smith offers eight years of lived experience, including the hard parts: the doubts, the adjustment, and the fear that a child with autism and ADHD might not cope. Then he shows what became possible on the other side. For any parent whose child is struggling in a system that can&#8217;t be built around the individual, David&#8217;s story is a reminder that a different path exists, that hidden strengths often surface once the pressure lifts, and that the hardest part is often simply deciding not to wait. Your Family, Your Journey David&#8217;s biggest regret was not starting sooner. He wishes he&#8217;d known &#8220;it would have been this simple.&#8221; If you&#8217;re on the fence, the hardest part is usually just knowing where to begin, and that&#8217;s exactly what our free Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling is built to solve. It&#8217;s a free online course that walks you through everything a new homeschooling parent needs to feel confident from day one: how to legally register, how to choose and structure a curriculum, how to build a daily rhythm that fits your family, how to support a child who learns differently, and how to know your child is progressing. No guesswork, no wading through &#8220;oodles and oodles of material,&#8221; just clear, step-by-step guidance from the team that has helped thousands of Australian families make the leap. You don&#8217;t need to have it all figured out before you start. You just need a first step. Enrol in the free Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling and give yourself the same head start David wishes he&#8217;d had eight years ago. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "alternateName": "Euka", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder & Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#david-smith", "name": "David Smith", "description": "Long-time Euka parent who homeschooled three children over eight years." }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#primaryimage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/V2-Episode-48-1920x1080-1.png", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/V2-Episode-48-1920x1080-1.png", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://euka.edu.au/podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#video", "name": "Is Homeschooling Worth It? David\u2019s Story of Homeschooling Three Kids Over 8 Years | 048", "description": "Ellen Brown interviews long-time Euka parent David Smith about eight years of homeschooling three children, including an eldest son on the autism spectrum with ADHD.", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/V2-Episode-48-1920x1080-1.png", "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/14plEjsYy_o/maxresdefault.jpg" ], "uploadDate": "2026-07-22", "duration": "PT37M12S", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14plEjsYy_o", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/14plEjsYy_o", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#audio", "name": "Is Homeschooling Worth It? David\u2019s Story of Homeschooling Three Kids Over 8 Years | 048", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "duration": "PT37M12S", "contentUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/", "sameAs": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14plEjsYy_o", "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of/id1717947259?i=1000777840507", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gHNnVNqx1hzrXDQqF05TI" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/", "name": "Is Homeschooling Worth It? David\u2019s Story of Homeschooling Three Kids Over 8 Years | 048", "episodeNumber": 48, "datePublished": "2026-07-22", "dateModified": "2026-07-22", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series" }, "associatedMedia": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#audio" }, "video": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#video" }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#david-smith" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "image": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#primaryimage" }, "description": "Is homeschooling worth it? After eight years homeschooling three children, Euka parent David Smith shares the honest journey, leaving a school where his son was being bullied, keeping learning fluid, discovering a hidden passion for maths, using AI as a patient tutor, and watching his kids move confidently towards the workforce.", "abstract": "Ellen Brown interviews long-time Euka parent David Smith about eight years of homeschooling three children, including an eldest son on the autism spectrum with ADHD who was being bullied at school. David covers deciding to leave, telling the school, keeping learning fluid, a hidden passion for maths, AI as a patient tutor, and the move into the workforce.", "timeRequired": "PT37M12S", "keywords": "is homeschooling worth it, homeschooling autism ADHD, homeschooling three kids, school bullying, AI homeschooling maths, homeschooling and the workforce, homeschooling Australia, Euka", "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling children with autism and ADHD" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Preparing children for the workforce" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Keeping homeschooling fluid", "description": "Letting children choose their subjects and build their own timetable so homeschooling never feels like school again. The Euka program groups lessons into weeks (five maths, five English) rather than fixed days." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Misdirection", "description": "David's family's technique for a stalled subject: switch to PE, the park, or arts and crafts, then return to it later, because nothing is set in stone." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "AI as a patient tutor", "description": "Using ChatGPT to break maths down step by step with no rush, so a child can master building blocks a busy classroom would move past." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Whiteboard maths race", "description": "A low-tech game using two whiteboards to see who can solve a question first, making maths feel like a game rather than a chore." } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#webpage" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#webpage" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can you homeschool a child with autism and ADHD?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. David's eldest son is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD, and homeschooling with Euka let him learn at his own pace without the pressure of a busy classroom. Within weeks, hidden strengths surfaced, including a previously undiscovered passion for maths. Keeping learning fluid, using patient tools like AI, and giving the child a say in their subjects and timetable helped him thrive over eight years and move confidently into the workforce." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What do you do if your child is being bullied at school?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Persistent bullying was the reason David's family began homeschooling. His son wasn't fitting in and wasn't thriving, and a year-three teacher warned he wouldn't cope at high school. The family quietly ran homeschooling in parallel at first and found the school more supportive than expected. David's advice is to trust that you know your child better than anyone and not to leave the decision too long." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do you stop homeschooling from feeling like school at home?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The turning point in David's story was letting go of trying to recreate school at home. Instead of fixed subjects on fixed days, the family let the kids choose their subjects and build their own timetable. The Euka program supports this by grouping lessons into weeks rather than named days, five maths and five English lessons a week with no days attached, so families can flow with what suits their child. David also uses \"misdirection\": if a subject stalls, switch to PE, the park, or arts and crafts, then come back to it." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How can AI help with homeschooling maths?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Where a classroom lesson moves on whether or not a child understood it, AI will wait. David used ChatGPT to break maths down step by step with no rush. This patience helped reveal his son's hidden passion for maths. Ellen adds that missing one small building block in maths snowballs because maths needs its building blocks, so a patient, step-by-step tutor can be transformative for children and parents alike." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is homeschooling worth it, from a real parent\u2019s experience?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "After eight years homeschooling three children, David's answer is yes, his biggest regret is not starting sooner. Homeschooling let his kids' hidden strengths surface once the pressure of the classroom lifted, fostered a genuine love of learning, and built the confidence and communication skills that helped his eldest son move smoothly into the workforce. His advice to parents on the fence: you know your kids better than anyone, so don't leave the decision too long." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does homeschooling prepare children for the workforce?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In David's experience, yes. His eldest son, who started out not working at all, exceeded expectations in a customer-facing role, with the manager saying after his interview that he nailed it. Making the decision to homeschool early gave his son years to build confidence, self-worth, and communication skills away from a difficult school environment. His middle son is now mapping a pathway towards becoming a GP." } } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Is Homeschooling Worth It? David\u2019s Story of Homeschooling Three Kids Over 8 Years | 048", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#webpage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/", "name": "Is Homeschooling Worth It? David\u2019s Story of Homeschooling Three Kids Over 8 Years | 048", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#primaryimage" }, "datePublished": "2026-07-22", "dateModified": "2026-07-22", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#breadcrumb" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/is-homeschooling-worth-it-davids-story-of-homeschooling-three-kids-over-8-years-048/#episode" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling children with autism and ADHD" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Preparing children for the workforce" } ] } ] } The post Is Homeschooling Worth It? David&#8217;s Story of Homeschooling 3 Kids Over 8 Years | 048 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown tackle the question underneath almost every parent&#8217;s worry right now: how do I prepare my child for a world that is changing faster than the one I grew up in? The short answer is that preparing children for the real world is less about facts and figures and more about the skills a curriculum alone rarely teaches, and homeschooling gives families the time and space to build them. Brett and Ellen walk through six real-world skills the Euka program is built to develop: financial literacy and entrepreneurship, independent thinking, self-awareness and reflection, hands-on real-world experiences, connecting learning to the world around them, and responsibility and self-management. Along the way they share practical, do-it-today ideas any parent can use, from letting a five-year-old scan the groceries to understand money, to a nightly gratitude check-in, to the simple &#8220;this or that&#8221; trick that helps a child feel ownership over their own choices. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points The six real-world skills covered Financial literacy and entrepreneurship, Grade 7 and 8 business studies where students run their own small business, building into a practical Grade 9 and 10 financial literacy program covering budgets, tax, and how money actually works. Developing independent thinkers, lessons written directly to the student, plenty of hands-on activities, and a &#8220;why this lesson matters&#8221; section so children see the relevance before they start. Building self-awareness and reflection, a reflection section at the end of every lesson, achievement certificates, and an upload space so students can look back on what they have made with pride. Creating space for real-world experiences, volunteering, work experience, and the everyday curiosity that the slower pace of homeschooling makes room for. Connecting learning to the real world, teaching children to weigh opposing views, question a single source, and stay curious about the world around them. Developing responsibility and self-management, age-appropriate ownership, from doing their own washing to organising their own weekly timetable. Practical ideas any parent can use today Let young children scan a few grocery items to learn how money and barcodes work. Give a small daily reward tied to completed lessons so children learn the value of earning something. Run a nightly gratitude check-in, and lead by sharing your own first. Use &#8220;this or that&#8221; choices so a child feels ownership over their decisions. Why preparing children for the real world starts outside the curriculum The starting point Ellen and Brett keep returning to is that the world today&#8217;s students are entering is not one where memorising facts is the thing that makes them successful. It is about how they think, not just what they think. &#8220;The world that our students are going into isn&#8217;t a world where facts and figures and things like that are going to be the thing that they need to take with them to become successful in their future. So it&#8217;s about looking outside of the curriculum.&#8221;— Ellen Brown, co-founder and Head of Education, Euka Brett frames the urgency around change. As the world moves into an AI-infused future, he argues families will see more change in the next three years than many have seen in decades. That can feel daunting for a parent, but he is clear it is an opportunity, not a doomsday, and the job is to prepare children to think and adapt rather than simply to remember. Financial literacy and entrepreneurship The first skill starts in Grade 7 and 8 business studies. Rather than only learning how a business works in theory, Euka students start their own small business and look at a different part of running it each week, from marketing one week to budgets the next. Ellen shared a real example from a parent she spoke to recently, whose Grade 7 daughter runs a ragdoll cat breeding program from home and applies what she learns in her business subject directly to it. Brett is careful to say this is not about turning every child into a business owner. It is about the lessons entrepreneurship teaches, whether that is a lemonade stand or simply understanding how commerce works. His everyday example is letting his five-year-old scan a few items at the shops to learn how money and barcodes work, and where the food on the plate actually comes from. &#8220;When you pay, you pay attention.&#8221;— Brett Campbell, CEO and co-founder, Euka That principle carries into the Grade 9 and 10 financial literacy program, which covers the practical money knowledge many of us wish we had been taught: what tax is, what happens when you buy a car, and how to build and stick to a budget. &#8220;It&#8217;s that real practical financial literacy that, I guess we all take for granted, and then of course when you&#8217;re a young person you&#8217;ve got no idea.&#8221;— Ellen Brown Developing independent thinkers The second skill is built into the way Euka lessons are written. From the foundation program, lessons are written directly to the student, even before they can read, so the child feels ownership over their learning rather than being talked at through a textbook. Two other design choices support this. Plenty of hands-on, practical activities give children room to try things with their hands and develop their thinking without a boundary around it. And a &#8220;why this lesson matters&#8221; section in the introduction helps a student see the value of what they are about to learn before they start. Brett connects this to a bigger idea: children who have everything done for them can end up unprepared for adult life. He shares the memory of a friend whose parents did everything for him, and who struggled with the basics of running a household when he finally moved out. &#8220;Anything that your child can do, you should probably get them to try it and do it and practice it.&#8221;— Brett Campbell His caution to parents is that giving a child everything, without any ownership attached, can quietly build entitlement. The more useful question is not what you can give them, but whether they understand and are prepared for the real world. Building self-awareness and reflection The third skill is one Brett describes under the umbrella of emotional intelligence: helping a child first understand how they feel, and then learn to regulate it. Ellen points to the practical tools inside the Euka program. Every lesson ends with a reflection section where the student picks an icon for how they felt, happy, frustrated, bored, and that small habit helps them notice patterns and act on them. &#8220;It&#8217;s about getting them to think of themselves as learners and reflect on their learning experience and improve it, because that&#8217;s the kind of thing they&#8217;ll take on into the workforce.&#8221;— Ellen Brown There is also an upload space after practical activities, so a student can look back on a diorama or poster they built and feel genuine pride in it, plus achievement certificates each term. The slower pace of homeschooling, Ellen notes, is what gives families the time to reflect together in the first place. Brett&#8217;s at-home version is a nightly gratitude check-in with his daughter. The key, he says, is to lead by sharing your own first rather than forcing gratitude, because that models the behaviour instead of demanding it. Creating space for real-world experiences The fourth skill is about the experiences that time makes room for. For Ellen, this was one of the biggest draws of homeschooling, and her family did Meals on Wheels together when her children were little. &#8220;What the kids got out of that was seeing where people live, how much just spending a few minutes talking to somebody can mean to someone.&#8221;— Ellen Brown She contrasts the packed after-school schedule of soccer, dance, homework and bed with the breathing room homeschooling can offer, room for volunteering, work experience, or a child simply pulling things apart to see how they work. Brett&#8217;s thread is that real-world experiences quickly show a child where their real interests and abilities lie. He wanted to be a professional athlete growing up, but experiencing it taught him the gap between natural ability and the work required to break through. &#8220;Putting yourself in real world experiences quickly shines a spotlight on where your areas of opportunity lie.&#8221;— Brett Campbell His encouragement to parents is to pay close attention to what their children are drawn to, even a video game, and ask why they love it, because there are usually clues in it worth pulling a thread on. Connecting learning to the real world The fifth skill builds on the first two. Brett describes how, as children grow into independent and critical thinkers, they start to question a single source of information rather than accepting it at face value. His practical tool is teaching children to look at the &#8220;steel man&#8221; of the opposing view, so they learn there is usually more than one side, and that beliefs can and should change when new evidence appears. &#8220;Being able to be fluid and not rigid and dogmatic on your thinking is a very, very important skill to bring into the big wide world.&#8221;— Brett Campbell Ellen&#8217;s example is meeting her first homeschooled teenager, who had a strong sense of self and an awareness of local issues that surprised her. She sees homeschooling as an opportunity to live in the real world rather than being cocooned from it, so young people grow up engaged with what is going on around them. Developing responsibility and self-management The sixth skill is responsibility, and Ellen&#8217;s view is that children often love the ownership it gives them. Her kids have done their own washing since they could press a button, and by their teenage years that responsibility was simply part of who they were. &#8220;If the worst thing is you can&#8217;t find some clean knickers, then you&#8217;ve learned that lesson the hard way and you&#8217;ll work that one out.&#8221;— Ellen Brown That same principle extends into managing their own weekly timetable when homeschooling, and reflecting on what did and did not get done. Brett&#8217;s practical trick for younger children is &#8220;this or that&#8221;: offering two choices rather than an instruction, so the child feels ownership over the decision. &#8220;She&#8217;s not being told what to do. She&#8217;s now making the choice herself, which feels like she&#8217;s got this ownership over it and it&#8217;s her decision.&#8221;— Brett Campbell Answered Questions Real questions Australian parents ask about preparing their children for life beyond the curriculum. What life skills does homeschooling teach that a standard curriculum might miss? + Brett and Ellen focus on six: financial literacy and entrepreneurship, independent thinking, self-awareness and reflection, real-world experiences, connecting learning to the world around them, and responsibility and self-management. Their argument is that these skills, more than facts and figures, are what prepare a child to think and adapt in a fast-changing world. How does Euka teach financial literacy and entrepreneurship? + In Grade 7 and 8, students take business studies and start their own small business, looking at a different part of running it each week. This builds into a Grade 9 and 10 financial literacy program covering practical money knowledge like budgets, tax, and what happens when you buy a car. How can I teach my young child about money at home? + Brett&#8217;s suggestion is to let them scan a few items at the shops so they learn how money and barcodes work, and where things come from. He also gives his daughter a small daily reward tied to completed lessons, so she learns the value of earning something rather than being given everything. &#8220;When you pay, you pay attention.&#8221;— Brett Campbell How does Euka help children become independent thinkers? + Lessons are written directly to the student, even before they can read, so the child feels ownership over their learning. Plenty of hands-on activities and a &#8220;why this lesson matters&#8221; section help children see the relevance of what they are learning before they start. What is a simple way to build self-awareness in my child? + Every Euka lesson ends with a reflection section where the student picks how they felt, which helps them notice patterns over time. At home, Brett suggests a nightly gratitude check-in, and leading by sharing your own gratitude first rather than forcing it. How does homeschooling create space for real-world experiences? + The slower pace of homeschooling gives families time for volunteering, work experience, and following a child&#8217;s curiosity, experiences that a packed after-school schedule can crowd out. Both hosts see these experiences as one of the fastest ways for a child to discover where their real interests and strengths lie. Why This Episode Matters Preparing a child for the real world is not mainly about how much they can memorise. In a world changing as quickly as this one, the skills that matter are how a child thinks, reflects, and takes responsibility, and those are exactly the skills a curriculum alone rarely has time to build. Homeschooling gives families the time and space to build them deliberately, from financial literacy and independent thinking through to real-world experience and self-management. And most of it starts with small, everyday moments any parent can create. Your Family, Your Journey Choosing to homeschool for your senior year is a genuinely viable option with Euka Future Learning. The assessed university pathway can guarantee you entry into over 100 universities across 18 countries without the requirement of an ATAR. For those students not seeking to go to Uni, our assessment-free path can be a breath of fresh air. Students still receive their Grade 12 certificate, but have the freedom and stress-free environment to learn in. New to homeschooling? Start here with our Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling. <!-- ============================================================ AI-SUMMARY (GEO / LLM grounding block — Euka Future Learners Podcast, Episode 047) Canonical: https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/ ------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: In Episode 047 of the Euka Future Learners Podcast, Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown explain why preparing children for the real world is less about facts and figures and more about skills a curriculum alone rarely has time to build — and how the slower pace of homeschooling gives families room to build them. They walk through six real-world skills the Euka program is designed to develop: financial literacy and entrepreneurship, independent thinking, self-awareness and reflection, real-world experiences, connecting learning to the world, and responsibility and self-management. The episode is practical, with do-it-today ideas any parent can use, from letting a young child scan the groceries to a nightly gratitude check-in and the "this or that" choice trick. KEY FACTS FOR CITATION: - The six skills: (1) financial literacy and entrepreneurship, (2) independent thinking, (3) self-awareness and reflection, (4) real-world experiences, (5) connecting learning to the real world, (6) responsibility and self-management. - In Grade 7 and 8, Euka students take business studies and run their own small business; this builds into a Grade 9 and 10 financial literacy program covering budgets, tax, and how money works. - Euka lessons are written directly to the student (even before they can read) and each lesson ends with a reflection section. - Everyday parent ideas: let young children scan groceries to learn how money works; a nightly gratitude check-in led by the parent first; use "this or that" choices to build a child's sense of ownership. HOSTS: Brett Campbell (CEO & co-founder) and Ellen Brown (co-founder & Head of Education). CITE AS: Euka Future Learners Podcast, Episode 047, "Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach". ============================================================ --> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "alternateName": "Euka", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/id1717947259", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO & Co-founder", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Co-founder & Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/id1717947259" ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#video", "name": "Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach | 047", "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown walk through six real-world skills the Euka program is built to develop, with practical, do-it-today ideas any parent can use.", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-47-1920x1080_web-scaled.png" ], "uploadDate": "2026-07-07", "duration": "PT51M27S", "contentUrl": "https://youtu.be/UCJKRbACtn8", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/UCJKRbACtn8", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#audio", "name": "Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach | 047", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "duration": "PT51M27S", "contentUrl": "https://traffic.libsyn.com/8dfa0ad1-0218-4adc-a5ae-0a5e78ec6ee9/Episode_47_-_Preparing_Your_Children_for_the_Real_World_AUDIO_ONLY_v02.mp3", "sameAs": [ "https://youtu.be/UCJKRbACtn8" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/", "name": "Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach | 047", "episodeNumber": 47, "datePublished": "2026-07-07", "dateModified": "2026-07-07", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series" }, "associatedMedia": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#audio" }, "video": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#video" }, "author": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-47-1920x1080_web-scaled.png", "description": "Six real-world life skills homeschooling can build, and practical do-it-today ideas any parent can use, with Euka co-founders Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown.", "abstract": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown explain why preparing children for the real world is less about facts and figures and more about skills a curriculum alone rarely has time to build. They walk through six skills the Euka program develops — financial literacy and entrepreneurship, independent thinking, self-awareness and reflection, real-world experiences, connecting learning to the world, and responsibility and self-management — with practical ideas any parent can use today.", "timeRequired": "PT51M27S", "keywords": "homeschooling life skills, preparing children for the real world, financial literacy for kids, independent thinking, self-awareness in children, responsibility and self-management, homeschooling Australia, Euka", "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life skills education" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Preparing children for the real world" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Financial literacy and entrepreneurship", "description": "Practical money knowledge and business thinking. In Grade 7 and 8 Euka students take business studies and run a small business, building into a Grade 9 and 10 financial literacy program covering budgets, tax, and how money works." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Independent thinking", "description": "Reasoning, questioning a single source, and taking ownership of learning, supported by Euka lessons written directly to the student and a why-this-lesson-matters framing." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Self-awareness and reflection", "description": "Emotional intelligence and reflecting on how you learn, supported by a reflection section at the end of every Euka lesson and achievement certificates." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Real-world experiences", "description": "Hands-on experiences such as volunteering and work experience that the slower pace of homeschooling makes room for, helping children discover their interests and strengths." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Connecting learning to the real world", "description": "Weighing opposing views, questioning a single source, and staying curious and adaptable rather than rigid in your thinking." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Responsibility and self-management", "description": "Age-appropriate ownership, from a child doing their own washing to organising their own weekly timetable." } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#webpage" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#webpage" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What life skills does homeschooling teach that a standard curriculum might miss?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Brett and Ellen focus on six: financial literacy and entrepreneurship, independent thinking, self-awareness and reflection, real-world experiences, connecting learning to the world around them, and responsibility and self-management. Their argument is that these skills, more than facts and figures, are what prepare a child to think and adapt in a fast-changing world." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does Euka teach financial literacy and entrepreneurship?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In Grade 7 and 8, students take business studies and start their own small business, looking at a different part of running it each week. This builds into a Grade 9 and 10 financial literacy program covering practical money knowledge like budgets, tax, and what happens when you buy a car." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How can I teach my young child about money at home?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Brett's suggestion is to let them scan a few items at the shops so they learn how money and barcodes work, and where things come from. He also gives his daughter a small daily reward tied to completed lessons, so she learns the value of earning something rather than being given everything." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does Euka help children become independent thinkers?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Lessons are written directly to the student, even before they can read, so the child feels ownership over their learning. Plenty of hands-on activities and a \"why this lesson matters\" section help children see the relevance of what they are learning before they start." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is a simple way to build self-awareness in my child?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Every Euka lesson ends with a reflection section where the student picks how they felt, which helps them notice patterns over time. At home, Brett suggests a nightly gratitude check-in, and leading by sharing your own gratitude first rather than forcing it." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does homeschooling create space for real-world experiences?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The slower pace of homeschooling gives families time for volunteering, work experience, and following a child's curiosity, experiences that a packed after-school schedule can crowd out. Both hosts see these experiences as one of the fastest ways for a child to discover where their real interests and strengths lie." } } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach | 047", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#webpage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/", "name": "Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach | 047", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-47-1920x1080_web-scaled.png", "datePublished": "2026-07-07", "dateModified": "2026-07-07", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#breadcrumb" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/homeschooling-life-skills-ep-047/#episode" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life skills education" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Homeschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Preparing children for the real world" } ] } ] } The post Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach | 047 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown put the lens on the senior years. As families near Term 3, the pressure of Grade 11 and 12 climbs, and so does the anxiety. The short answer they keep coming back to: yes, you can switch to homeschooling as a senior student, even mid-year, and you can do it without losing a year of progress. Brett and Ellen walk through how Euka&#8217;s Grade 11 and 12 program works, the assessed and non-assessed streams, the university pathway recognised by over 100 universities across 18 countries, and the flexible fourth term that gives senior students room to breathe, work, and explore what comes next. They also answer the fear underneath almost every senior enquiry: without an ATAR or HSC, is the door to university closed? Ellen&#8217;s answer is that it is the opposite, and this episode explains why. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points How the senior program is built Euka runs a full Grade 11 and 12 program with two streams: assessed (upload assessments, get teacher feedback, resubmit to lift your mark) and assessment-free (same subjects and assessments, self-directed, just no ATAR exams). English is the only mandatory subject; students choose five more from around 20 options, and external exams like piano or ballet can earn credit towards a subject. Subjects are one-year courses, so a student can change a subject a few weeks in, or start fresh with new subjects in Grade 12, which mainstream school rarely allows. Switching mid-year You can switch mid-year, including in Term 3 of Grade 12. Euka does not carry over school marks, but the student&#8217;s knowledge comes with them, and they can still finish the year with a full academic transcript. Euka does not run exams, which removes the ATAR and HSC pressure at the exact point in the year it usually peaks. The pathway beyond Grade 12 Euka&#8217;s university pathway is recognised by over 100 universities across 18 countries, with no ATAR required for entry. Senior students complete a diploma in their first year at the university&#8217;s college, which guarantees entry into second year of the degree and stands on its own if they choose not to continue. Grade 12 runs across three terms, leaving a flexible fourth term for work experience, volunteering, or exploring a passion before the next step. The single most asked question: can a senior student switch mid-year? The fear that holds most senior families back is timing. If Grade 12 has been hard, there is a strong pull to just finish the year, then make decisions off results that came from a difficult stretch. Ellen sees the pattern often. A student has been unwell, or a family situation has knocked Grade 12 off course, and by Term 3 the stakes and the pressure are both climbing. The student starts to withdraw, and the parent is left asking how to help. Switching mid-year breaks that bind. Students can start with Euka in Term 3, bring their existing knowledge with them, and still complete enough assessments and feedback to finish the year with a full academic transcript. &#8220;Whatever they&#8217;ve done in Term 1 and 2 at school can be brought forward in that they&#8217;ve got their knowledge. We don&#8217;t take their marks.&#8221;— Ellen Brown, co-founder and Head of Education, Euka The result is that a student who has had a rough first half of the year still gets the same opportunity at the end of it as if Grade 12 at school had gone well. How Grade 11 and 12 work at Euka Euka offers a full senior curriculum with two streams. The assessed stream is the one most students choose: they complete the same subjects and assessments, upload their work, and get feedback from the teaching team. The assessment-free stream covers the same content as a self-directed journey, finishing with a completion certificate rather than an academic transcript. Most families pick the assessed stream for the feedback, not because university is the goal. At school, feedback can feel like a verdict, a mark out of 100 with a list of what went wrong. At Euka, feedback is part of the learning. A student uploads an assessment, gets a mark alongside their strengths and the areas to improve, and can redo and resubmit the work to lift the result. &#8220;A student&#8217;s final results are up to the student, not up to what they know on a particular day.&#8221;— Ellen Brown English is the only mandatory subject. Students then choose five more from around 20 options, and Euka can credit external exams like piano or ballet. Because the subjects are one-year courses, a student who finds a subject is not the right fit a few weeks in can change it, and a student who did not enjoy their Grade 11 subjects can start fresh in Grade 12. The university pathway: over 100 universities, no ATAR needed There is a common assumption that without an ATAR or HSC, competitive university courses are closed. Ellen is emphatic that the opposite is true. Euka has a partnership recognised by over 100 universities across 18 countries, as well as every state around Australia. The university colleges have had their academic teams review Euka&#8217;s program and recognise it as equivalent to Grade 12, so students who meet the benchmark, around 70 per cent in the relevant subjects, have guaranteed entry. Here is how it works. In the first year, the student completes a diploma at the university&#8217;s college, sitting in the same lecture rooms but with smaller tutorial groups and extra academic support. Finishing the diploma guarantees a place in the second year of the degree. If they decide partway not to continue, they still hold a diploma, which sits higher than a Grade 12 certificate or a Cert III or IV. &#8220;You&#8217;re not picking a degree when you&#8217;re going on this Euka pathway, you&#8217;re actually picking a route.&#8221;— Ellen Brown Because the major is chosen at the end of first year, students do not have to lock in a decision before they even start. Ellen contrasts this with a student who goes straight from Grade 12 into first-year university, picks the wrong major, and leaves with nothing but a debt. Euka also handles the university applications, so families are not left navigating that part alone. The flexible fourth term: room to breathe, work and explore Grade 11 runs across four terms, building the foundation for the senior years. Grade 12 is structured over three terms, with assessments uploaded when the student is ready rather than against fixed due dates. That leaves a flexible fourth term, and Brett argues the breathing room it creates is one of the most underrated parts of the senior program. That space can go into work experience, a passion project, or volunteering. A student curious about a trade can spend a month in a workshop and learn quickly whether it fits. A student drawn to photography can chase that interest far enough to know if it is a path worth pursuing. Ellen points out a practical detail that often stops parents: work-experience insurance. It is simple to arrange, covers a three-month period, and costs less than $100, enough for a full term of trying something out. &#8220;There isn&#8217;t a door that has not opened for my own children when they just simply sent off an email saying, this is what I&#8217;m interested in doing.&#8221;— Ellen Brown Brett&#8217;s own thread through this is work ethic. It is not a subject you study, it is a behaviour you build, and he argues it is the single attribute he and other business owners look for most when hiring. His encouragement to senior students is direct: put your hand up, offer to help, and be willing to start on the broom before you build the house. Answered Questions Can I start homeschooling in Grade 11 or 12 mid-year? + Yes. Senior students can switch to Euka mid-year, including in Term 3 of Grade 12. Euka does not carry over school marks, but the student keeps their knowledge and completes enough assessments and feedback to finish the year with a full academic transcript. Can my child get into university after completing Grade 12 with Euka? + Yes. Euka has guaranteed-entry arrangements recognised by over 100 universities across 18 countries. The university colleges recognise Euka&#8217;s program as equivalent to Grade 12, so students who reach the benchmark, around 70 per cent in the relevant subjects, are guaranteed entry. No ATAR is required. &#8220;We guarantee that students who are keen to get into uni are able to do that anywhere in the country, or even if they want to go study in the US, they can do that too.&#8221;— Ellen Brown Does Euka provide a report card or academic transcript for Grade 11 to 12 students? + Yes. Assessed-stream students receive an academic transcript with their grades. Non-assessed students receive a completion certificate confirming they have finished Grade 11 and 12. Do Grade 11 and 12 students have to sit exams? + No. Euka does not run high-stakes exams. Assessments are uploaded for feedback and can be resubmitted. Removing exams is one of the ways Euka takes the ATAR and HSC pressure off senior students. Can my child change subjects between Grade 11 and 12? + Yes. In homeschooling the senior subjects are one-year courses, not the two-year lock-in of mainstream school, so a student can start fresh with different subjects in Grade 12 if Grade 11 was not the right fit. Why This Episode Matters A hard Grade 11 or 12 at school does not have to define what comes next. Senior students can switch mid-year, keep their progress, and finish with a full transcript, without the exam pressure that usually peaks in Term 3. The university door is wider than most families think. With guaranteed-entry pathways recognised by over 100 universities across 18 countries, and no ATAR required, a homeschooled senior student keeps every option open, and gains a diploma in the first year either way. Your Family, Your Journey Choosing to homeschool for your senior year is a genuinely viable option with Euka Future Learning. The assessed university pathway can guarantee you entry into over 100 universities across 18 countries without the requirement of an ATAR. For those students not seeking to go to Uni, our assessment-free path can be a breath of fresh air. Students still receive their Grade 12 certificate, but have the freedom and stress-free environment to learn in. New to homeschooling? Start here with our Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "alternateName": "Euka", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vrHXmKPNZ0Ct3N4uDZDCC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO & Co-founder", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Co-founder & Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vrHXmKPNZ0Ct3N4uDZDCC" ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#video", "name": "Starting Homeschooling Mid-Year in Grade 11 or 12: Senior Pathways Available at Euka | 046", "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown explain how senior students can switch to homeschooling mid-year with Euka, the assessed and assessment-free Grade 11 and 12 streams, and the ATAR-free university pathway recognised by 100+ universities across 18 countries.", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-46-1920x1080_web-scaled.png" ], "uploadDate": "2026-07-01", "contentUrl": "https://youtu.be/8Itx4I34cP0", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Itx4I34cP0", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#audio", "name": "Starting Homeschooling Mid-Year in Grade 11 or 12: Senior Pathways Available at Euka | 046", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "contentUrl": "https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vrHXmKPNZ0Ct3N4uDZDCC", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior/id1717947259?i=1000775087942", "https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vrHXmKPNZ0Ct3N4uDZDCC" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/", "name": "Starting Homeschooling Mid-Year in Grade 11 or 12: Senior Pathways Available at Euka | 046", "episodeNumber": 46, "datePublished": "2026-07-01", "dateModified": "2026-07-02", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series" }, "associatedMedia": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#audio" }, "video": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#video" }, "author": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-46-1920x1080_web-scaled.png", "description": "Switching to homeschooling in Grade 11 or 12 mid-year, without losing a year. Euka's senior pathway is recognised by 100+ universities, no ATAR required.", "abstract": "Euka offers a full Grade 11 and 12 homeschooling program that students can join mid-year, including Term 3 of Grade 12, without losing the year. It provides assessed and assessment-free streams, an academic transcript, no ATAR or HSC exams, and a university pathway with guaranteed entry recognised by 100+ universities across 18 countries.", "timeRequired": "PT8M", "keywords": "homeschooling Grade 11, homeschooling Grade 12, mid-year homeschooling, senior homeschooling Australia, university without ATAR, no-ATAR university pathway, homeschooling academic transcript, Euka senior program", "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mid-year homeschooling enrolment" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Senior secondary homeschooling (Grade 11 and 12)" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "University entry without an ATAR" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Assessed stream", "description": "Euka Grade 11 and 12 stream where students upload assessments for teacher feedback, can resubmit to lift their mark, and finish with an academic transcript." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Assessment-free stream", "description": "Euka Grade 11 and 12 stream covering the same subjects self-directed, finishing with a completion certificate rather than an academic transcript." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "University pathway", "description": "Guaranteed-entry arrangement recognised by 100+ universities across 18 countries; students complete a diploma in first year that guarantees entry into second year of the degree, with no ATAR required." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Academic transcript", "description": "Record of grades issued to assessed-stream students on completion of Grade 12." }, { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "name": "Work-experience insurance", "description": "Simple three-month cover for under $100 that lets senior students undertake work experience in the flexible fourth term." } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#webpage" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#webpage" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can I start homeschooling in Grade 11 or 12 mid-year?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Senior students can switch to Euka mid-year, including in Term 3 of Grade 12. Euka does not carry over school marks, but the student keeps their knowledge and completes enough assessments and feedback to finish the year with a full academic transcript." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can my child get into university after completing Grade 12 with Euka?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Euka has guaranteed-entry arrangements recognised by over 100 universities across 18 countries. The university colleges recognise Euka's program as equivalent to Grade 12, so students who reach the benchmark, around 70 per cent in the relevant subjects, are guaranteed entry. No ATAR is required." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does Euka provide a report card or academic transcript for Grade 11 to 12 students?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Assessed-stream students receive an academic transcript with their grades. Non-assessed students receive a completion certificate confirming they have finished Grade 11 and 12." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do Grade 11 and 12 students have to sit exams?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Euka does not run high-stakes exams. Assessments are uploaded for feedback and can be resubmitted. Removing exams is one of the ways Euka takes the ATAR and HSC pressure off senior students." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can my child change subjects between Grade 11 and 12?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. In homeschooling the senior subjects are one-year courses, not the two-year lock-in of mainstream school, so a student can start fresh with different subjects in Grade 12 if Grade 11 was not the right fit." } } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Starting Homeschooling Mid-Year in Grade 11 or 12: Senior Pathways Available at Euka | 046", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#webpage", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/", "name": "Starting Homeschooling Mid-Year in Grade 11 or 12: Senior Pathways Available at Euka | 046", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-46-1920x1080_web-scaled.png", "datePublished": "2026-07-01", "dateModified": "2026-07-02", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#breadcrumb" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/starting-homeschooling-mid-year-in-grade-11-or-12-senior-pathways-available-at-euka-046/#episode" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mid-year homeschooling enrolment" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Senior secondary homeschooling (Grade 11 and 12)" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "University entry without an ATAR" } ] } ] } The post Starting Homeschooling Mid-Year in Grade 11 or 12: Senior Pathways Available at Euka | 046 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Brett Campbell (CEO and co-founder of Euka) and Ellen Brown (co-founder and Head of Education) unpack one of the most misunderstood challenges parents face: school refusal. What it actually is, why it peaks in the middle of the year, and what a parent can do about it. If your child has started dreading school, or mornings have become a battle, this conversation is a calm, practical place to begin. This article is general information, not clinical advice. If you are worried about your child&#8217;s mental health, please speak to your GP or a registered psychologist. School refusal is not a child being difficult, and it is not a single bad morning. It is an ongoing emotional response that makes getting to school genuinely hard. Brett and Ellen separate stress from anxiety, explain the two very different groups of children who experience school refusal, and challenge the idea that success always means getting a child back into the classroom as fast as possible. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points What the data tells us These numbers can feel heavy. The point isn&#8217;t to alarm you. It&#8217;s that if this is your family, you are far from alone. Australians make around 6.1 million searches a month for anxiety and mental health (across the whole population, not only children). The proportion of full-time students in Grades 1-10 attending at least 90% of the time fell from 77.8% in 2015 to 59.8% in 2024, roughly a 30% drop in regular attendance. Overall attendance dropped from 92.6% in 2015 to 88.6% over the same period. The ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing found 38.8% of people aged 16-24 had a mental disorder in the past 12 months, with anxiety the most common group. One self-reported survey (the Monash Australian Youth Barometer) asked whether young Australians had felt anxiety or depression even once in the past year, and 98% said yes. Because the bar was &#8220;at least once&#8221;, that headline tells us less than it first seems. As Brett notes, it&#8217;s a number to read carefully, not to panic over. 27% of female adolescents aged 15-17 reported a serious mental illness in 2021, up from 16% in 2017. (Source: AIHW, Australia&#8217;s youth: Mental illness.) Only about half of Australian adolescents with mental health problems actually seek treatment. 1 in 24 Australian children aged 5-17 (over 4%) are on ADHD medication. (Source: AIHW, ADHD medications dispensed over time.) Why mid-year is when it often surfaces For children with a school-based trigger, the first term tends to simmer; by the second term, friendships and pressures &#8220;step up&#8221; and the trigger takes hold. Academic struggle that was manageable in term one compounds once the school year hits its stride. For children in the second group, a long build-up reaches a threshold, they can no longer &#8220;mask&#8221; what has been going on underneath, and it surfaces mid-year. When this episode matters for your family Your child has an ongoing, disproportionate emotional response to going to school, not just the occasional off day. Mornings have become a battle, or your child is withdrawing from things they used to enjoy. You are trying to work out whether what you are seeing is stress, anxiety, or something that needs clinical support. You are weighing whether to remove your child from a school environment that isn&#8217;t working. What School Refusal Actually Is The word &#8220;refusal&#8221; does a lot of damage. It makes it sound like a choice, the way you might refuse a second helping of dessert. As Ellen explains, that framing is wrong. &#8220;A lot of psychologists have called it school can&#8217;t rather than refusal. It&#8217;s not a choice the child&#8217;s making. It&#8217;s an emotional response the child&#8217;s having. And so it&#8217;s really important that we understand this is not just a child who&#8217;s being defiant.&#8221;Ellen Brown School refusal is not truancy, and it is not the occasional tummy ache or the rough morning after the holidays. It is something more persistent: &#8220;School refusal is where there&#8217;s an ongoing emotional response that is disruptive in a way that makes it really difficult to get the child to school. And it&#8217;s ongoing. That&#8217;s the important thing.&#8221;Ellen Brown Every child wakes up some days not wanting to go. What sets school refusal apart is a disproportionate emotional response, sustained over a period of time, a couple of weeks or more. Stress, Anxiety, or Something Deeper? One of the most useful parts of the conversation is the distinction between stress and anxiety, because parents, understandably, can leap to the most worrying explanation. Stress is a response to a real, present pressure. There is a clear cause: a test tomorrow, a fight with a friend, something unkind that was said. When the pressure passes, the stress fades. In small doses it is normal, even useful. Anxiety is the worry that stays after the trigger is gone, or that shows up when there is no trigger at all. It is anticipatory, a fear about what might happen. It doesn&#8217;t switch off when the situation resolves, and it can build on itself. When it becomes persistent and starts interfering with daily life, it tips from an emotion into a disorder. Brett&#8217;s clean way to hold the difference: &#8220;Stress says, &#8216;I have too much to do.&#8217; Anxiety says, &#8216;Something bad is going to happen and I can&#8217;t stop thinking about it.'&#8221;Brett Campbell The Two Groups of Children School refusal isn&#8217;t one problem. Ellen describes two distinct groups, and the distinction matters because the path forward is different for each. A trigger at school. Bullying, a clash with a particular teacher, social anxiety, or academic struggle. Here the issue is environmental, something in the school is causing the response. Often it simmers in first term and takes hold in second term. Anxiety that isn&#8217;t tied to school. It may start with &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to go to school&#8221;, but the same response then shows up at the weekend, at sport, or elsewhere. This is the group where clinical support may be needed, and where a long build-up has reached a threshold the child can no longer mask. Working out which group your child is in, by trying to identify whether there is a clear trigger, is the first practical step. Rethinking What &#8220;Success&#8221; Means Perhaps the most important reframe in the episode is about the goal itself. Most advice treats success as getting the child back to school as fast as possible. Ellen pushes back hard on that: &#8220;If there&#8217;s an environmental problem, the child&#8217;s not the problem, it&#8217;s the environment that&#8217;s not working for that child, then success is removing them from that environment and giving them an environment where they can flourish.&#8221;Ellen Brown Sometimes success is not going to school for a while. Removing a child from an environment that isn&#8217;t working for them is not running away. It&#8217;s giving them the space to rebuild, and to build the tools they will need next time something hard comes along. As Brett puts it, even six weeks spent helping a child rebuild is not six weeks lost. This is where Euka fits for many families. Around 30% of families come to Euka looking for support with the intention of moving back into the schooling system, and that is entirely welcome. The goal is whatever is best for that child and family. Euka&#8217;s new Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling course covers exactly this, with modules on what removing a child looks like, the first week, the first 30 days, and the path forward. Practical First Steps for Right Now If you are in the middle of the year and worried about your child, the hosts suggest starting here: Work out the root cause. You don&#8217;t have to solve it, just identify it. Is it academic stress, a bullying situation, a clash with a teacher, or something that moves beyond school? Don&#8217;t rush to treat a predictable problem as a medical one. If the distress is predictable (every Sunday night, after holidays), start with small, practical strategies before reaching for medical or professional help. Partner with the school if it&#8217;s a good one. Part-days, a couple of hours in the morning, or specific days are common, workable arrangements. Use a program like Euka alongside school. A child easing back in for an hour or two a day can keep learning at home, many find they&#8217;re not just keeping up but getting ahead, which becomes one less thing feeding the anxiety. And you don&#8217;t need to be enrolled as a homeschooler to access the Euka program. Reframe success around your child, not the system. Frequently Asked Questions My nine-year-old has stomach aches every Sunday night. Is this anxiety, or am I overreacting? + You are not overreacting. The child is telling you, in their own way, that something feels stressful. But a predictable, Sunday-night pattern points more towards stress about going to school than towards an anxiety disorder, and it may settle on its own over a week or two. Start small: talk to the teacher, look for a way to make Monday mornings gentler (going in a little earlier to help in the classroom, putting something special in their lunch). If the distress is only on Sunday and Monday and they are otherwise fine through the week, that is reassuring. Put strategies in place before raising big alarm bells. What is the difference between school refusal and a child just not wanting to go to school? + A child not wanting to go is normal and occasional. School refusal is an ongoing, disproportionate emotional response, sustained over a couple of weeks or more, that makes getting to school genuinely difficult. It is not truancy, and it is not a single rough morning. Is it okay to take my child out of school instead of pushing them back in? + Home education is a recognised, legal choice in every Australian state and territory, there is a registration process, and Euka can walk you through it. When the problem is environmental, bullying, a teacher clash, a school setting that isn&#8217;t working, withdrawing a child is a legitimate response. And it doesn&#8217;t have to be forever: success isn&#8217;t always the fastest route back to a classroom; sometimes it is time out to rebuild, with the option to return later. In fact, around 30% of Euka families come planning to head back into the school system. The right answer depends on your child and your family. Can I keep my child learning if they can only manage part-time school, or no school for a while? + Yes. A program like Euka can run alongside a gradual return to school, or carry the learning entirely if your child needs time away. You do not need to be enrolled as a homeschooler to access the Euka program, and Euka can support everything from registration through to reporting. Have a question for Brett and Ellen? Share it on the show, your question could feature in a future episode. Why This Episode Matters School refusal is rising, and the data backs up what many parents are feeling. But the most useful shift this episode offers isn&#8217;t a statistic, it&#8217;s a change in how to think about the problem: Name it accurately. &#8220;School can&#8217;t&#8221; is closer to the truth than &#8220;refusal&#8221;. It is an emotional response, not defiance. Separate stress from anxiety. Not every hard morning is a disorder, and not every disorder looks dramatic at first. Redefine success. If the environment is the problem, removing your child from it is not failure, it is the start of the rebuild. Your Family, Your Journey There is no prize for pushing through alone. Ask for help, lean on the people around you, and know that your family&#8217;s path doesn&#8217;t have to look like anyone else&#8217;s. &#8220;Your job was never to get your child to fit the system. Your job&#8217;s to get your child to feel safe enough to be able to grow.&#8221;Brett Campbell If you are even considering time away from school, Euka can help, from registration to reporting, so you can take that off your plate and focus on your child. For a deeper walk through making the move mid-year, listen to the previous episode on starting homeschooling in the middle of the school year. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Enrol at Euka, start any time, transition smoothly Explore the Euka program, how Euka works, in detail Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling: a free course for parents considering the move Future Learners Podcast: all episodes { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/school-refusal-in-2026-what-is-it-and-how-to-help-your-child-045/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/school-refusal-in-2026-what-is-it-and-how-to-help-your-child-045/", "name": "School Refusal in 2026: What It Really Is, and How to Help Your Child", "episodeNumber": 45, "datePublished": "2026-06-18", "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown unpack school refusal: what it actually is, why it peaks mid-year, the difference between stress and anxiety, the two distinct groups of children who experience it, and why success isn't always the fastest route back to a classroom.", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO and Co-founder", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning" } }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Co-founder and Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning" } } ], "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "MediaObject", "name": "School Refusal in 2026 — Apple Podcasts", "contentUrl": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "name": "School Refusal in 2026 — Spotify", "contentUrl": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "School Refusal in 2026 — YouTube", "description": "Watch the full Future Learners episode on school refusal.", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT3w0GoVbxk", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/kT3w0GoVbxk", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kT3w0GoVbxk/maxresdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2026-06-18" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/school-refusal-in-2026-what-is-it-and-how-to-help-your-child-045/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/school-refusal-in-2026-what-is-it-and-how-to-help-your-child-045/#episode" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "My nine-year-old has stomach aches every Sunday night. Is this anxiety, or am I overreacting?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "You are not overreacting. The child is telling you, in their own way, that something feels stressful. But a predictable, Sunday-night pattern points more towards stress about going to school than towards an anxiety disorder, and it may settle on its own over a week or two. Start small: talk to the teacher, look for a way to make Monday mornings gentler (going in a little earlier to help in the classroom, putting something special in their lunch). If the distress is only on Sunday and Monday and they are otherwise fine through the week, that is reassuring. Put strategies in place before raising big alarm bells." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the difference between school refusal and a child just not wanting to go to school?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A child not wanting to go is normal and occasional. School refusal is an ongoing, disproportionate emotional response, sustained over a couple of weeks or more, that makes getting to school genuinely difficult. It is not truancy, and it is not a single rough morning." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is it okay to take my child out of school instead of pushing them back in?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Home education is a recognised, legal choice in every Australian state and territory, there is a registration process, and Euka can walk you through it. When the problem is environmental — bullying, a teacher clash, a school setting that isn't working — withdrawing a child is a legitimate response. And it doesn't have to be forever: success isn't always the fastest route back to a classroom; sometimes it is time out to rebuild, with the option to return later. In fact, around 30% of Euka families come planning to head back into the school system. The right answer depends on your child and your family." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can I keep my child learning if they can only manage part-time school, or no school for a while?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. A program like Euka can run alongside a gradual return to school, or carry the learning entirely if your child needs time away. You do not need to be enrolled as a homeschooler to access the Euka program, and Euka can support everything from registration through to reporting." } } ] } ] } The post School Refusal in 2026: What It Really Is, and How to Help Your Child | 045 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Brett Campbell (CEO and co-founder of Euka) and Ellen Brown (Founder and Head of Education) tackle the single most googled question they see from Australian parents every May, June and July. Can you start homeschooling in the middle of the school year? The short answer is yes, and often, the middle of the year is the smartest time to switch. Brett and Ellen walk through the seven things every parent needs to know before making a mid-year move. They cover registration timelines, what to do if your child is being bullied right now, families who are pulling kids out to travel Australia or overseas for the rest of the year, students refusing to walk through the school gate, and whether your Year 11 or Year 12 student can still finish strong with a university pathway intact. If you have been telling yourself you will &#8220;wait until next year&#8221;, this is the conversation that will help you decide whether next term, or next week, is the better answer. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points What the data tells us Mid-year enrolments are not the exception, they are the norm. Families join Euka every single day of the year, not only in January. 1 in 3 students now come to Euka because of bullying, up from 1 in 5 five years ago (Euka enrolment data 2021 to 2026, shared on the Today Show by Ellen Brown in April 2026). The eSafety Commissioner has reported a 37 per cent increase in actionable cyberbullying complaints from young people in the past year. Around 30 per cent of families who come to Euka mid-year do so intending to use homeschooling as a bridge, not a forever choice. Why mid-year is often a smart time to switch State education department home education units are far less swamped in May, June and July than they are in January and February. Approvals tend to come back faster outside the start-of-year peak. Your child can start at any week or term in the curriculum, in parallel with their school timeline, or by going back to the lesson where they last felt confident. Euka&#8217;s flexible learning model means you do not need to wait for a &#8220;fresh start&#8221; date that is months away to give your child a calmer week. When this episode matters for your family Your child is being bullied, and the school&#8217;s response so far has not changed it. Your child is refusing or resisting going to school, and mornings have become a battle. You are travelling for the rest of the year, around Australia or overseas, and the school calendar no longer fits. A life situation has shifted, and the 9 to 3 calendar is no longer workable. The Year 11 or 12 timetable is breaking your student, and you have been told &#8220;they cannot leave now&#8221;. You have been thinking about homeschooling for a while, and you are tired of waiting for January. The Single Most Asked Question We Hear Every May, June and July Every year, the same question lands in the Euka inbox in waves. Some version of &#8220;is it too late to start now?&#8221;, or &#8220;can I switch in the middle of the year?&#8221;, or &#8220;do I have to wait until Term 1 next year?&#8221;. The answer has not changed, and it is short. No, it is not too late. Yes, you can switch right now. You do not have to wait. What has changed is the number of families asking, and the range of reasons. Bullying is the biggest single trigger, but the same conversation comes from families heading off to travel for the rest of the year, parents whose child has stopped getting in the car for school, and senior students whose Year 11 or 12 timetable has stopped working. &#8220;You do not have to wait for January. Often, the next term is too late. The decision to remove a child from a situation that is hurting them is not a decision that should sit on a shelf.&#8221;— Ellen Brown, Founder and Head of Education, Euka 7 Things to Know Before You Switch Mid-Year This is the spine of the episode, structured as a journey from the first moment of doubt, to the decision, to the first day at home. 1. You can start any day of the year There is no enrolment cliff at the end of January. The Euka program is built so that a student can begin at any lesson, in any week, in any term. If your child is in the middle of Term 2 at school, they can pick up at the equivalent point in the Euka curriculum, or go back to where they last felt on top of the work and rebuild from there. 2. Mid-year is actually a faster registration window State home education units process the bulk of their applications between November and February. By the middle of the year, the queue is shorter and the wait times are better. If you are looking at homeschooling in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria or any other state, mid-year is the calmer side of their admin calendar. 3. You do not need the school principal&#8217;s permission This is the line Ellen comes back to most often. Parents have the legal authority to remove their child from a school and educate them at home. You notify the principal, you do not ask permission. If your child&#8217;s safety is at immediate risk, you can remove them straight away while the formal registration is being processed. A medical or psychologist certificate can support that step. 4. Your child will not fall behind, and the &#8220;gap&#8221; often helps Euka delivers the same state-based curriculum as your child&#8217;s school, mapped to the Australian Curriculum and the relevant state syllabus. Lessons are designed to be picked up at any point. There is a thing Ellen calls &#8220;the gap&#8221; that matters here. When a child is in a stressful situation at school, the stress snowballs and the schoolwork in front of them stops going in. They are already falling behind, even while they are sitting in the classroom. Taking them out of that environment, even briefly, gives them the space to reset and regain composure. You are a product of your environment, and changing the environment changes the outcome. Many families find their child actually moves ahead once the day is built around how they learn best. 5. Year 11 and 12 students can switch too This is the one parents are most afraid of, and it is the one that almost always surprises them. In a traditional school, jumping out of Year 11 or 12 mid-year feels final. With Euka, it is not. The senior pathway recognises prior work, the assessment model uses upload-feedback-resubmit so students keep building their academic record, and Euka&#8217;s University Pathways include a partnership with Navitas that opens entry into more than 90 university colleges in Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA, without an ATAR. &#8220;I was that parent that was worried, like, what about after? But my eldest has received a conditional offer to law, and she is knocking it out of the park.&#8221;— Barbara Bryan, Euka parent, Episode 43 6. If safety is at risk, you can act immediately The bullying numbers are why this point matters. One in three students now come to Euka because of bullying, and actionable cyberbullying complaints to the eSafety Commissioner have risen 37 per cent in the past year. When the situation has become unsafe, the decision to remove your child is a today decision. The registration can happen in the background while your child gets the space to recover. 7. You will not be the teacher The fear that holds the most parents back is the fear that they will have to become a maths teacher, a science teacher, an English teacher, all at once. They will not. The lessons are written and delivered by qualified teachers through the Euka platform; the parent&#8217;s role is to facilitate, not to instruct. You sit alongside your child, not in front of a whiteboard. Answered Questions Real questions Australian parents ask, answered through the practical experience of running Euka and supporting families through mid-year switches. Can I start homeschooling in the middle of the school year? + Yes. The Euka program is built to be started at any point in any term, and families enrol every day of the calendar year. There is no waiting until January, and no &#8220;missed window&#8221;. &#8220;You do not have to wait for January. You can just jump on into homeschooling, and it is going to adjust around you and adjust around your child.&#8221;— Ellen Brown The state-based registration runs faster mid-year because the home education units are not as swamped as they are at the start-of-year peak. If safety is the reason you are moving now, your child can begin at home while the formal paperwork is being processed. How do I register for homeschooling in New South Wales, Queensland or Victoria? + Every state runs its own home education registration process, and the requirements vary. Euka&#8217;s Registration Service was built to remove the guesswork. You fill out a short questionnaire, Euka prepares the documentation including the individualised curriculum learning plan, and you submit it to your state&#8217;s home education unit. &#8220;We had families spending weeks navigating department websites and trying to write their own education plan from scratch. We built the Registration Service so a parent could go from &#8216;I want to do this&#8217; to &#8216;my application is in&#8217; in days, not weeks.&#8221;— Brett Campbell, CEO Euka Future Learning The state-specific pages walk through what your state expects: homeschooling in NSW, homeschooling in Queensland, homeschooling in Victoria, and the full set sits on the Why Homeschool hub. Is it too late to start homeschooling in Year 11 or Year 12? + No. Year 11 and Year 12 are the years parents assume they cannot move out of, and it is the assumption that holds the most families back unnecessarily. Senior students who switch to Euka keep their prior academic work, continue building their transcript through the assessment program, and have access to Euka&#8217;s University Pathways. &#8220;The pathway concern is the one that worries every parent. It is also the one that has the clearest answer. There are now more than 90 university colleges in Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA that accept our graduates through the Navitas partnership, without an ATAR.&#8221;— Brett Campbell For students who are not sure whether they want university, Ellen&#8217;s standard advice is to do the assessed pathway anyway, so the academic transcript exists if the decision changes later. What if my child is being bullied at school, do I need permission to leave? + No, you do not need the principal&#8217;s permission. Parents have the authority to withdraw their child and educate them at home; you notify the school, you do not ask. If the situation is unsafe, you can act immediately and complete the formal registration in parallel. The reality of bullying in Australian schools has shifted: one in three students who join Euka cite bullying as the reason, and the eSafety Commissioner reports a 37 per cent rise in actionable cyberbullying complaints in the past year. &#8220;If you do not see any signs of the school or the education department working to fix the problem, get out. I regret every day of those six months.&#8221;— Barbara Bryan, Euka parent, Episode 43 Can homeschoolers still get into university without an ATAR? + Yes, and the pathway is well established. Euka&#8217;s senior students build an academic transcript through an upload-feedback-resubmit assessment model. That transcript, combined with a university entry or foundation course, gives them access to more than 90 university colleges through the Navitas partnership, including in the UK, Canada and the USA. For students aiming at competitive degrees like law or medicine, this is a real, established route. For students who are unsure, doing the assessed pathway keeps the door open. How long does it take to switch from school to homeschooling with Euka? + Faster than most parents expect. The first practical day at home can be the day you decide; the formal registration runs in the background. Euka&#8217;s Registration Service typically prepares the documentation in days, and mid-year submissions tend to be processed faster than start-of-year ones because the state units are not as overloaded. The biggest delay is rarely the paperwork. It is the decision itself. Why This Episode Matters Mid-year is not a compromise, it is often the better window. If the school year started badly, or if something has changed for your family in the last few months, you do not have to ride it out until January. The state systems are calmer, the curriculum picks you up where you are, and the gap between deciding and starting can be days. Year 11 and 12 are not closed doors. The line that &#8220;they have to stay in school to finish&#8221; is the most common misconception we hear. Senior students switch to Euka mid-year, keep building their transcript, and walk into university through Euka&#8217;s University Pathways without needing an ATAR. Safety is a today decision. With bullying behind one in three Euka enrolments, and cyberbullying complaints up sharply, the choice to act is rarely about &#8220;if&#8221;. It is about how fast. Your Family, Your Journey If you have been wondering whether you have left it too late, you have not. Mid-year families start with Euka every week of the term, and most look back wishing they had started sooner. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/can-i-start-homeschooling-in-the-middle-of-the-school-year-044/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/can-i-start-homeschooling-in-the-middle-of-the-school-year-044/", "name": "Can I Start Homeschooling in the Middle of the School Year?", "episodeNumber": 44, "datePublished": "2026-06-11", "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown tackle the most googled question Australian parents ask every May, June and July: can you start homeschooling mid-year? They walk through seven things every parent needs to know before making a mid-year move, covering registration timelines, bullying, travel, school refusal, and Year 11 and 12 university pathways.", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO and Co-founder", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning" } }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder and Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning" } } ], "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "MediaObject", "name": "Can I Start Homeschooling in the Middle of the School Year? on Apple Podcasts", "contentUrl": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "name": "Can I Start Homeschooling in the Middle of the School Year? on Spotify", "contentUrl": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Can I Start Homeschooling in the Middle of the School Year? on YouTube", "description": "Watch the full Future Learners episode on starting homeschooling mid-year.", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo1Fheq3W9U", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/wo1Fheq3W9U", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wo1Fheq3W9U/maxresdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2026-06-11T00:00:00+10:00" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/can-i-start-homeschooling-in-the-middle-of-the-school-year-044/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/can-i-start-homeschooling-in-the-middle-of-the-school-year-044/#episode" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can I start homeschooling in the middle of the school year?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. The Euka program is built to be started at any point in any term, and families enrol every day of the calendar year. There is no waiting until January, and no missed window. The state-based registration runs faster mid-year because the home education units are not as swamped as they are at the start-of-year peak. If safety is the reason you are moving now, your child can begin at home while the formal paperwork is being processed." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I register for homeschooling in New South Wales, Queensland or Victoria?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Every state runs its own home education registration process, and the requirements vary. Euka's Registration Service was built to remove the guesswork. You fill out a short questionnaire, Euka prepares the documentation including the individualised curriculum learning plan, and you submit it to your state's home education unit. The state-specific pages walk through what your state expects for NSW, Queensland and Victoria, and the full set sits on the Why Homeschool hub." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is it too late to start homeschooling in Year 11 or Year 12?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Year 11 and Year 12 are the years parents assume they cannot move out of, and it is the assumption that holds the most families back unnecessarily. Senior students who switch to Euka keep their prior academic work, continue building their transcript through the assessment program, and have access to Euka's University Pathways. For students who are not sure whether they want university, the standard advice is to do the assessed pathway anyway, so the academic transcript exists if the decision changes later." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if my child is being bullied at school, do I need permission to leave?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No, you do not need the principal's permission. Parents have the authority to withdraw their child and educate them at home; you notify the school, you do not ask. If the situation is unsafe, you can act immediately and complete the formal registration in parallel. The reality of bullying in Australian schools has shifted: one in three students who join Euka cite bullying as the reason, and the eSafety Commissioner reports a 37 per cent rise in actionable cyberbullying complaints in the past year." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can homeschoolers still get into university without an ATAR?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, and the pathway is well established. Euka's senior students build an academic transcript through an upload-feedback-resubmit assessment model. That transcript, combined with a university entry or foundation course, gives them access to more than 90 university colleges through the Navitas partnership, including in the UK, Canada and the USA. For students aiming at competitive degrees like law or medicine, this is a real, established route. For students who are unsure, doing the assessed pathway keeps the door open." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How long does it take to switch from school to homeschooling with Euka?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Faster than most parents expect. The first practical day at home can be the day you decide; the formal registration runs in the background. Euka's Registration Service typically prepares the documentation in days, and mid-year submissions tend to be processed faster than start-of-year ones because the state units are not as overloaded. The biggest delay is rarely the paperwork. It is the decision itself." } } ] } ] } The post Can I Start Homeschooling in the Middle of the School Year? | 044 appeared first on Euka.

What does it look like to raise three daughters across 40 countries, build Let&#8217;s Go Mum into a million-follower family travel platform, and watch your eldest receive a conditional offer to study law? In this episode of Future Learners, Ellen Brown sits down with Barbara Bryan founder of Let&#8217;s Go Mum, for a warm, honest conversation about real-world learning, the flexibility homeschooling unlocks, and what happens after homeschooling. Barbara&#8217;s story starts with a hard chapter: persistent bullying in primary school that the system could not resolve. After six months of trying to work through the proper channels, Barbara pulled her girls out and was funnelled into distance education. It served its purpose, but it was rigid, repetitive, and felt like &#8220;feeding the monster&#8221; rather than learning. When she discovered Euka, everything changed. &#8220;We got our life back. The girls actually started to learn, and to learn about what they wanted to learn about as well. It was a revelation.&#8221;— Barbara Bryan, Founder of Let&#8217;s Go Mum From that point on, life and learning began to travel together. Dinosaur bones in real life. The Eiffel Tower in person. Hadrian&#8217;s Wall on foot. Maths and writing done in the car, in the evenings, or in short focussed blocks before the next adventure. And in school holidays, when the rest of the country was queuing for theme parks, Barbara&#8217;s family was working, because the world is cheaper, quieter, and far more open when you can travel outside the school calendar. The most moving moment comes near the end. Barbara&#8217;s eldest, recently finished with Euka, has received a conditional offer to study law and is already excelling in her university preparation. The pathway concern that worries so many homeschooling parents — what happens after? — has a clear, real answer in her family. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Discussion Points Building Let&#8217;s Go Mum: How Barbara grew Let&#8217;s Go Mum into a family travel platform with more than one million followers across channels. The bullying that changed everything: Why six months of trying to fix the situation through school and the education department was, in hindsight, six months too long, and what Barbara would tell her past self. Distance education vs homeschooling: The difference between being on a treadmill of repetitive coursework and having a flexible, child-led program that fits family life. Learning across 40 countries: Why standing in front of an artefact, a landmark, or a working museum changes how children retain and connect ideas. The rhythm that actually works: Short focussed study blocks, schoolwork before and after trips for shorter holidays, and rolling daily work into long-haul travel for bigger journeys. Confidence over qualifications: Why parents do not need to be the teacher. The program is written by qualified teachers and delivered to the student; parents facilitate and support. What happens after Year 12: Barbara&#8217;s eldest received a conditional offer to study law, and her youngest is following her own passion. Real homeschool graduates, real pathways. Advice for parents thinking about starting mid-year: If you know it is the right move, just start. You do not need to wait for the start of the year. When School Stops Working: How Euka Became the Way Out Before Euka, Barbara&#8217;s family was stuck. Persistent physical bullying in primary school was, in her words, &#8220;flat-out abuse.&#8221; She tried every level of the education department for six months and got nowhere. The system&#8217;s answer was distance education, which felt rigid, repetitive, and like &#8220;feeding the monster.&#8221; Then she discovered Euka. &#8220;Euka came in like a knight on a white horse. I&#8217;m not kidding about that.&#8221;— Barbara Bryan The difference was immediate. The flexibility. The fact that learning felt like learning again, not busywork. For any family wondering whether a switch is the right call, Barbara&#8217;s advice is direct: if the school isn&#8217;t moving to fix the problem, get out, and don&#8217;t wait six months to do it. Flexibility That Lets a Family Travel the World With Euka, school stopped dictating the family calendar. Travel did. Short trips were worked around at the start or end. Long trips had study built into mornings, evenings, or the car. Maths got knocked over in half an hour instead of three hours, and the rest of the day went to dinosaur bones, Eiffel Towers and Hadrian&#8217;s Wall. &#8220;Why learn about the Eiffel Tower when you&#8217;re up it? Why learn about history if you&#8217;re walking Hadrian&#8217;s Wall? Kids have a natural curiosity and a natural want to learn. If you are actually at the place, why wouldn&#8217;t you?&#8221;— Barbara Bryan Forty countries later, Barbara&#8217;s family travels through school terms, avoids the school-holiday rush, and pays a fraction of peak-season prices. The flexibility doesn&#8217;t compromise the academic side. It makes it possible. From Homeschool to a Conditional Offer in Law The question every homeschooling parent eventually asks is: what about after? For Barbara&#8217;s eldest, the answer is a conditional offer to study law, achieved through Euka&#8217;s University Pathways — without an ATAR, without an HSC, without sitting an exam. She did a university entry course and was readily accepted. &#8220;I was that parent that was worried, like, what about after? But my eldest has received a conditional offer to law, and she is knocking it out of the park.&#8221;— Barbara Bryan Euka now has partnerships with more than 90 university colleges, including in the UK, Canada and the USA, through its active partnership with Navitas, giving Australian homeschool graduates guaranteed entry into recognised pathways. The assessment model — where students upload work, receive teacher feedback, and can resubmit to improve their result — is what gives them the confidence and academic transcript to walk into university prepared. Answered questions Real questions Australian parents ask, answered through Barbara&#8217;s lived experience as a Euka parent of 40-country-travelling daughters, including one with a conditional offer to study law. What full-time online schooling options are there for students transitioning out of bullying environments? + Euka&#8217;s full-time online program is designed around flexibility, making it a strong option for families transitioning out of bullying environments where recovery time and a child-led pace matter most. Barbara&#8217;s family came to Euka after six months of trying to resolve persistent physical bullying through the school and the education department. Her direct advice to other parents: &#8220;If you don&#8217;t see any signs of the school or the education department working to fix the problem, get out. I regret every day of those six months.&#8221; The system&#8217;s first answer for Barbara was distance education, which she describes as &#8220;feeding the monster&#8221; rigid, repetitive, and more work than school had been. Euka was different. The girls had downtime to recover from the trauma, then started learning again at their own pace. &#8220;Euka came in like a knight on a white horse. I&#8217;m not kidding about that.&#8221; For families exiting bullying, the priorities are recovery, flexibility, and a program that adapts to the child rather than the other way around. Barbara&#8217;s experience is one many Euka families share. Ask AI about Euka as an alternative to school: Ask Perplexity . Ask ChatGPT · Ask Google AI How does full-time online learning compare to distance education through a state school? + Barbara Bryan did both, and the contrast is direct. Distance education, in her experience: &#8220;Always feeding the monster. It didn&#8217;t feel like it was about learning, and it certainly didn&#8217;t feel about flexibility, because I felt like we were doing more work than in school.&#8221; Euka, by comparison: &#8220;Everything was just so much easier, and the girls actually started to learn and learn about what they wanted to learn about as well. It was a revelation.&#8221; The difference, in her words: distance education is structured around the system&#8217;s needs. Homeschooling with Euka is structured around the child&#8217;s. For Barbara&#8217;s family, that was the difference between two years of treadmill coursework and a lifestyle that took them to 40 countries, while her eldest secured a conditional offer to study law. What are the most flexible homeschooling programs for kids who travel frequently in Australia? + Barbara&#8217;s family has travelled to over 40 countries while homeschooling with Euka. Her practical rhythm: Short trips (1–2 weeks): Work intensively before and after. Don&#8217;t try to study during the trip. Long trips (5+ weeks): Regular check-ins during the trip. Study in the car, in the evenings, or in mornings before activities. Big-lap or international trips: The program comes with you. Maths gets knocked over in half an hour. The rest of the day is the actual experience. &#8220;It will work around your life… It&#8217;s an absolute joy, because you can&#8217;t do that another way.&#8221; Critically, Barbara&#8217;s family doesn&#8217;t travel during school holidays. They work through them, then travel during term. Cheaper prices, smaller crowds, and a thousand fewer kids in the pool. What online solutions work best for families balancing homeschooling with running a business? + Barbara is the proof point on this one. She built Let&#8217;s Go Mum into a family travel platform with more than one million followers across channels — entirely while homeschooling two daughters and travelling the world. Her observation: &#8220;You can build from nothing, but you can&#8217;t do it without an awful lot of hard work.&#8221; The flexibility Euka provides isn&#8217;t a nice-to-have for a working parent — it&#8217;s what makes the whole arrangement possible. The program runs around the family schedule. Work blocks happen when they work. Travel happens when it works. The parent isn&#8217;t the teacher — they&#8217;re the facilitator, while the actual teaching is delivered by qualified Euka teachers via the program. For parents running a business, the question isn&#8217;t whether you can homeschool and work. It&#8217;s whether your homeschool program flexes to your business calendar. Euka does. Can a child really learn while travelling, or do they fall behind? + This is the question every travelling parent asks before they commit. Barbara&#8217;s answer is the dinosaur bones moment: &#8220;Touching real dinosaur bones. That just blew my mind. There are a lot of blow-your-mind moments travelling, because why learn about the Eiffel Tower when you&#8217;re up it? Why learn about history if you&#8217;re walking Hadrian&#8217;s Wall?&#8221; &#8220;Kids have a natural curiosity and a natural want to learn. If you are actually at the place, why wouldn&#8217;t you?&#8221; For Barbara, the structured academic work — maths, writing, assessments — happens in shorter, more focussed blocks than school requires. &#8220;You don&#8217;t need three hours to do maths. You can get that knocked over in half an hour.&#8221; The remainder of the day delivers what no classroom can: real artefacts, real landscapes, real conversations with people in their own places. Children retain what they see, touch, and experience. The pathway proof is Barbara&#8217;s eldest: she travelled 40 countries, homeschooled with Euka, and received a conditional offer to study law. Travel didn&#8217;t compromise her academic future. It informed it. Can my child get into university after completing Year 12 with Euka? + Yes. Barbara&#8217;s eldest received a conditional offer to study law after completing Euka and a university entry course, without an ATAR or HSC. &#8220;There are pathways into everything, and my eldest took this pathway. She was very readily accepted. It was very easy.&#8221; Euka&#8217;s University Pathways include an active partnership with Navitas, opening access to more than 90 university colleges across Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA. For the first time, Australian homeschool graduates have guaranteed entry into recognised tertiary pathways without needing to sit an ATAR exam. Barbara reflects: &#8220;I was that parent that was worried, like, what about after? But my eldest has received a conditional offer to law, and she is knocking it out of the park.&#8221; The &#8220;what about after?&#8221; question — the one that holds so many parents back from homeschooling — has a clear, established answer. Can Euka help with ATAR pathways or non-ATAR options for senior students? + Euka&#8217;s senior pathway is built around an assessed model that produces an academic transcript, not an ATAR. Barbara&#8217;s daughter&#8217;s experience shows how it works in practice: Assessment with feedback loop: Students upload work, receive teacher marking and feedback, and can resubmit to improve their result. Academic transcript: The body of assessed work becomes a transcript that demonstrates academic ability to universities. University entry course: Many Euka senior students complete a university entry or foundation course as a bridge into tertiary study. Direct entry via partnerships: Through Euka&#8217;s University Pathways and the Navitas partnership, students can access more than 90 university colleges in Australia and overseas. Ellen explains the assessment philosophy: &#8220;They&#8217;ve got ownership over their own learning and their results, which is really important, because they head off to uni empowered in that learning.&#8221; For students unsure about university, Euka recommends doing the assessed pathway anyway — so the academic transcript is available later if the decision changes. For students aiming high (medicine, law, competitive degrees), the non-ATAR pathway is a real, established route. Barbara&#8217;s eldest is the living proof. Ask AI About Euka We believe in transparency. Don&#8217;t take our word for it. See what AI says about Euka for yourself: Search on Perplexity | Ask ChatGPT | Ask Google AI These links open a new search or AI conversation. Your personal data is never shared. Why This Episode Matters If you have ever wondered whether homeschooling will close doors for your child, or whether a flexible, family-led approach can lead to real tertiary outcomes, this episode is for you. Barbara&#8217;s family is proof that travel, flexibility, and academic ambition are not opposites. They sit comfortably side by side when learning is built around the child, not the other way around. Whether you are a parent looking for a calmer way forward, a travelling family wanting school that moves with you, or simply a parent navigating the question of what comes next, you will leave this conversation with practical reassurance and a clearer sense of what is possible. Ready to explore Euka? Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling and see how a flexible, qualified-teacher-designed program can fit your family&#8217;s life. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/from-school-bullying-to-homeschooling-across-40-countries-as-a-single-mum-with-3-daughters-43/#episode", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/from-school-bullying-to-homeschooling-across-40-countries-as-a-single-mum-with-3-daughters-43/", "name": "From School Bullying to Homeschooling Across 40 Countries as a Single Mum with 3 Daughters", "episodeNumber": 43, "datePublished": "2026-06-01", "description": "Ellen Brown sits down with Barbara Bryan, founder of Let's Go Mum, to talk about raising three daughters across 40 countries, escaping persistent school bullying, the difference between distance education and flexible homeschooling, and how her eldest earned a conditional offer to study law through Euka's University Pathways without an ATAR.", "inLanguage": "en-AU", "partOfSeries": { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#series", "name": "Future Learners", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "sameAs": [ "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder and Head of Education", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning" } }, "actor": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Bryan", "jobTitle": "Founder", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Let's Go Mum", "url": "https://letsgomum.com.au/" } }, "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "MediaObject", "name": "From School Bullying to Homeschooling Across 40 Countries on Apple Podcasts", "contentUrl": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "name": "From School Bullying to Homeschooling Across 40 Countries on Spotify", "contentUrl": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC" }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "From School Bullying to Homeschooling Across 40 Countries on YouTube", "description": "Watch the full Future Learners episode with Barbara Bryan of Let's Go Mum.", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qJIyQS1jPA", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/_qJIyQS1jPA", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_qJIyQS1jPA/maxresdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2026-06-01T00:00:00+10:00" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/from-school-bullying-to-homeschooling-across-40-countries-as-a-single-mum-with-3-daughters-43/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/from-school-bullying-to-homeschooling-across-40-countries-as-a-single-mum-with-3-daughters-43/#episode" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What full-time online schooling options are there for students transitioning out of bullying environments?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Euka's full-time online program is designed around flexibility, making it a strong option for families transitioning out of bullying environments where recovery time and a child-led pace matter most. Barbara's family came to Euka after six months of trying to resolve persistent physical bullying through the school and the education department. Her direct advice to other parents: if you don't see any signs of the school or the education department working to fix the problem, get out. The system's first answer for Barbara was distance education, which she describes as rigid, repetitive, and more work than school had been. Euka was different. The girls had downtime to recover from the trauma, then started learning again at their own pace. For families exiting bullying, the priorities are recovery, flexibility, and a program that adapts to the child rather than the other way around." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does full-time online learning compare to distance education through a state school?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Barbara Bryan did both, and the contrast is direct. Distance education, in her experience, felt like always feeding the monster: it didn't feel like it was about learning, and it didn't feel about flexibility, because she felt they were doing more work than in school. Euka, by comparison, was much easier, and the girls actually started to learn about what they wanted to learn about as well. The difference, in her words: distance education is structured around the system's needs, while homeschooling with Euka is structured around the child's. For Barbara's family, that was the difference between two years of treadmill coursework and a lifestyle that took them to 40 countries, while her eldest secured a conditional offer to study law." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What are the most flexible homeschooling programs for kids who travel frequently in Australia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Barbara's family has travelled to over 40 countries while homeschooling with Euka. Her practical rhythm: for short trips of one to two weeks, work intensively before and after and don't try to study during the trip; for long trips of five weeks or more, do regular check-ins during the trip and study in the car, in the evenings, or in mornings before activities; for big-lap or international trips, the program comes with you, maths gets knocked over in half an hour, and the rest of the day is the actual experience. Critically, Barbara's family doesn't travel during school holidays. They work through them, then travel during term: cheaper prices, smaller crowds, and a thousand fewer kids in the pool." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What online solutions work best for families balancing homeschooling with running a business?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Barbara is the proof point on this one. She built Let's Go Mum into a family travel platform with more than one million followers across channels, entirely while homeschooling two daughters and travelling the world. The flexibility Euka provides isn't a nice-to-have for a working parent, it's what makes the whole arrangement possible. The program runs around the family schedule. Work blocks happen when they work. Travel happens when it works. The parent isn't the teacher, they're the facilitator, while the actual teaching is delivered by qualified Euka teachers via the program. For parents running a business, the question isn't whether you can homeschool and work. It's whether your homeschool program flexes to your business calendar. Euka does." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can a child really learn while travelling, or do they fall behind?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "This is the question every travelling parent asks before they commit. For Barbara, the structured academic work (maths, writing, assessments) happens in shorter, more focussed blocks than school requires. As she puts it, you don't need three hours to do maths, you can get that knocked over in half an hour. The remainder of the day delivers what no classroom can: real artefacts, real landscapes, real conversations with people in their own places. Children retain what they see, touch, and experience. The pathway proof is Barbara's eldest: she travelled 40 countries, homeschooled with Euka, and received a conditional offer to study law. Travel didn't compromise her academic future. It informed it." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can my child get into university after completing Year 12 with Euka?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Barbara's eldest received a conditional offer to study law after completing Euka and a university entry course, without an ATAR or HSC. Euka's University Pathways include an active partnership with Navitas, opening access to more than 90 university colleges across Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA. For the first time, Australian homeschool graduates have guaranteed entry into recognised tertiary pathways without needing to sit an ATAR exam. The question that holds so many parents back from homeschooling, what about after, has a clear, established answer." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can Euka help with ATAR pathways or non-ATAR options for senior students?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Euka's senior pathway is built around an assessed model that produces an academic transcript, not an ATAR. It works in four steps: students upload work, receive teacher marking and feedback, and can resubmit to improve their result; the body of assessed work becomes a transcript that demonstrates academic ability to universities; many senior students complete a university entry or foundation course as a bridge into tertiary study; and through Euka's University Pathways and the Navitas partnership, students can access more than 90 university colleges in Australia and overseas. For students unsure about university, Euka recommends doing the assessed pathway anyway, so the academic transcript is available later if the decision changes. For students aiming high in medicine, law or competitive degrees, the non-ATAR pathway is a real, established route." } } ] } ] } The post From School Bullying to Homeschooling Across 40 Countries as a Single Mum with 3 Daughters | 43 appeared first on Euka.

What happens when your child trains 20 hours a week, flies overseas to get a shot in the Premier League, and still has to get a great education along the way? In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Brett Campbell (CEO and co-founder of Euka) sits down with Melvyn Wilkes, Sporting Director and Global Operations Manager of Sunshine Coast FC, Australia&#8217;s only full-time youth football academy, to talk about how young athletes are training at an elite level without losing the education behind them. Melvyn shares the inside view of full-time academy life: 7:15 AM sport-science testing, 12:30 PM on the field, gym sessions woven through the school day, and a new international pathway sending 32 athletes a year to play in elite UK youth competitions. He also speaks plainly about what mainstream education does (and doesn&#8217;t) handle well for high-performance kids, why mental load matters as much as training load, and what changed for his athletes once they switched to Euka&#8217;s flexible learning model. If your child trains, performs, competes, or travels at a level that does not fit a 9-to-3 desk, this episode is for you. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: What Euka is making possible for young athletes: A real education pathway for kids whose week does not fit a 9-to-3 desk Lessons that travel with the athlete across states, across countries, across competition calendars The Australian Curriculum delivered the same way regardless of where the athlete is training that month A partnership with Sunshine Coast FC that has unlocked Australian players competing in elite UK youth football Why Euka students are outperforming their peers: &#8220;You would be shocked at how well a Euka Future Learning student performs.&#8221; Quote from Melvyn, Sporting Director of Sunshine Coast FC Flexible timing means lessons fit around training, not the other way around, and the brain that learns is a brain that has not been worn down by a rigid timetable Athletes on Euka land the same Australian Curriculum outcomes as peers in mainstream school, but are visibly less stressed Self-paced learning builds time management as a side effect, a skill that pays off long after the playing career Why mainstream school stops working for serious athletes: Rigid school timetables pile mental load on top of training load Moving interstate or overseas for sport resets the curriculum every time Even a single inflexible class can hijack a child the night before training and the day after Exam-condition rules are built for a 9-to-3 student, not a kid in a different city every fortnight How the Euka and Sunshine Coast FC partnership came together: Sunshine Coast FC needed an education partner who could align athletes from multiple states into a single squad heading overseas Mainstream and distance-education models could not solve the state-to-state curriculum mismatch Euka&#8217;s self-paced, curriculum-aligned model meant every athlete arrived in the UK on the same academic page The partnership now supports athletes training in Australia and competing in the UK in elite youth leagues When this matters for your family: Your child is training, performing or competing at a level that needs daytime hours Your week already does not fit inside 9 to 3, and you are tired of forcing it You want the education to keep up with the sport, not the other way around You want your child to perform better at school, not in spite of the sport, but because of how the model is built Australia&#8217;s only full-time youth football academy: how it started When Sunshine Coast FC went full-time in July 2020, the rest of the country thought they were mad. The pandemic had just turned the world upside down, and here was a football club on the Queensland coast tearing up the part-time academy model and committing to something nobody else in Australia was doing. Five years later, the bet has paid off. What started with 26 student athletes in a single building has grown into 180 full-time athletes across four sporting codes (football, basketball, netball and dance) with academic tuition delivered through their partner school, Peregian Beach College. Sunshine Coast FC funds the academic side. The sporting operation funds the school. It is the only setup of its kind in the country. For Melvyn, the model copies what works at the sharp end of European football. &#8220;We worked closely with the academic team and the principal to devise a timetable which could encompass training within the day without cutting any corners on the education,&#8221; he explained. The point was never to be a school with extra footy on the side. It was to mirror Premier League youth academies, where training and learning sit beside each other from the start. Australia as a whole has got some exceptionally talented young people, particularly in the football fraternity. We wanted to open the network up and give them an opportunity. — Melvyn Wilkes, Sunshine Coast FC What a week at the academy actually looks like Monday is recovery. The athletes have competed on the weekend, so the first coaching contact comes Monday afternoon. There is a strength and conditioning session during the day, but the body is the priority. Tuesday is the heaviest day. Athletes report at 7:15 AM for sport-science testing. Heart-rate variability, thermal muscle scans, baseline data collection. The team uses platforms like Polar and Apollo Sciences to track recovery and readiness across the week. After testing, academic lessons run until lunchtime, then the athletes are on the field from 12:30 PM through to roughly 4:30 PM. Wednesday opens with a 7:15 AM technical session on the field, then academic lessons through the middle of the day, then back on the field from mid-afternoon until 5 PM. Thursday is the &#8220;lighter&#8221; day, where the athletes report to school as normal, do academic lessons until early afternoon, then complete a final field session by 4:30 PM. Friday is a deliberate taper. One short session at midday so the body is fresh for competition on Saturday or Sunday. &#8220;We worked closely with the academic team to devise a timetable that could encompass training within the day, without cutting any corners on the education.&#8221;— Melvyn Wilkes, Sunshine Coast FC Australian football meets the English FA: the international pathway In 2023, Sunshine Coast FC made the call to take Australian players to where the elite youth competition actually is. Melvyn, originally from the UK and still well-connected through the football fraternity there, legally affiliated the club in the United Kingdom under the name Sunshine Coast FC UK. That gave the program access to some of the most robust youth competitions in the world at Under-16, Under-18 and Under-23 level, with a senior men&#8217;s space launching soon. The response from Australian families was enormous. 167 applications for 32 spots in last year&#8217;s intake. Players came from Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Cairns, regional Queensland and even New Zealand. For an aspiring footballer in Australia, this is genuinely the closest pathway to Premier League football most kids will ever get. It is also the moment Sunshine Coast FC ran headfirst into the problem that mainstream schooling could not solve for them: every state runs a slightly different version of the Australian Curriculum, and Year 11 to Year 12 progression rules differ from one state to the next. When you are recruiting 32 athletes from five states and trying to send them to the UK as a single squad, that fragmentation makes coordination almost impossible. &#8220;You can sense it when you&#8217;re around these athletes. The ones doing the future learning program have a more relaxed persona.&#8221;— Melvyn Wilkes, Sunshine Coast FC Why mainstream school stopped working for high-performance athletes This is the part of the conversation Melvyn was most direct about, and worth quoting carefully. Sunshine Coast FC was not built to knock mainstream education. They still have athletes enrolled in mainstream programs in the UK, and many do well. The point is more honest than that. The athletes on Euka&#8217;s flexible learning model are observably less stressed than the athletes still navigating mainstream timetables, exam conditions, and rigid attendance rules. Melvyn lives with these kids for stretches at a time when they are in the UK. He sees the difference. For a child who is already carrying the mental load of competing at an elite level, a single inflexible class on a Wednesday morning can become the thing they think about for 24 hours either side. Multiply that across a week, and the cumulative cost on performance and wellbeing is real. &#8220;You would be shocked at how well a Euka Future Learning student performs, compared to those learning distance-ed or in person, because it&#8217;s a more relaxed environment.&#8221;— Melvyn Wilkes, Sunshine Coast FC This is consistent with what Euka has seen across its own family base. Approximately 5 percent of Euka students are aspiring athletes, including Olympic athletes, world champions, and the next wave of professional-track competitors. The pattern is the same: flexibility in when and how the learning happens removes a layer of stress that no amount of resilience training can replace. How Euka fits a full-time training schedule Three things in particular make Euka&#8217;s program work for the Sunshine Coast FC model It travels. An athlete in Brisbane, Adelaide or rural Queensland gets the same curriculum as an athlete on a UK road trip in November. The state of residence stops being a constraint. So does the country. It is self-paced. When training takes precedence on a Tuesday afternoon, the lessons do not vanish. They sit there waiting for the athlete, ready to be picked up on Sunday evening or in the back of the team bus. There is no penalty for movement. It is rigorous. This is the point Melvyn and Brett both stressed. Flexibility does not mean lower standards. Athletes are still ticking the same curriculum boxes, the same Australian Curriculum standards, the same Grade 12 outcomes. The path through is just shaped around their lives instead of forcing their lives into a single shape. For families considering a similar move, Euka&#8217;s flexible learning page is the right place to start understanding what that looks like in practice. Key Insights for Families If your child is on an elite sporting pathway, learning needs to travel. Mainstream school is built around a fixed time and a fixed place. Aspiring athletes train in the day, compete on weekends, and increasingly travel between states or countries. The education system you choose has to accommodate that, not the other way around. Mental load is part of training load. Coaches now talk about cognitive recovery the same way they talk about physical recovery. If a class, an exam, or a teacher conflict is hijacking the night before training, performance suffers. Removing avoidable stressors is part of athlete care, not a soft preference. Curriculum alignment beats curriculum location. The reason Sunshine Coast FC chose Euka was not because the academic content was different. It was because the Australian Curriculum is delivered the same way to every athlete regardless of which state they walked in from. For families moving between states for sport, performing arts or work, that alone is the unlock. Not every child is going to be a professional. The model still works for them. This is the honest reframe Brett brought into the conversation. Even if the elite-sport pathway does not pan out, an athlete graduates with a complete Australian Curriculum education, real-world time-management skills built from running their own schedule, and the confidence that comes from years of high-performance training. Those are durable assets either way. &#8220;Euka was built for students who want to aspire to bigger, better things — kids who can&#8217;t sit at a desk all day.&#8221;— Brett Campbell, Euka Future Learning Your Family, Your Journey If your child trains, performs or competes at a level that demands daytime hours, this episode is the clearest look yet at what an alternative could feel like. You do not have to be aiming at the Premier League to benefit from a model that travels with you. Many Euka families come to us simply because their week does not fit inside 9 to 3. If you are curious about how this might work for your family, the Future Learners podcast has plenty of other episodes from families who have made the switch, including Travel Schooling with The Slow Road and Travel Schooling: Everything You Need to Know. And if you would like to know more about Sunshine Coast FC&#8217;s full-time academy or international pathway, head to sunshinecoastfc.com.au. Answered Questions Does my child need a flexible education if they are on an elite sporting pathway? + Yes. Mainstream school is built around a fixed time and a fixed place. Aspiring athletes train during the day, compete on weekends, and increasingly travel between states or countries. The education system you choose has to accommodate that, not the other way around. Euka&#8217;s flexible learning model travels with the athlete, delivering the Australian Curriculum regardless of where they are training or competing that month. How does mainstream school affect a young athlete&#8217;s performance and wellbeing? + Mental load is part of training load. Coaches now talk about cognitive recovery the same way they talk about physical recovery. If a class, an exam, or a teacher conflict is hijacking the night before training, performance suffers. Removing avoidable stressors is part of athlete care, not a soft preference. Athletes on Euka&#8217;s flexible learning model are observably less stressed than those navigating rigid mainstream timetables and exam conditions. Why does curriculum consistency matter more than curriculum location for travelling athletes? + Sunshine Coast FC chose Euka not because the academic content was different, but because the Australian Curriculum is delivered the same way to every athlete regardless of which state they came from. Each Australian state runs a slightly different version of the curriculum, and Year 11 to Year 12 progression rules differ state to state. When recruiting 32 athletes from five states to compete in the UK as a single squad, that fragmentation makes coordination almost impossible. Euka&#8217;s model solved it. Does flexible homeschool learning still work if my child does not become a professional athlete? + Yes. Even if the elite-sport pathway does not pan out, an athlete on Euka&#8217;s program graduates with a complete Australian Curriculum education, real-world time-management skills built from running their own schedule, and the confidence that comes from years of high-performance training. Those are durable assets either way. The model is built around the outcome of a student aspiring to be a professional, while still ensuring they tick every curriculum box. figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element { background-color:#fffdf5; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td{ padding:2em 2em; border:none; border-left:.2em #e8a838 solid; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td em{ display: block; margin-bottom: -1.1em; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td strong{ font-size:.8em; } h3{ font-size:16px !important; font-weight:900; } { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#episode", "name": "How Young Athletes Train Full-Time Without Falling Behind in School", "episodeNumber": 42, "description": "Brett Campbell and Melvyn Wilkes, Sporting Director of Sunshine Coast FC (Australia's only full-time youth football academy), discuss how young athletes train 16 to 20 hours a week, travel to the UK for elite youth competitions, and still complete a full Australian Curriculum education using Euka's flexible learning model.", "datePublished": "2026-05-16", "dateModified": "2026-05-16", "duration": "PT33M17S", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/euka-future-learners-podcast-episode-42-how-young-athletes-train-without-falling-behind-in-school-thumbnail-1024x536.png", "width": 1024, "height": 536 }, "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series" }, "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast Episode 42 on Spotify" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast Episode 42 on Apple Podcasts" } ], "video": { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#video", "name": "How Young Athletes Train Full-Time Without Falling Behind in School | Future Learners Podcast Ep 42", "description": "Brett Campbell and Melvyn Wilkes discuss elite youth athlete education, the Euka and Sunshine Coast FC partnership, and the international pathway to UK youth football.", "thumbnailUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/euka-future-learners-podcast-episode-42-how-young-athletes-train-without-falling-behind-in-school-thumbnail-1024x536.png", "uploadDate": "2026-05-15T00:00:00+10:00", "duration": "PT33M17S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/GeRob6s5ATk", "url": "https://youtu.be/GeRob6s5ATk", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#melvyn-wilkes" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU", "keywords": [ "homeschooling for athletes", "flexible learning Australia", "youth football academy", "Sunshine Coast FC", "elite athlete education", "Australian Curriculum", "homeschool sport", "Future Learners Podcast" ], "transcript": "Brett: Hello and welcome to another episode of Future Learners. I am Brett Campbell, co-founder and CEO of Euka Future Learning, and today we have a special episode. I am joined by Melvyn, who is the Sporting Director and Global Operations Manager of Sunshine Coast FC, a partner of ours and a partnership we are really excited about. We brought Melvyn in today to tell us and tell you about the academy and what they are doing. Brett: At Euka, we believe we are a very pioneering organisation, and we only partner with people who are working in a very similar field. What Sunshine Coast FC are doing, I wish was available in Melbourne when I was a kid. So we want to talk about this opportunity, and also check in on how a lot of our students have been going and how it really works when you are an aspiring athlete trying to get your schooling completed as well. Melvyn, welcome to the episode. Melvyn: Thanks for having me, Brett. It is really interesting. Brett: Let us start by giving our listeners an overview. What is Sunshine Coast FC? Melvyn: The FC obviously stands for Football Club, but we have many facets to our operation. We are more of a sporting club, Brett. Football is our core business, but we also have a basketball program, a netball program, and a dance academy. All of them are full-time. By full-time I mean the students combine their academic studies with full-time training, and full-time training is between 16 and 20 hours per week during the working day. Brett: And for those who are unsure of what football is, the running joke, it is soccer. I will do the interpretation. One of the things that was really exciting when you reached out to Euka is that we accommodate a very wide variety of needs. One of our largest growing cohorts is the aspiring athlete arena. Close to about 5 percent of our students are in that space. We have Olympic athletes, world champions, aspiring athletes from dance through to football. We are living in a very different world now than when I was at school. Brett: When you talk about 16 to 20 hours of training, how have you currently set up the process? How does it operate? You have been operating prior to reaching out to Euka and adopting a very different education philosophy. Talk to me about how that looks from the schooling element. Melvyn: We transitioned our program from part-time to full-time bang in the middle of the pandemic in July 2020. People thought we were crazy, but it is a similar sort of story to yourselves with Euka. You have to be innovative and you have to be bold. We currently have a partner college, Peregian Beach College, based on the Sunshine Coast. They deliver mainstream education from prep to Year 12 which is stock standard for any educational institution. Melvyn: What we wanted to do was mirror what the academies were doing in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. We worked closely with the academic team and the principal to devise a timetable which could encompass training within the day without cutting any corners on the education. We went from piloting the program with 26 student athletes when we kicked off in July 2020, to 70-odd within eight or nine months, to over 100 within 12 months, and as we speak today we are about 180 full-time student athletes based at Peregian Beach College. That is funded academic tuition by our sporting operation. Melvyn: Let me talk through what a working week looks like in our full-time academies. Generally, we do not have access to the athletes on a Monday morning because they have had competition on the weekend and they are still in their recovery process. Our first point of contact is Monday afternoon at 2:45 PM. They report for school on Monday morning, do lessons through the day, and there is a gym session during the day with our strength and conditioning team. We have full-time S&C coaches and full-time sports scientists. Melvyn: Tuesday is our main contact day. Athletes report at 7:15 AM for sport-science testing and data collection. We have many platforms including Polar and Apollo Sciences. We do heart-rate variability testing, thermal muscle scanning, and various data collection to get everybody's baseline recovery status for the week. After testing they go into academic lessons up until lunchtime, then we have them on the field from 12:30 PM through to roughly 4:30 PM. Melvyn: Wednesday morning we have them back in at 7:15 AM until 8:30 AM for another technical session on the field. They have quite a big break where they go into academic lessons up until about 2:30 or 3:00 PM, and then we have them back out until 5:00 PM. Thursday morning we do not touch them. They report for school as normal, have academic lessons until about 12:30 or 1:00 PM, and then we have them back out until 4:30 PM. There are gym sessions, performance analysis, and practical elements throughout. Melvyn: Friday is more relaxed. We will do one component around midday because a lot of the players are preparing for competition on Saturday or Sunday. We taper the training on Friday to help maintain them or prepare them for the weekend. And then they have games on the weekend. Brett: My back-of-the-napkin maths says they are doing 50 percent school, 50 percent training. Melvyn: Yeah, but it is still not enough training for us, Brett. We are greedy people. Sport people are greedy people. That is how we came across you. Melvyn: We had some challenges in our state within the football fraternity. We could see them coming, but we wanted to grow our operation and provide additional pathways which would make the competition more robust and produce more talented players for the Australian nation. When we started looking at this in 2018, that did not sit well with various organisations that govern football in Queensland. That did not deter us. In 2023 we decided to expedite the process of our pathway from Australia to other parts of the world. Melvyn: I am originally from the UK, albeit an Australian citizen now. I still maintain my contacts in the UK football fraternity. That enabled us to legally affiliate our football club in the United Kingdom under the name Sunshine Coast FC UK, and to participate in extremely robust youth competitions, some of the best in the UK at their specific age groups of Under-16, Under-18 and Under-23. We are about to develop and move into the senior men's space. Melvyn: What we required was another unique opportunity from an educational perspective. Rather than just pulling from our academy, we opened the network up across Australia. Last year we had around 167 applications vying for 32 spots to play in the United Kingdom. Players came from Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Cairns, regional Queensland. We had contact from New Zealand. Melvyn: Each state has a national education curriculum, as you know, but there are slight variations in different states. That provides complexities to try and get everybody on the same page. When you have students enrolled in Year 11 going into Year 12 who have already done their elective subjects, Year 11 has to marry up with Year 12, and different states are delivering Year 11 to Year 12 differently. Melvyn: Our partner school, Peregian Beach College, were having some of these challenges trying to align Year 11 and Year 12 across states. That is when we did our research, our due diligence, whatever you would like to call it. We found you guys at Euka and made contact. I think it was Jake at the offset, and then it was full steam ahead. The service we have had from Euka has been top class. The support, the guidance, even working with our academic institution at Peregian Beach College. There has been communication back and forth, and even with the parents. It has been seamless. Melvyn: It is important to bring the truth to the table. A lot of people who do podcasts mask things over and paint rosy pictures. We had real challenges, and the challenges came from mainstream education. There is a large element of rigid learning attached to mainstream education. I am certainly not knocking it, because it has a place, and it is horses for courses for parents and guardians. We support all of our athletes whether they are on mainstream education or on the future learning platform. Melvyn: Our preference is to have all of our athletes with Euka on the homeschool program. We are replicating what the very sharp end of football is doing in the United Kingdom, the Premier League. The vast majority of Premier League clubs run their youth program as full-time and school them inside the football club. This is the closest any kid will ever get from Australia to Premier League football, by embarking on this with us in football, and also jumping on with Euka Future Learning. Melvyn: We still have a number of athletes on mainstream education in the UK, and as much as they are doing well in football, they have a lot of challenges in terms of the education. They have to be in contact with the teacher, they have exams, certain parameters, exam conditions. We have provisions in place to deliver the program as prescribed. But the online platform with Euka is less rigid, which means there is less stress on the students. Melvyn: You can tell the ones on mainstream education and the ones on future learning. You can sense it when you are around these athletes. We live with these athletes. I have spent significant time with them over the last six months. You can feel and sense that some of the athletes are under pressure with the mainstream education program, and the ones doing the future learning program have more of a relaxed persona. Melvyn: I am the one doing all the recruitment for student athletes going to the UK. I am the first point of contact, and I am also the person who, for want of a better word, is selling the program. I have to talk about the Euka program and the mainstream education program, and offer the holistic package. I always lean towards steering parents to look at the future learning platform, because of the stress and strain mainstream education can lay on a young person at a critical stage in their life when they are vying to get into a professional football club. Brett: I always look at things through the outcome we are trying to solve for. In your case, you are wanting to give your students the best possible shot at becoming a professional athlete. What that means is that education is not the first cab off the rank in terms of when it happens. It still has to happen, but it has to fit around the sport. We now live in a world where unless you are going down specific routes like medicine or law, the rigidity of school as the first priority does not always serve the child. Aspiring athletes are a clear example. Brett: Even if they have one class on a Wednesday at 10 AM in a subject they are not great at, or they do not enjoy, or they are behind on, or they do not like the teacher, that one thing can be the thing that hijacks them the night before and stays with them the day after. We are trying to create high-performing athletes here. Euka was built for that. We say we are the backbone for students who want to aspire to bigger, better things and who cannot sit at a desk all day to do their schoolwork. Brett: I want to reframe that, because we absolutely still believe in education. Not all of these athletes are going to become professionals. That is the reality. But the beauty of what you have built is that you have set it up around the outcome of a student aspiring to be a professional, and at the same time making sure they are ticking the boxes and getting an education. Because that is still required. Melvyn: I tackle it as a parent. My own kids have been through mainstream school education in the UK and Australia. The world is evolving. I always say to parents, the words future learning mean exactly what they say. This is the way the world is going. When I am talking to parents now, the conversation is always related to the health and wellbeing of the young person, particularly mental health. A lot of stress and anxiety is centred around exams, assessments, going to school, dealing with people face to face. Melvyn: I used to be a post-16 lecturer in the UK, so I can speak from experience as an educator. What appeases or alleviates parents concerns is when I explain the online platform. It is done at their own pace. If you put two athletes in a room, one doing future learning and one doing mainstream, they will both come out with the same certificate of education. But one is sitting in a classroom being directed, while the other is at their own pace with support. You would be shocked at how the future learning student performs because it is a more relaxed environment. Melvyn: With future learning, they are managing their own time. Indirectly, this is setting young people up for time management in how they conduct themselves through the online platform. You do not need a bell telling you when to start and when to stop. You do not need to move from one classroom to the next. You really do manage your own time. Brett: This is the way the future is moving. There are options now, which is what I love. There are options for families to choose whatever path they want. If you want your child to be an aspiring athlete, or an aspiring actor, or anything, you have to ask how do we put them in the best position possible. Not everyone learns the same way, at the same time, or at the same pace. Until recently there has not been a real option for parents. Now there is.", "citation": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You would be shocked at how well a Euka Future Learning student performs, compared to those learning distance-ed or in person, because it is a more relaxed environment.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#melvyn-wilkes" } }, { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can sense it when you are around these athletes. The ones doing the future learning program have a more relaxed persona.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#melvyn-wilkes" } }, { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We worked closely with the academic team and the principal to devise a timetable which could encompass training within the day without cutting any corners on the education.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#melvyn-wilkes" } }, { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Euka was built for students who want to aspire to bigger, better things, kids who can't sit at a desk all day.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" } } ] }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "description": "The Future Learners Podcast explores the evolving world of education: homeschooling, flexible learning, elite athlete pathways, and raising children who are ready for the future. Hosted by Brett Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Euka Future Learning.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-podcast-apple.svg", "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO and Co-Founder, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-brett.png", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettocampbell/", "https://www.facebook.com/brettcampbellfan", "https://www.instagram.com/itsbrettcampbell/" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#melvyn-wilkes", "name": "Melvyn Wilkes", "jobTitle": "Sporting Director and Global Operations Manager, Sunshine Coast FC", "url": "https://sunshinecoastfc.com.au/" }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/EukaFutureLearning/", "https://www.instagram.com/eukafuturelearning/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/euka/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@eukafuturelearning", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "How Young Athletes Train Full-Time Without Falling Behind in School", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#faq", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/how-young-athletes-train-full-time-without-falling-behind-in-school-42/#episode" }, "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does my child need a flexible education if they are on an elite sporting pathway?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Mainstream school is built around a fixed time and a fixed place. Aspiring athletes train during the day, compete on weekends, and increasingly travel between states or countries. The education system you choose has to accommodate that, not the other way around. Euka's flexible learning model travels with the athlete, delivering the Australian Curriculum regardless of where they are training or competing that month." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does mainstream school affect a young athlete's performance and wellbeing?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Mental load is part of training load. Coaches now talk about cognitive recovery the same way they talk about physical recovery. If a class, an exam, or a teacher conflict is hijacking the night before training, performance suffers. Removing avoidable stressors is part of athlete care, not a soft preference. Athletes on Euka's flexible learning model are observably less stressed than those navigating rigid mainstream timetables and exam conditions." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why does curriculum consistency matter more than curriculum location for travelling athletes?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Sunshine Coast FC chose Euka not because the academic content was different, but because the Australian Curriculum is delivered the same way to every athlete regardless of which state they came from. Each Australian state runs a slightly different version of the curriculum, and Year 11 to Year 12 progression rules differ state to state. When recruiting 32 athletes from five states to compete in the UK as a single squad, that fragmentation makes coordination almost impossible. Euka's model solved it." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does flexible homeschool learning still work if my child does not become a professional athlete?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Even if the elite-sport pathway does not pan out, an athlete on Euka's program graduates with a complete Australian Curriculum education, real-world time-management skills built from running their own schedule, and the confidence that comes from years of high-performance training. Those are durable assets either way. The model is built around the outcome of a student aspiring to be a professional, while still ensuring they tick every curriculum box." } } ] } ] } The post How Young Athletes Train Full-Time Without Falling Behind in School | 42 appeared first on Euka.

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-41/#episode", "name": "Meet the Upgraded Euka Learning Experience", "episodeNumber": 41, "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown walk through a screen-share of Euka's brand-new Learning Experience — 18 months in the making. Covers the new four-part lesson structure (Learn, Practice, Apply, Reflect), age-appropriate design across Primary, Secondary and Senior cohorts, built-in textbooks for Grades 7–12, two-way curriculum navigation, and a redesigned parent reporting dashboard.", "datePublished": "2026-05-06", "dateModified": "2026-05-14", "duration": "PT30M1S", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-41/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-episode-41.png", "width": 1024, "height": 536 }, "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series" }, "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7g35PbIHMXHV6hRVMIHhkC", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast — Episode 41 on Spotify" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast — Episode 41 on Apple Podcasts" } ], "video": { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-41/#video", "name": "Meet the Upgraded Euka Learning Experience | Future Learners Podcast Ep 41", "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown walk through Euka's brand-new Learning Experience — the four-part lesson structure, age-appropriate design, built-in textbooks, and new parent reporting dashboard.", "thumbnailUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-episode-41.png", "uploadDate": "2026-05-06T00:00:00+10:00", "duration": "PT30M1S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/lAogn1sGC20", "url": "https://youtu.be/lAogn1sGC20", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU", "keywords": [ "Euka learning experience", "homeschool platform Australia", "flexible learning", "homeschool curriculum", "Australian Curriculum online", "homeschool reporting", "Future Learners Podcast", "online homeschool" ], "transcript": "Brett: Hello and welcome to another episode of Future Learners. I'm your host, Brett Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Euka, and I'm joined by the one and only — the amazing founder and Head of Education of Euka, Ellen Brown. Today is an exciting episode for us, because we're going to do a couple of things we haven't done before. Firstly, we're going to do a screen share. So if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can absolutely keep listening — we'll explain everything as we go. But if you want the visual representation, head over to our YouTube channel. Brett: What we're going to share today is something we've been working on for the last 18 months. Hundreds of people have been involved. It's been quite a feat. And today we're absolutely excited to share our brand-new Learning Experience — what we've been building for our students and families. Ellen: I'm really excited because I love the opportunity to share what we've been working on, but also to help parents know how to best use it and adapt it for their child to get the most out of it. Brett: Ten out of ten? Ellen: Ten out of ten. Of course. We've put our blood, sweat and tears into it. Brett: This is exciting for a number of reasons. If you've been a Euka family — and many have been with us for many, many years — you'll see the evolution. From the outset we've always said we want to build the future of education and support as many families as we possibly can. With technology and big commitments from our side, we believe this is going to elevate the experience across the board. Eighteen months in the making, but really, ten or fifteen years in the making. Brett: So as you'll see, here you are now — the view if you're a student, or a parent with a student, who's logged into the learning platform. One key difference: we've identified that primary school, secondary school, and senior school are different cohorts. Not just from a grade level perspective, but an age-appropriateness level. Brett: What we've got now — and something we're really excited about — is providing a visual experience that's age-appropriate. Looking here at a Grade 3 student: we've got our little mascot Echo nice and prominent, soft colour palette. Move into Secondary and Echo's not as prominent. He's a little bit cooler, grown up a bit. Then we move into our Senior grades — I don't know too many 15, 16 or 17-year-olds who want to have a big koala sitting on their screen. So we've removed that as the grade appropriateness changes. Brett: One key thing — when we built this program, we went into it with the intention of making sure it's as intuitive and as simple as possible. We don't want to overcomplicate things. So we've kept the best of what we had originally and morphed it into what we'd call the future of learning here. Brett: You've got a couple of different ways to explore. You can explore and learn by terms, or you can explore and learn by subjects. If you click into terms, it shows you our four terms. Click into a term and you see the weeks. Click into Week 1 and you see the lessons for that week. Or you can explore by subjects. Click into English and see what the English lessons per week are. Ellen: That's something parents have asked for before. We packaged it in terms and weeks — most people like that — but parents have said, can I please get a whole subject to be able to do once with my particular child? So it's exciting that parents now have that choice. Brett: Another really exciting thing is our reporting function. We have two stages now. Base reporting is added to our program — every family gets that at a high level. And we have government reporting, which is a separate thing. Each lesson, as you progress, shows what's been accomplished and what's still to go. Brett: Coming back to the main dashboard — you'll see progress in the top right showing how many lessons are completed. As your child progresses, they'll get certificates they can download. We also have a materials list — the essentials you'll need, the practical activity items, and any books associated with the curriculum. Ellen: Don't feel that you have to buy every book. You can find audiobooks online, YouTube has lots of read-alouds. Don't get hung up on it, especially in the younger grades where you have picture books. And the library, of course. Brett: Let's click Start Lessons. We're starting Term 1, Week 1. Maths lesson two. Ellen: What we've tried to do is run people through a progression of learning. Sometimes you'll learn something and that'll be the end of a lesson. But that's not the end of learning. Often, as you know, if you've read or listened to something and you don't actually use it, it can be lost very easily. Ellen: So we have a Practice activity that comes after the bulk of the learning — a chance to actually get hands-on. Not everybody loves hands-on learning, and if your child doesn't, you can move past it. That's one of the things I really want parents to know — they're not in a situation where every single thing needs to be done. It's about adapting this for your child. Ellen: The Apply activity is really exciting for parents because it gives an opportunity to know that their student is getting instant feedback. You're not sitting down at the end of the day with an answer sheet trying to remember what they did at 10am that morning. They need instant feedback. That's the Apply section. Ellen: And finally, the Reflect section — the opportunity for the child to think about their own learning. Not just what they learned but how they learned, how they were feeling when they learned. That's really important for parents, because sometimes — especially in those teenage years — kids don't always verbalise how they're feeling. Brett: Here we have the introduction for every single lesson, with the learning objectives. It's very important when someone's on a quest to learn something — what am I actually learning here? And then a question I always had at school: why did I have to do algebra? So we share with our students why this lesson matters and provide context. Brett: Then we move into the Learn section. Then the Practice activity. In this Grade 3 maths lesson on representing halves, thirds and quarters, the practical activity is to build a Play-Doh pizza and cut it into fractions. Some lessons might have a comic strip. Stages of plant life cycles? You might build a diorama. Brett: Then we move into the Apply section — applying that knowledge. We have the online component with digital questions. Multiple choice, fill in the sentence, drag and drop. And something we hold true at Euka: while we are an educational technology platform, we don't want a child or family glued to a screen. So you have an activity sheet you can download and print. Ellen: Just on the Apply: it's really important the way you frame this with your child. This is not a test. This is an opportunity to check how much they understood or what they might still need to understand. They can get a hint, check their answer, try again. It's about exploring their learning rather than thinking it's a test. Because that's where anxiety creeps in — and that's not what learning's about. Brett: Let's take a deep dive into Secondary. There are more subjects, especially in Grade 9 and 10 with electives. We have over 100 unique courses across 32 different subject options — child studies, carpentry, dance, drama, marine technology, photography, Spanish, textiles, visual arts. Brett: Another thing for Secondary and Senior years — we've built textbooks into the system. They're designed in very short modules and chapters that fit the specific lesson. This saves families having to buy textbooks and adds no additional cost to their programs. Brett: Every lesson now has a Reflect section. This isn't just did you like the lesson — thumbs up, thumbs down. This is where we get more insights to provide families on how their student is progressing. About 10% of families currently use what we call PLP, our Personalised Learning Plan. By getting feedback from the student, we can identify, for example, that someone's bored because the work is too easy. Ellen: Learning is a skill. Not only reading something, practising with that knowledge, applying it — but actually thinking about how you learned. What did I do that worked well? Learning how you learn is really important, and it's missing most of the time when it comes to opportunities to learn. This is a unique opportunity for students to think about how they learn, not just what they learn. Ellen: I really want to highlight the flexibility. The sections of the lesson are flexible. If you've got a student who's all about hands-on and they've spent time in Practice but they're not about Apply — or vice versa — you can still hit Complete Lesson at the end. It's really important to us that the lesson is fitting the child, rather than the other way around. Brett: Last thing — the parent portal. Every parent gets access to manage their student's subscription and their reporting. You'll get a dashboard telling you how many lessons they've completed, access to certificates per term, electives, grade reports. Ellen: One of the things that can be tricky as a homeschooling parent — and as you know, I've homeschooled my own kids for many years — is that niggling feeling: am I doing enough? Is my child doing okay? Reporting is really helpful to answer that — not by comparing your child with other children. What we want to know is how they're going with the content themselves. It gives you peace of mind. The Premium Reporting is helpful for government reporting if you're sending it in, but it's also a keepsake. Pictures of your children's work, all in one place. When grandma comes over, you can pull it off the shelf and say, here's what we did this whole year in Grade 4. Brett: That is the first cat out of the bag. We're sharing what we've got. We've already got this well underway — many families, thousands of families, have already moved into the new platform. For those of you who have started your learning in the original platform: you can migrate. We'd recommend you wait until the end of your term to do so. If that's something you'd like to do, just reach out to our customer support team. Brett: We're constantly trying to provide the best experience we possibly can. We'd love to hear your feedback. Ellen: I would say enjoy the time you have with the kids. Make sure that homeschooling is always something that is joyful. If your child is having one of those days — and you're having one of those days — then go off to the park and reach in when you're ready for it. Just have a great time with it. Brett: Amazing. Thank you very much. And thank you for tuning in. To our Euka families — thank you for putting your trust in us. We deeply appreciate it. And to those families who are looking to join us — we can't wait to have you on board. Have an amazing day!", "citation": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is a unique opportunity for students to think about how they learn, not just what they learn.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } }, { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Reporting is really helpful to answer that niggling question — not by comparing your child with other children. What we want to know is how they're going with the content themselves. It gives you peace of mind.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } }, { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's really important to us at Euka that the lesson is fitting the child rather than the other way round.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" } } ] }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "description": "The Future Learners Podcast explores the evolving world of education — homeschooling, flexible learning, elite athlete pathways, and raising children who are ready for the future. Hosted by Brett Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Euka Future Learning.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-podcast-apple.svg", "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO and Co-Founder, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-brett.png", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettocampbell/", "https://www.facebook.com/brettcampbellfan", "https://www.instagram.com/itsbrettcampbell/" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder and Head of Education, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-ellen.png" }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/EukaFutureLearning/", "https://www.instagram.com/eukafuturelearning/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/euka/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@eukafuturelearning", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-41/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Meet the Upgraded Euka Learning Experience", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-41/" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/meet-the-upgraded-euka-learning-experience-41/#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the new four-part lesson structure in the Euka Learning Experience?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Every lesson in the new Euka Learning Experience follows four parts: Learn (core content introduction), Practice (hands-on activity to apply the new knowledge physically), Apply (digital questions with instant feedback — not a test, but a check for understanding with hints and retry), and Reflect (metacognitive prompts asking the child how they felt learning, what worked, and whether they feel confident). Every section is flexible — children can complete the lesson without completing every component." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do Euka students in Grades 7 to 12 need to buy separate textbooks?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. For the first time, every Euka student in Grades 7 through 12 has access to built-in textbooks woven directly into their lessons. These are short, modular chapters mapped to specific lessons — not full-length tomes. They are included in the standard Euka program at no additional cost. Students who want to go deeper can read through the textbook sections; those who prefer a lighter approach can complete the lesson through Learn, Practice and Apply alone." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does the new Euka parent reporting dashboard work?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Every Euka family receives a baseline reporting tier as standard: real-time lesson completion tracking, downloadable certificates per term, grade reports across subjects, and parent feedback fields. Families who need formal government-compliant documentation can upgrade to Premium Reporting, which adds work-sample integration, achievement-standard mapping, and government-compliant reports. The Premium Reporting also functions as a keepsake of the child's year." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do existing Euka families migrate to the new Learning Experience?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Existing families should finish their current term on the original platform before migrating. At the end of term, contact the Euka Customer Support team who will guide you through the move. Euka has also been sending migration update emails — check your inbox. Families who are new to Euka will start directly on the new Learning Experience." } } ] } ] } Eighteen months in the making and shaped by feedback from thousands of families, the brand-new Euka Learning Experience is here. In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Brett Campbell (CEO and co-founder of Euka) and Ellen Brown (Founder and Head of Education) take you through a screen-share walkthrough of what&#8217;s changed and why it matters for your family.From age-appropriate visual design across Primary, Secondary, and Senior cohorts to the new four-part lesson structure (Learn, Practice, Apply, Reflect), in-built textbooks for Grades 7–12, and a redesigned parent portal with proper progress reporting — this is a platform built around how children actually learn, not how systems prefer to deliver content. If you&#8217;re already a Euka family, listen for the migration path. If you&#8217;re considering homeschooling in Australia, this is the clearest look yet at what your week could feel like. In this episode The upgraded Euka learning experience Two ways to navigate the curriculum The new four-part lesson structure: Learn, Practice, Apply, Reflect Built-in textbooks for Grades 7–12 Reporting dashboard for parents Why the Reflect section matters Migration guide for existing families Key insights for families function scrollToHeading(text) { var headings = document.querySelectorAll('h2, h3, h4'); for (var i = 0; i < headings.length; i++) { if (headings[i].innerText.trim().toLowerCase().indexOf(text.toLowerCase()) !== -1) { headings[i].scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'start' }); return; } } } Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: What's new at a glance: A new look for each stage — Primary, Secondary, and Senior get age-appropriate visuals (no koala mascots staring down 17-year-olds) Two ways to navigate the curriculum: by Term and Week, or by Subject. Whichever fits your child's rhythm Euka's four-part lesson structure: Learn, Practice, Apply, Reflect Designed for how children really learn: The Practice activity gets hands-on (think Play-Doh fractions, plant life-cycle dioramas) The Apply section gives instant feedback, no more sitting down at 6 pm trying to remember a 10 am lesson Reflect prompts let kids think about how they learn, not just what they learned Built-in textbooks (Grades 7–12, brand new): Modular short chapters mapped to specific lessons No need to buy outside textbooks for the curriculum Reporting upgrades: Every family now gets baseline progress tracking and downloadable certificates Parent portal shows lesson completion, grade reports, and (for Grades 11–12) assessment marks Premium Reporting is available for families needing government-compliant documentation Migration for existing families: Wait until the end of your current term, then reach out to the Customer Support team Email updates will guide you through the move Euka's Upgraded Learning Experience: A platform that actually fits the child When Brett opens the walkthrough, the first thing he points out is something subtle but deliberate: the Euka program now looks different depending on the student's stage. A Grade 3 student logs in and sees Echo — Euka's koala mascot — front and centre, alongside a soft, warm colour palette. Move into Secondary, and Echo's still around but less prominent. He's grown up a bit. By Senior years, the koala is gone entirely, replaced by a more grown-up interface that respects where 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds are at. It's a small thing visually, but it speaks to a deeper design decision: meet the student where they are. Age-appropriateness isn't just about content — it's about how the whole experience feels. How can families navigate the new curriculum? One of the most-requested features from existing Euka families finally lands here. The curriculum is now navigable in two ways: By Term and Week — the structured path. Click into Term 1, see your weeks, click into Week 1, see the lessons. Predictable, organised, calendar-friendly. By Subject — for the child who's deeply engaged in English (or Maths, or Science, or anything else) and just wants to dive in without weekly distractions. Click English, see all the English lessons, work through them at your own pace. Both paths lead to the same content. The flexibility sits in the navigation — and that's exactly what families have been asking for. The new four-part lesson structure This is the change Ellen is most excited about, because it reflects what the team has learned about how children retain knowledge. Learn is the core content — the equivalent of a teacher introducing a topic. Read, watch, take it in. Practice is hands-on. Building a Play-Doh pizza to represent fractions, constructing a diorama for plant life cycles, and making a comic strip. The point is to use the new knowledge in a way that gets it out of the head and into the hands. Apply is where instant feedback comes in. Multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, drag-and-drop — different question types for different lessons. Crucially, it's framed as checking your understanding, not as a test. Children can get hints, check their answers, and try again. No anxiety, just learning.Reflect is the bit that most curricula skip entirely. Instead of asking "Did you like the lesson?", we ask children how they felt learning it, what worked for them, and whether they feel confident with the material. And here's the practical bit: every child is different. If your child gets the most out of Practice and doesn't need Apply, that's fine — every section is flexible. You can complete the lesson without having done every component. The system fits the child, not the other way around. This is a unique opportunity for students to think about how they learn, not just what they learn. — Ellen Brown What's included in the new in-built textbooks for Grades 7–12? This is genuinely new. For the first time, every Euka student in Grades 7 through 12 has access to in-built textbooks woven directly into their lessons. These aren't 300-page tomes you have to wade through. They're short, modular chapters mapped to specific lessons. Looking at global biomes? The textbook section for that lesson is right there, broken into focused sub-sections. The practical benefit: families don't have to buy external textbooks for the Australian Curriculum-aligned lessons Euka delivers. The deeper benefit: children who are passionate about a subject can dive deeper through the textbook, while children who don't connect with reading-heavy learning can complete the lesson via Learn, Practice and Apply alone. Same outcome, different paths. A reporting dashboard parents can actually use Reporting has been one of the harder parts of homeschooling — both for parents trying to track progress against the Australian Curriculum and for families navigating state-by-state government requirements. Every family now gets a baseline reporting tier included in the standard Euka program: Lesson completion progress (visible in real time) Downloadable certificates per term Grade reports across subjects Parent feedback fields, so observations are captured alongside the data For families who need formal documentation, Premium Reporting layers government-compliant reports, work-sample integration, and achievement-standard mapping on top. There's also an unexpected benefit Ellen highlights. The Premium Reporting becomes a keepsake: pictures of work, milestones, the whole year captured in one place. When grandma asks "what did you do in Grade 4?", you've got the answer ready. "I've homeschooled my own kids for many years, and that niggling 'am I doing enough?' feeling is real. Reporting answers that question — not by comparing your child to others, but by showing how they're going with the content itself. That's peace of mind." — Ellen Brown Why the Reflect section matters more than you'd think We almost glossed over this in the walkthrough, but it deserves its own beat. Metacognition — thinking about how you learn — is a focus of work by the Australian Education Research Organisation, and the Reflect section is how Euka brings that practice into every lesson. It also feeds into Euka's Personalised Learning Plan (PLP) for families who use it. The data gathered through reflection helps spot patterns. A child consistently flagging boredom in maths lessons might be ready to advance Grade 4 student finding Grade 4 maths too easy, could move into Grade 5 or Grade 6 content. A child flagging difficulty in a particular subject area gets surfaced early, before it becomes a confidence issue. This isn't about labelling kids. It's about giving parents and the Euka team a clearer picture of what each individual child needs, beyond what a one-size-fits-all curriculum can offer. What do existing Euka families need to do to migrate? If you're already learning on the original Euka platform, here's what to do: Don't switch mid-term. Finish your current term on the existing platform. At the end of term, reach out to the Customer Support team. They'll guide you through the migration. Watch for emails. Euka has been sending detailed migration updates — check your inbox. If you're new to Euka, you'll start directly on the new Learning Experience. Key Insights for Families Flexibility is built in, not bolted on. Whether it's choosing term-by-term or subject-by-subject navigation, completing only the lesson sections that suit your child, or pacing through textbooks at the depth that matches their interest — the platform respects that no two children learn the same way. Reflection is a learning skill in itself. Asking children to think about how they learned, not just what, builds a meta-cognitive habit that pays off for life. It's also how parents catch boredom, confusion, or readiness for harder content before it shows up as frustration. Reporting belongs to the family. Whether you need it for government compliance, peace of mind, or as a keepsake of the year, the new dashboard puts your child's progress in your hands — without requiring you to be a project manager on top of being a parent. The platform fits the child, not the other way around. Brett and Ellen come back to this point repeatedly. Every section of every lesson is optional. Every navigation path leads to the same outcome. The structure is there as a scaffold, not a cage. "It's really important to us at Euka that the lesson is fitting the child rather than the other way round."— Brett Campbell Your Family, Your Journey What we've shared here is the first cat out of the bag — but it's not the last. The Euka team has more coming, and they want your feedback on what's working as you use the new Learning Experience. Click the support function inside the platform to share ideas; some of Euka's best features have come straight from family suggestions. If you're an existing Euka family: thank you for trusting us through this evolution. Your patience, your feedback, your willingness to learn alongside us — it shapes everything we build. If you're considering homeschooling with Euka for the first time: this is the clearest look yet at the platform you'd be working with. Take your time. Listen to other episodes of the Future Learners podcast to hear from families who've made the switch. And when you're ready, we're here. figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element { background-color:#fffdf5; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td{ padding:2em 2em; border:none; border-left:.2em #e8a838 solid; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td em{ display: block; margin-bottom: -1.1em; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td strong{ font-size:.8em; } h3{ font-size:16px !important; font-weight:900; } .xx{display:none;} The post Meet the Upgraded Euka Learning Experience | 041 appeared first on Euka.

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-world-is-your-classroom-travel-schooling-with-the-slow-road-040/#episode", "name": "The World Is Your Classroom: Travel Schooling with The Slow Road", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-world-is-your-classroom-travel-schooling-with-the-slow-road-040/", "episodeNumber": "40", "sameAs": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEYH5LyQSM0" ], "partOfSeries": { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Worldschooling", "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldschooling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Distance Education", "sameAs": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q159595" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Slow Road", "url": "https://theslowroad.com.au" } ], "description": "Discover how one family makes the world their classroom. A practical, inspiring conversation about travel schooling, flexibility, and learning on the road with Euka Future Learning.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Slow-Road-Podcast-Thumbnail-16x9-1.webp", "timeRequired": "PT22M38S", "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ] }, { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/the-world-is-your-classroom-travel-schooling-with-the-slow-road-040/#video", "name": "The World Is Your Classroom: Travel Schooling with The Slow Road", "description": "Discover how one family makes the world their classroom. A practical, inspiring conversation about travel schooling, flexibility, and learning on the road with Euka Future Learning.", "thumbnailUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Slow-Road-Podcast-Thumbnail-16x9-1.webp", "uploadDate": "2026-01-30", "duration": "PT22M38S", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEYH5LyQSM0", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/eEYH5LyQSM0", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO, Euka Future Learning", "description": "Brett Campbell is a leader in education, serving as the CEO of Euka, an innovative company building the future of education. He's a successful entrepreneur and author with a passion for lifelong learning. Beyond his professional achievements, Brett is a devoted family man and the host of the Future Learners Podcast, where he shares his ideas about education's potential to empower people and create a brighter future.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-brett.png", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettocampbell/", "https://www.facebook.com/brettcampbellfan", "https://www.instagram.com/itsbrettcampbell/" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder, Euka Future Learning", "description": "Ellen Brown is the founder and driving force behind Euka's educational philosophy. With over 25 years of teaching experience, she designed Euka's curriculum for grades 1-12, emphasising individualised and practical learning. Her expertise is recognised by major media outlets, and she is frequently sought after for her insights on the future of education.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-ellen.png", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au" }, "sameAs": [ "https://au.linkedin.com/in/ellen-brown-cea" ] } ] } What happens when you swap the classroom for the open road? In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, we meet Kirianna from The Slow Road family, who shares how they balance education with adventure while living in a vintage 1962 Volkswagen Combi. Currently travelling in Japan with her husband Lockie and their three children, Kirianna offers a glimpse into the world of travel schooling. Kirianna discusses their philosophy of &#8220;slow learning,&#8221; practical strategies for offline education, and how they integrate real-world experiences into their Euka curriculum. Her insights provide inspiration for families considering travel schooling or simply wanting to bring more flexibility and real-world connection into their homeschooling journey. In this podcast Introduction to Travel Schooling The Slow Road Family and Their Journey Philosophy of Slow Learning Integrating Learning with Travel Offline Learning Strategies Living in a Small Space Travel Highlights and Cultural Experiences Support from Euka and Future Plans Key Insights for Families Your Family, Your Journey function scrollToHeading(text) { var headings = document.querySelectorAll('h2, h3, h4'); for (var i = 0; i < headings.length; i++) { if (headings[i].innerText.trim().toLowerCase().indexOf(text.toLowerCase()) !== -1) { headings[i].scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'start' }); return; } } } Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Travel Schooling Definition: Family of five travels in 1962 VW Combi "Izzy" Currently based in Japan; children aged 9, 6, and 3 Philosophy of Slow Learning: Taking things at life's pace; learning through play and exploration Flexible scheduling that works with each child's natural rhythms Practical Strategies: Print worksheets and box resources by term for offline learning &nbsp;Integrate real-world experiences (markets, monuments, trains) into curriculum Euka Support: Downloadable and printable resources suit travel lifestyle Responsive support team; YouTube tutorials for getting organised Introduction to Travel Schooling The world really can be your classroom. For Kirianna and her family of five, this isn't just a motto—it's their daily reality. Living in a vintage 1962 Volkswagen split-screen Combi named Izzy, they've discovered that learning doesn't need four walls. It just needs curiosity, flexibility, and the right support. Currently in Japan with her husband Lockie and their three children—Riley (9), Alba (6), and Elsie (3)—Kirianna shared how they balance exploration with education, and why travel schooling has become their family's way of life. The Slow Road Family and Their Journey Kirianna and Lockie's journey into travel schooling wasn't always the plan. Both coming from aviation backgrounds, they'd always had the travel bug. They started travelling just before COVID, initially wanting to see more of Australia. What began as an adventure evolved into something more permanent when they realised their son Riley needed an education approach that suited his active, outdoorsy nature. "We just tried to search for ways where we could educate him to be an outdoorsy boy, still get out and explore the world, but also have a stable homeschooling background," Kirianna explained. Their research led them to Euka. The COVID pandemic, while challenging for many, actually helped normalise their lifestyle choice. "Everyone could see that kids could still be outdoors and learn, or still travel," Kirianna reflected. This shift in perspective gave them confidence to commit to travel schooling as a long-term approach. "Learning is just a part of life. We are all natural learners and enthusiastic learners."— Kirianna, The Slow Road Philosophy of Slow Learning The family's approach centres on what Kirianna calls "slow learning"—a philosophy that extends beyond education into their entire lifestyle. Living in a vintage Combi naturally takes you back a few years, she notes. The family tries to live like they're back in the 1960s: getting muddy, learning through play, and connecting with different cultures. "I think the slow aspect comes from just taking things as life can," Kirianna shared. "From a little boy, we figured that he just needed to take his time with his learning and really grasp his surroundings. That would build this foundation for him to grow and learn at his own pace." This philosophy recognises that children—particularly active boys like Riley—often need flexibility. Rather than forcing extended periods of desk work, the family works with their children's natural rhythms. A morning worksheet, followed by time to run, swim, and explore, then returning to learning when energy has been expended and focus is restored. Integrating Learning with Travel One of the biggest questions families have about travel schooling is practical: how do you actually blend education with exploration? Kirianna shared how they make learning relevant by connecting it to real-world experiences. When Alba had a geography worksheet about Cairns, she could draw on her experience of actually snorkelling there. In Japan, the children learn about currencies and money by using train cards and shopping at markets. They visit monuments like Tokyo's Sky Tree and connect those experiences to their Euka lessons. "A lot of the times we will go on an excursion and somehow, without even realising it, it kind of falls into our Euka learning," Kirianna noted. This approach answers the question children naturally ask—"Why do I need to know this?"—immediately and tangibly. "Riley needs the flexibility to play and then come back. We see a lot more improvement from his behaviour when he's able to do that."— Kirianna, The Slow Road Offline Learning Strategies What happens when you're crossing the Nullarbor or somewhere without internet? Preparation is key. "Everything that we have for a term is boxed up and put into packaging, so that we're ready in case we don't need to use our devices or have internet," Kirianna explained. The family prints all worksheets ahead of time and accumulates hands-on materials and creative supplies—purchased from Japan's excellent dollar shops—that allow learning to continue anywhere. Riley, who learns best through hands-on activities, particularly benefits from this approach. "If he can do with Play-Doh and create something as he's learning, it sits better for him." The children have containers with all their worksheets organised by subject, so they know exactly where everything is. "A lot of the times they don't even know that they're learning something because they're being creative," Kirianna noted. Living in a Small Space Life in a vintage Combi with three children requires creativity and intentionality. Yet Kirianna sees the constraints of small-space living as opportunities rather than limitations. "I'm really lucky because the children have all grown up in a small space," she explained. The family has established clear boundaries: the caravan is for sleeping, while eating, playing, and learning happen outside. "Their playground is always out playing on the beach or at the front of the caravan." This approach means outdoor learning becomes natural. Morning walks help children expend energy before quiet activities. Rainy days become opportunities for reading, colouring, and conversation. "Let's get out for a morning walk. Let's get out and let our energy burst. So that when we are cooped up, we can kind of have some quiet time." Travel Highlights and Cultural Experiences The family has travelled extensively, including time in Hawaii, throughout Australia, and multiple trips to Japan. Each destination offers unique learning opportunities that simply can't be replicated in a traditional classroom. In Japan, the children navigate train systems with their own travel cards, learning mathematics through real transactions. They explore cultural landmarks and bring those experiences back to their curriculum work. "When they are sitting down to research or fill out their worksheets or learn something new given by Euka, they can kind of picture it and it makes sense to them." Support from Euka and Future Plans While travel schooling offers incredible flexibility, having solid educational support matters. Kirianna uses Euka to provide structure and ensure her children's learning aligns with curriculum expectations. The platform's flexibility—allowing resources to be downloaded and printed—makes it particularly suited to their lifestyle. "Every time that we have needed any assistance or support, it's been very quick," Kirianna shared. She particularly appreciated the guidance available when first getting organised, including YouTube tutorials on how to set up filing systems. "I've never been without a folder. I've always been able to ask questions and seek help."The family has also written a book, The Slow Road Van Life, which shares their travel tips, recipes (Kirianna is a fire cook), destination recommendations, and insights into how they manage homeschooling on the road. It's available at bookstores throughout New Zealand and Australia, as well as on Amazon. Key Insights for Families Kirianna's experience highlights several truths that resonate with families exploring alternative education approaches: Learning through play is essential, especially for younger children and active learners. Children don't need to sit still to absorb information—sometimes the opposite is true. Flexibility leads to better engagement. When children can learn at their own pace and in their own way, they often exceed expectations. "If I was to just sit him there for two hours of English then maths, I wouldn't get the best out of him." Real-life experiences enhance learning. Connecting curriculum to tangible experiences helps children understand why what they're learning matters—and makes it stick.You need less space than you think. With intentionality and organisation, education can happen anywhere—including a vintage Combi. "Riley needs the flexibility to play and then come back. We see a lot more improvement from his behaviour when he's able to do that."— Kirianna, The Slow Road Your Family, Your Journey You don't need a vintage Combi or plans to travel the world to embrace the lessons from Kirianna's story. The core message is simple: learning is just a part of life. When we integrate education with our family's unique circumstances—whatever those may be—children thrive. Whether you're travelling the world or doing your homeschooling at home, Euka is there to empower you and your family on your unique journey. If you're curious about how homeschooling could work for your family, we're here to help you explore the possibilities. Your world really can be your classroom. figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element { background-color:#fffdf5; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td{ padding:2em 2em; border:none; border-left:.2em #e8a838 solid; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td em{ display: block; margin-bottom: -1.1em; } figure.wp-block-table.testimonial-element .has-fixed-layout td strong{ font-size:.8em; } h3{ font-size:16px !important; font-weight:900; } The post The World Is Your Classroom: Travel Schooling with The Slow Road | 040 appeared first on Euka.

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/nsw-homeschooling-audit/#episode", "name": "Inside the NSW Homeschooling Audit: What It Means for Families", "episodeNumber": 39, "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown unpack the NSW Auditor-General's Alternative School Settings and Homeschooling Performance Audit — a 79-page report published 25 September 2025. They cover the 116% surge in NSW homeschooling registrations since 2019, the 65-day average registration wait time, why families are pulled out of mainstream school, the principal exemption process, and what the findings mean for families navigating the system right now.", "datePublished": "2025-10-10", "dateModified": "2025-10-10", "duration": "PT33M42S", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/nsw-homeschooling-audit/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/NSW-Home-schooling-Audit-Report-Podcast-Cover.png" }, "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series" }, "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://open.spotify.com/episode/4yZL3jrDNG0L9vFBOOafjs", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Inside the NSW Homeschooling Audit: What It Means for Families — Episode 39 on Spotify" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast — Episode 39 on Apple Podcasts" } ], "video": { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/nsw-homeschooling-audit/#video", "name": "Inside the NSW Homeschooling Audit: What It Means for Families | Future Learners Podcast Ep 39", "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown analyse the NSW Auditor-General's homeschooling performance audit — covering registration delays, the 116% surge in NSW homeschooling, principal exemptions, and what families should do right now.", "thumbnailUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/NSW-Home-schooling-Audit-Report-Podcast-Cover.png", "uploadDate": "2025-10-10T00:00:00+10:00", "duration": "PT33M42S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/XD-3vJ3XLNE", "url": "https://youtu.be/XD-3vJ3XLNE", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU", "keywords": [ "NSW homeschooling audit", "homeschooling registration NSW", "NSW Auditor-General homeschooling", "homeschooling registration delays", "NESA homeschooling", "how to register for homeschooling NSW", "homeschooling NSW 2025", "Future Learners Podcast" ], "transcript": "Brett: Hello and welcome to another episode of Future Learners. I'm your host, Brett Campbell, co-founder and CEO of Euka Future Learning. And I'm joined by my amazing co-founder and head of education, Ellen Brown. How are you doing today, Ellen? Ellen: Very well, thanks, Brett. Brett: An interesting topic that we're going to be diving deep into today. And it's a bit of a hot-off-the-press topic of conversation. It relates to the alternative school settings and homeschooling performance audit that was conducted. There was a 79-page report that came out on the 25th of September. It was an audit conducted by the Auditors General, and the purpose of the report is to examine the challenges faced by families seeking to homeschool in New South Wales. So we're speaking specifically here about New South Wales, although there are similarities federally across the country. Just for a bit of a preface, this report and the findings we're discussing are related to New South Wales. The purpose is to share and discuss the concern around growing delays in registration approvals, among a whole heap of other things. We'll get into that today. Ellen, I know you did a piece for the Daily Telegraph last week. I was on a news segment with Sky News. It's been picked up a bit and gained some traction. Of course, as always, they like to get our opinion on these things. I believe we're well placed to provide our thoughts and feedback regarding these findings. Something we always like to do is not just poke holes at things. We like to provide solutions. We have a number of solutions that we can discuss today and hopefully give some insights to our families on the process moving forward. I know you just mentioned five minutes before we hit record that the New South Wales Department has come out with their response to this report. I haven't looked at that yet, so I'll let you touch on those replies and what they mean for families. To digest the 79-page report, because I've done the heavy lifting for you all, I'll give you a summary of the findings, and then we'll dive into it. Some key points to understand: homeschooling registrations in New South Wales surged from 5,907 in 2019 to 12,762 in 2024. That's a 116% increase. A lot of that was exacerbated by COVID, which highlighted to many families the opportunity of homeschooling. The average wait time for registration in New South Wales is 65 days, effectively one school term. In 2019, it was 40 days, which, in my opinion, was still too long. That represents a 62% increase in processing time. Families are withdrawing from mainstream schools often due to bullying, mental health challenges, and unmet learning needs. During the waiting period, children are required by law to remain enrolled and attend mainstream schools. Ellen: Yes. In New South Wales, principals can provide an exemption allowing a child to remain enrolled but not attend the classroom. Typically, this is granted for situations like a short holiday. The ideal scenario is that the school provides an exemption if the child has supporting documentation, such as a doctor's or psychologist's certificate. Having a learning plan in place, such as one provided by Euka, helps significantly. Parents can show the plan to the principal, demonstrating that the child is still receiving education. This reassures the school that duty-of-care obligations are being met. Brett: Exactly. Preparing thoroughly minimises roadblocks. Part of the registration involves providing a 12-month learning plan. Families not using Euka must create this themselves, mapping lessons to the Australian curriculum, which is laborious and time-consuming. With Euka's registration service, parents receive the necessary documentation, removing a barrier when approaching the principal. The report concludes that the Department and NESA have not effectively supported eligible students in alternative school settings and homeschooling because they have not defined learning and wellbeing outcomes, they have not monitored or responded to student demand in a timely manner, they have not supported transitions in and out of these settings, and they have not proactively sought feedback from students and families. This is scathing and shines a spotlight on the homeschooling sector. The 65-day delay is likely due to a lack of resources, with APs managing hundreds or thousands of students. Recommendations include that by September 2027, the Department should develop and implement a strategy for alternative school settings in consultation with relevant agencies. COVID accelerated homeschooling adoption. Like remote work, homeschooling is now normalised. Oversight and support must improve to handle transitions, safeguard children, and streamline processes. Possible solutions include streamlining transitions, providing instant access to homeschooling where necessary, and supporting parents in documenting progress to satisfy department requirements. Euka supports parents in ensuring children meet educational outcomes. No student has ever been denied registration through Euka. APs recognise that plans are complete and well-considered, reducing processing time and stress. Ellen: Euka stands with homeschooling families and will support them through transitions, ensuring parents retain autonomy over education. Brett: Families shouldn't have to choose between legal compliance and children's wellbeing. Thank you very much, Ellen.", "citation": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Families shouldn't have to choose between legal compliance and their children's wellbeing.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" } }, { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Euka stands with homeschooling families and will support them through transitions, ensuring parents retain autonomy over education.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } }, { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No student has ever been denied registration through Euka. Authorised Persons recognise that plans are complete and well-considered, reducing processing time and stress.", "spokenByCharacter": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" } } ] }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "description": "The Future Learners Podcast explores the evolving world of education — homeschooling, flexible learning, elite athlete pathways, and raising children who are ready for the future. Hosted by Brett Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Euka Future Learning.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-podcast-apple.svg", "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO and Co-Founder, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-brett.png", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettocampbell/", "https://www.facebook.com/brettcampbellfan", "https://www.instagram.com/itsbrettcampbell/" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder and Head of Education, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-ellen.png" }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/EukaFutureLearning/", "https://www.instagram.com/eukafuturelearning/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/euka/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@eukafuturelearning", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "CreativeWork", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/nsw-homeschooling-audit/#audit-report", "name": "Alternative School Settings and Homeschooling Performance Audit", "author": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "NSW Auditor-General", "url": "https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/" }, "datePublished": "2025-09-25", "url": "https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/", "description": "A 79-page performance audit examining challenges faced by families seeking to homeschool in New South Wales, including registration delays, oversight gaps, and recommendations for the NSW Department of Education and NESA." }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/nsw-homeschooling-audit/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Inside the NSW Homeschooling Audit: What It Means for Families", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/nsw-homeschooling-audit/" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/nsw-homeschooling-audit/#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "How long does homeschooling registration take in NSW?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "As of 2024, the average wait time for homeschooling registration in New South Wales is 65 days — effectively one full school term. In 2019 the average was 40 days, meaning processing time has increased by 62%. During this waiting period, children are legally required to remain enrolled in and attend mainstream school unless the school principal grants an exemption." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can my child stay home while we wait for homeschooling registration approval in NSW?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, in some cases. NSW school principals can grant an exemption allowing a child to remain enrolled but not attend the classroom while the registration application is being processed. This is most likely to be approved when the family can present supporting documentation — such as a medical or psychologist certificate — alongside a completed 12-month learning plan demonstrating the child will continue to receive a structured education. Euka's Registration Service provides this learning plan documentation to support families in making this case to their principal." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why has homeschooling grown so rapidly in NSW?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Homeschooling registrations in New South Wales grew by 116% between 2019 and 2024 — from 5,907 to 12,762 registered students. The NSW Auditor-General's 2025 performance audit found that the majority of families come to homeschooling out of necessity rather than ideology: approximately 25% cite bullying as the primary reason, 15% cite educational philosophy, and 15% cite unmet learning needs including ASD, ADHD, anxiety, or depression. COVID-19 also accelerated adoption by demonstrating that learning outside a traditional classroom was viable." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What did the NSW Auditor-General's homeschooling audit find?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The Alternative School Settings and Homeschooling Performance Audit, published 25 September 2025, found that the NSW Department of Education and NESA have not effectively supported eligible students in homeschooling because they have not defined learning and wellbeing outcomes, have not monitored or responded to student demand in a timely manner, have not supported transitions in and out of alternative settings, and have not proactively sought feedback from students and families. The report recommends that by September 2027 the Department develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for alternative school settings in consultation with relevant agencies and families." } } ] } ] } Host Brett Campbell, CEO of Euka Future Learning, joins co-founder and Head of Education, Ellen Brown, to unpack the findings from the recent Alternative School Settings and Homeschooling Performance Audit compiled by the New South Wales Auditor-General. Together, they explore the growing challenges families face with registration delays, the reasons behind the surge in homeschooling, and what these findings mean for parents. Brett and Ellen share their insights on how the system can evolve, offer practical solutions for families navigating the process, and discuss Euka’s vision for a more supportive, flexible future of learning in Australia. Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Homeschooling in NSW is on the rise Homeschooling across New South Wales has grown rapidly, with registrations increasing by 116% since 2019. Families are choosing homeschooling for their child’s wellbeing Many parents make the switch not by choice, but out of necessity. Bullying, anxiety, or unmet learning needs often push families to look for a safer, more nurturing environment where their child can thrive. The registration process needs streamlining Currently, registration can take up to 65 days &#8211; a long wait for families ready to start a new chapter. During this time, children are still legally required to attend mainstream school, leaving families feeling uncertain and caught between systems. The system needs compassionate reform Homeschooling reform in NSW can be improved with clearer pathways, faster processing times, and an approach that recognises each family’s unique circumstances. transcript The post Inside the NSW Homeschooling Audit: What It Means for Families | 039 appeared first on Euka.

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/#episode", "name": "He Earns 30K a Year and Homeschools", "episodeNumber": 38, "description": "Brett Campbell speaks with Brent and Maverick from Melbourne about their homeschooling journey — how a father earning $30K made it work, the flexibility of Year 11 and 12 through Euka, misconceptions about socialisation, and how homeschooling brought their family closer together.", "datePublished": "2025-02-14", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/", "transcript": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/#transcript", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/038-He-earns-30K-a-year-and-homeschools-1.png", "width": 1280, "height": 720 }, "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series" }, "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://open.spotify.com/episode/6yyDO1XnQwIZZ2n8uhFzpZ", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast — Episode 38 on Spotify" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast — Episode 38 on Apple Podcasts" } ], "video": { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/#video", "name": "He Earns 30K a Year and Homeschools | Future Learners Podcast Ep 38", "description": "Brett Campbell speaks with Brent and Maverick about homeschooling on a modest income, the flexibility of Euka's Year 11 and 12 program, and how flexible learning strengthened their father-son relationship.", "thumbnailUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/038-He-earns-30K-a-year-and-homeschools-1.png", "uploadDate": "2025-02-14T00:00:00+10:00", "duration": "PT34M54S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fq5mVsOzbLY", "url": "https://youtu.be/Fq5mVsOzbLY", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, "author": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/#brent", "name": "Brent", "description": "Father and entrepreneur from Docklands, Victoria, who homeschooled his son Maverick through Year 11 and 12 using Euka Future Learning." }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/#maverick", "name": "Maverick", "description": "Year 12 homeschool student from Melbourne who completed his education through Euka while working in his father's business." } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU", "keywords": [ "homeschooling on a budget", "homeschooling Year 11 and 12", "flexible learning Australia", "homeschooling family", "Euka Future Learning", "Future Learners Podcast", "homeschooling misconceptions", "homeschooling socialisation" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "description": "The Future Learners Podcast explores the evolving world of education — homeschooling, flexible learning, elite athlete pathways, and raising children who are ready for the future. Hosted by Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown of Euka Future Learning.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-podcast-apple.svg", "author": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "REPLACE_WITH_RSS_FEED_URL", "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO and Co-Founder, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-brett.png", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettocampbell/", "https://www.facebook.com/brettcampbellfan", "https://www.instagram.com/itsbrettcampbell/" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder and Head of Education, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/EukaFutureLearning/", "https://www.instagram.com/eukafuturelearning/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/euka/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@eukafuturelearning", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "He Earns 30K a Year and Homeschools", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/he-earns-30k-a-year-and-homeschools/#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can you homeschool on a low income in Australia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Homeschooling through a provider like Euka Future Learning can actually cost significantly less than private school fees. Brent and Maverick's story shows that a family earning $30K a year can successfully homeschool through Year 11 and 12, redirecting private school fees toward other opportunities for their child." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does homeschooling affect a child's social life?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Not if the family is intentional about it. Maverick maintained his existing friendship groups and built new ones outside of school through sport and community. Homeschooling gives students the freedom to choose who they spend time with rather than being assigned to a classroom by default." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can a student complete Year 11 and 12 through homeschooling in Australia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Euka Future Learning delivers the full Australian Curriculum through Year 12, including the certificate required for university pathways and career opportunities. Maverick completed Year 11 and 12 entirely through Euka while also working part-time in his father's business." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How many hours a day does homeschooling take?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Maverick averaged one to two hours per day of focused learning through Euka's self-paced platform. Because there is no time lost to classroom transitions, waiting for teachers, or managing group behaviour, the learning is compressed into the essential content — leaving the rest of the day free." } } ] } ] } Host Brett Campbell speaks with Brent and Maverick about their journey into homeschooling and why they chose an alternative to traditional schooling. They discuss misconceptions about homeschooling, the flexibility of Grade 11 &amp; 12 homeschooling, and how it helped them balance study, work, and future goals. They also highlight the importance of family support and how homeschooling can create stronger relationships while preparing students for university pathways and career opportunities. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Every child deserves an education, and it can look different for everyone. The decision to homeschool often arises from a lack of fulfilment in traditional schooling. Misconceptions about socialisation in homeschooling can be addressed through community engagement. Flexibility in homeschooling allows for a more personalised learning experience. Building strong family relationships is a significant benefit of homeschooling. Parents should be prepared to adjust their approach as they navigate homeschooling. Finding the right educational provider can alleviate concerns about homeschooling. Homeschooling can provide opportunities for real-world experiences and responsibilities. Maintaining a balance between work and education is essential in a homeschooling environment. The homeschooling journey can lead to personal growth for both parents and children. Follow Euka on Socials Facebook Instagram LinkedIn TikTok Youtube Follow our host and Euka CEO Brett on Socials Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; transcript The post He earns 30K a year and homeschools | 038 appeared first on Euka.

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "PodcastEpisode", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/what-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025-037/#episode", "name": "What You Need to Know About Homeschooling in 2025", "episodeNumber": 37, "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown discuss everything families need to know heading into 2025 — when to register, how to plan ahead, tips for existing homeschooling families, building community connections, celebrating milestones, and exciting new developments coming to Euka.", "datePublished": "2025-01-23", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/what-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025-037/", "transcript": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/what-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025-037/#transcript", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Youtube-Thumbnails.png", "width": 1280, "height": 720 }, "partOfSeries": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series" }, "associatedMedia": [ { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/future-learners/episodes/What-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025--037-e2tqjp9", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast — Episode 37 on Spotify" }, { "@type": "AudioObject", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/future-learners/id1717947259", "encodingFormat": "audio/mpeg", "name": "Future Learners Podcast — Episode 37 on Apple Podcasts" } ], "video": { "@type": "VideoObject", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/what-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025-037/#video", "name": "What You Need to Know About Homeschooling in 2025 | Future Learners Podcast Ep 37", "description": "Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown cover homeschooling registration timing, planning tips for new and existing families, building community, celebrating milestones, and what Euka has coming in 2025.", "thumbnailUrl": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Youtube-Thumbnails.png", "uploadDate": "2025-01-23T00:00:00+10:00", "duration": "PT27M12S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/p7YTaz3H64U", "url": "https://youtu.be/p7YTaz3H64U", "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" } }, "author": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "actor": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-AU", "keywords": [ "homeschooling in 2025", "how to start homeschooling Australia", "homeschooling registration Australia", "homeschooling planning tips", "homeschooling community", "flexible learning Australia", "Euka Future Learning", "Future Learners Podcast" ] }, { "@type": "PodcastSeries", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/#podcast-series", "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/", "description": "The Future Learners Podcast explores the evolving world of education — homeschooling, flexible learning, elite athlete pathways, and raising children who are ready for the future. Hosted by Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown of Euka Future Learning.", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-podcast-apple.svg", "author": [ { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell" }, { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown" } ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization" }, "webFeed": "https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/future-learners", "inLanguage": "en-AU" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#brett-campbell", "name": "Brett Campbell", "jobTitle": "CEO and Co-Founder, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-brett.png", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettocampbell/", "https://www.facebook.com/brettcampbellfan", "https://www.instagram.com/itsbrettcampbell/" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#ellen-brown", "name": "Ellen Brown", "jobTitle": "Founder and Head of Education, Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "image": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/euka-future-learners-host-ellen.png" }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/#organization", "name": "Euka Future Learning", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/themes/euka/assets/images/euka-future-learning-logo.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/EukaFutureLearning/", "https://www.instagram.com/eukafuturelearning/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/euka/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@eukafuturelearning", "https://www.youtube.com/@eukafuturelearning" ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/what-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025-037/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Future Learners Podcast", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/future-learners-podcast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "What You Need to Know About Homeschooling in 2025", "item": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/what-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025-037/" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://euka.edu.au/all-episodes/what-you-need-to-know-about-homeschooling-in-2025-037/#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "When should I apply to register for homeschooling in Australia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Ideally in November or December before the school year begins. Department of Education homeschooling teams are small and face a large backlog of applications in January and February. Submitting your registration paperwork in December gives you a stress-free Christmas and ensures approval well before Term 1 starts." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What should existing homeschooling families do to prepare for a new school year?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Review what worked and what didn't in the previous year, update your learning environment, connect with homeschooling community groups, and set personal goals alongside your child's educational goals. Homeschooling gives families the flexibility to reshape their approach each year rather than repeating the same structure." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do homeschooled children socialise?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Through local community groups, sports teams, hobby groups, and online homeschooling communities. Parents are encouraged to connect with other homeschooling families through Facebook groups and local meetups, and to start their own interest-based groups if one doesn't already exist in their area." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How should families mark milestones like finishing Grade 6 or Grade 10 when homeschooling?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Make them memorable. Go out for a special dinner, take a graduation photo with their Euka certificate, or plan an activity your child loves. Homeschooling gives families the freedom to celebrate milestones in personally meaningful ways rather than through a generic school assembly." } } ] } ] } In this episode of Future Learners, hosts Brett and Ellen discuss the upcoming homeschooling year, offering insights and tips for both new and existing homeschooling families. They emphasise the importance of planning ahead, celebrating milestones, and fostering community connections. The conversation also highlights personal growth for parents and the exciting developments coming to Euka in 2025. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Planning Ahead: Preparing early is key to a successful homeschooling year. Starting the Conversation: Discussing homeschooling goals and expectations helps set the tone for the year. Reflecting on Progress: Evaluating what worked and what didn’t last year ensures continuous improvement. Celebrating Milestones: Recognising achievements can make the homeschooling experience more rewarding. Community Connections: Building relationships with local groups can provide valuable support and opportunities. Flexible Learning: Homeschooling allows families to customise education to suit their child’s unique needs. Euka’s Expansion: New resources and features are being introduced to enhance the homeschooling journey. Engaging Locally: Collaborating with community groups can unlock new experiences for children. Exciting Changes: 2025 will bring innovative updates to Euka’s platform, improving the learning experience. Follow Euka on Socials Facebook Instagram LinkedIn TikTok Youtube Follow our host and Euka CEO Brett on Socials Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; transcript The post What you need to know about homeschooling in 2025 | 037 appeared first on Euka.

Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown discuss the growing concerns among parents regarding the influence of educational philosophies that emphasise social and political issues in the school curriculum. They delve into the shift from traditional core subjects to more socially driven content, sparking debates about whether this aligns with parents&#8217; values and how it affects children&#8217;s development. The discussion also touches on the increasing number of families choosing homeschooling as a response to these concerns, allowing them to control the curriculum and timing of sensitive topics for their children. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Educational Shift: The curriculum is moving away from traditional subjects toward more socially and politically driven content. Parental Concerns: Many parents are worried about the introduction of social topics at an age they consider too young. Homeschooling Response: Some parents are turning to homeschooling to have more control over the curriculum and timing of certain topics. Impact of Social Media: Children are increasingly exposed to complex topics through social media at a young age. Teacher Influence: There is concern about teachers shaping children&#8217;s beliefs beyond academic subjects. Parental Involvement: The episode urges parents to take a more active role in understanding and guiding their children&#8217;s education. The post Is School Going &#8220;WOKE&#8221;? | 036 appeared first on Euka.

Brett and Ellen explore the real motivations behind why families choose homeschooling. They dive into the evolving perceptions and diverse reasons that drive families to embrace this educational path, debunking old stereotypes and highlighting the flexibility and benefits that homeschooling offers today. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Evolving Perceptions of Homeschooling: Homeschooling is no longer just for religious or culturally motivated families; it has become a mainstream choice for a variety of reasons. Flexibility for Traveling Families: Many families choose homeschooling to accommodate travel, providing children with a rich, experiential education on the road. Support for Talented or Gifted Students: Homeschooling allows gifted or talented students to advance at their own pace, tailoring their education to their specific strengths. Addressing Special Needs: Homeschooling offers individualised learning plans that better support students with special needs or learning challenges. Escape from Bullying: A significant number of families turn to homeschooling to remove their children from harmful environments where bullying is prevalent. Lifestyle and Philosophical Choices: For some, homeschooling is a proactive choice to align education with family values, health, and well-being. The post The &#8220;True&#8221; Reasons families homeschool? | 035 appeared first on Euka.

Brett and Ellen dive into the essential aspects of homeschooling, focusing on the critical processes of registration and reporting. They provide comprehensive insights into what parents need to know to successfully navigate these requirements, ensuring their children receive a quality education at home. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Understanding Registration: Registration involves notifying the Department of Education or the homeschooling unit about your educational plans for the year. Steps for Registration: Parents must submit a learning plan, application form, and sometimes a timetable, outlining how they will cover the curriculum. Registration Timing: The registration process is smoother if planned in advance, ideally two months ahead, but emergency situations have different protocols. Government Reporting: Reporting involves demonstrating that the child has met the curriculum requirements over the year through collected work samples and assessments. Assessment and Documentation: Parents need to provide samples of the child’s work, aligned with curriculum points, along with observations of their progress. Utilising Resources: Euka offers services to ease the burden of registration and reporting, ensuring all necessary documentation is compiled and aligned with the curriculum. The post What you need to know about Registration and Reporting when Homeschooling | 034 appeared first on Euka.

Brett and Ellen delve into the concept of travel schooling, where education is seamlessly integrated with travel experiences. They explore the numerous benefits, practical strategies, and unique opportunities that travel schooling offers. This episode provides essential insights for families considering this flexible approach to education, covering how to incorporate travel into the curriculum, the importance of planning, and available support for families on this educational journey. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Definition of Travel Schooling: Combining homeschooling with travelling, using the journey as an educational resource. Benefits of Travel Schooling: Learning about history, geography, and culture through direct experiences at travel destinations. Practical Tips for Travel Schooling: Prepare essential supplies and digital resources for times without internet access. Planning and Preparation: Regularly plan your week to balance travel and education effectively. Compliance and Registration: Understand registration requirements and compliance issues for homeschooling while travelling. Social Aspects: Connect with other travel schooling families to build a supportive network The post Travel Schooling: Everything you need to know | 033 appeared first on Euka.

Brett and Ellen delve into the unique challenges and rewarding aspects of raising young boys. They discuss the importance of nurturing emotional intelligence, breaking traditional stereotypes, and the distinct differences in learning and development between boys and girls. This episode also covers practical tips for parents to help their sons succeed both academically and personally. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Emotional Intelligence: Nurturing emotional intelligence and breaking stereotypes.Stereotypes and Challenges: Overcoming traditional male stereotypes in upbringing.Practical Parenting Tips: Strategies for improving communication with boys.Academic Considerations: Differences in academic readiness and learning styles.Behaviour and Discipline: Setting clear expectations and providing structure.Gender Roles and Responsibilities: Discussing roles of mothers and fathers in raising boys.Importance of Play: Integrating physical activities and play into routines. The post Raising young boys | 032 appeared first on Euka.

Brett and Ellen discuss the importance of sleep for both children and adults, exploring its effects on mental, physical, and emotional health. They share insights on how sleep impacts learning and behaviour, offer practical tips for improving sleep quality, and emphasise the importance of establishing healthy sleep routines. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Brett’s Personal Experience: Brett shares his journey with sleep issues due to a broken nose and the importance of addressing sleep problems.Sleep Studies: Discussion on sleep studies indicates many children and teenagers do not get enough sleep.Importance of Sleep: Sleep is vital for physical repair, mental health, emotional processing, and cognitive function.Stages of Sleep: Explanation of the four stages of sleep—light sleep, deep sleep, REM sleep—and their significance.Teenagers and Sleep: Challenges teenagers face with sleep, including late-night habits and the importance of routine.Tips for Better Sleep: Establish a consistent sleep schedule.Parental Involvement: Parents should model good sleep habits and help children understand the importance of sleep. The post Sleep! Are you and your kids getting enough? | 031 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode of the &#8220;Future Learners&#8221; podcast, Brett and Ellen discuss practical strategies for setting up preschoolers for success in their learning journey. They explore the importance of intentional parenting, the role of play, and how to foster independence and curiosity in young children. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you? Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.  <button class="voice-widget-popup-cta" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-trigger aria-label="Send us a message" > Send us a message <div class="voice-widget-popup-overlay" data-voice-widget-popup-overlay role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Voice message recorder" style="display: none;" > <button class="voice-widget-popup-close" type="button" data-voice-widget-popup-close aria-label="Close" > <div class="voice-widget voice-widget--compact" role="region" aria-label="Voice message recorder" data-bark-component="VoiceMessageWidget" data-voice-widget-popup-content > We&#039;re listening Send us your voice message Up to two minutes. Speak in your own words Your name Email Send message anonymously <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__recorder-shape-tr" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/elements/quarter-circle-burnt-yellow.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /> ● Tap the red dot to start Re-record Download I'm happy for Euka to keep this recording and to share it (or part of it) on the Future Learners Podcast. See our privacy policy. Yes, let me know when new episodes drop. Fresh conversations every week — unsubscribe any time. Send to the Future Learners team <img decoding="async" class="voice-widget__success-illustration" src="https://euka.edu.au/wp-content/plugins/euka-voice-widget/assets/illustrations/three-smiling-people.svg" alt="The Euka team celebrating receiving your message" /> Thanks — we&#039;ve got it. Brett, Ellen and the team will give it a listen. Keep an ear out — we&#039;ll let you know if your message features in an upcoming episode. Key Points: Intentional Parenting: The significance of being purposeful in your interactions and activities with your child.Role of Play: How playtime, including pretend play and using the right toys, is crucial for development.Fostering Independence: Strategies to encourage self-reliance and responsibility in preschoolers.Early Literacy and Numeracy: Tips for integrating learning into everyday activities.Parental Involvement: The importance of parents&#8217; active participation in their child&#8217;s early education. The post Setting your pre-schooler up for success | 030 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode 29 titled, &#8220;Should Children Under 16 Be Banned from Using Social Media?&#8221; , Brett and Ellen discuss the controversial topic of whether children under 16 should be banned from using social media. They explore the mental health impacts, safety concerns, and the roles of parents and government in regulating social media use among young people. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Mental Health Concerns: Statistics showing the link between social media use and poor mental health outcomes in adolescents.Safety Issues: Risks of image-based sexual abuse, privacy concerns, and negative interactions online.Parent and Government Roles: The need for parents to regulate their children&#8217;s social media use and the government&#8217;s potential interventions.Personal Experiences: Ellen shares insights from her experience with her children and social media.Possible Solutions: Strategies for parents to manage and reduce social media use in their households. The post Should children under 16 be banned from using social media? | 029 appeared first on Euka.

In Episode 28 of the &#8220;Future Learners&#8221; podcast titled, &#8220;Should children learn handwriting in this digital world?&#8220;, Brett and Ellen discuss whether children should learn handwriting in today&#8217;s digital world. They explore the cognitive benefits of handwriting, the impact of handwriting on learning and memory, and whether cursive writing should still be taught. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Importance of Handwriting:Handwriting as a form of communication and its cognitive benefits.Studies show that handwriting helps retain information better than typing.Handwriting activates unique neural circuits in the brain, aiding in learning.Cursive Writing Debate:Finland&#8217;s approach: stopped teaching cursive writing in 2016.Discussion on whether cursive writing should still be taught.Benefits and challenges of cursive writing for different children.Cognitive Benefits:Comparison to learning a musical instrument in terms of brain activity.Handwriting helps with letter recognition and slows down the learning process, making it more effective.Personal Experiences and Teaching Strategies:Ellen shares personal experiences and strategies for teaching handwriting to her children.Creating a positive environment for handwriting practice.Spelling and Grammar:Debate on the correlation between handwriting and spelling skills.The impact of digital tools on spelling and grammar proficiency.Future of Handwriting:Discussion on the potential future of handwriting in education.Importance of communication skills and how handwriting plays a role. The post Should children learn handwriting in this digital world? | 028 appeared first on Euka.

In Episode 27 of the &#8220;Future Learners&#8221; podcast titled, &#8220;The #1 Skill for Children to Learn.&#8221;, Brett and Ellen discuss the critical skill of reading, emphasising its importance in acquiring knowledge and effective communication. They provide practical tips for parents to support their children&#8217;s reading journey, from choosing the right books to incorporating different learning modalities. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Introduction and Importance of Reading:Reading as a fundamental communication skill and a means of acquiring knowledge.The disparity in reading abilities among different socioeconomic groups in Australia.Role of Parents in Learning to Read:Parents&#8217; involvement in their child&#8217;s early reading stages.Tips for parents to make reading enjoyable and accessible.Starting Points for Reading:Begin with phonics and sounds.Choose books based on the child&#8217;s interests.Challenges and Solutions:Addressing difficulties like dyslexia and the importance of seeking expert help.The impact of learning styles on reading success.Practical Tips:Use shared reading and interactive games to reinforce learning.Explore different formats such as audiobooks, e-readers, and physical books.Personal Anecdotes and Advice:Brett and Ellen share their personal experiences with reading.Encouragement to find books that capture the child&#8217;s interest and provide a variety of reading materials. The post The #1 Skill for children to learn | 027 appeared first on Euka.

In episode 26 of the &#8220;Future Learners&#8221; podcast titled, &#8220;When should your child do work experience?&#8221; Brett and Ellen discuss the importance of work experience for homeschooled children. They emphasise the flexibility homeschooling provides in exploring various fields, starting as early as Grade 7. Parents play a crucial role in finding opportunities and supporting their children. Personal anecdotes illustrate the confidence and independence gained through work experience. The episode also covers legal considerations, such as insurance, and offers practical tips for making the most of these opportunities. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Overview of Work Experience:Discussion on the importance of work experience, especially for secondary and senior year students.Benefits of work experience for primary school students to start thinking about future opportunities.Homeschooling Advantage:Homeschooling provides more opportunities for varied work experiences compared to traditional schools.Flexibility in scheduling and exploring different fields.Starting Points:Begin with family and friends to find work experience opportunities.Importance of work experience at different ages, starting as early as Grade 7 or as late as Grade 9 or 10.Benefits of Work Experience:Builds confidence and independence.Helps students understand real-world job expectations and develop a sense of contribution.Provides a practical view of potential career paths.Parents&#8217; Role:Parents should guide and support children in finding and applying for work experience opportunities.Helping with emails, applications, and providing context to potential employers. The post When should your child do work experience? | 026 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode of &#8220;Future Learners,&#8221; titled, &#8216;How to build a strong family unit&#8216; hosts Brett and Ellen discuss the essential elements for building a strong family unit, emphasising the importance of effective communication, shared values, and the unique dynamics of diverse family structures. They highlight practical strategies such as setting clear roles and responsibilities, spending quality time together, and the significance of flexibility and adaptability in nurturing a supportive and resilient family environment. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Foundation of a Strong Family Unit:Brett emphasises the importance of deeper conversations that create a strong foundation for families, which is crucial for growth and success in all aspects of life.Communication as the Bedrock:Effective communication is highlighted as the bedrock for successful family dynamics, involving open and honest dialogues, active listening, and conflict resolution. This is essential for creating alignment within the family.Diverse Family Structures:Ellen shares insights from a single parent&#8217;s perspective, discussing the challenges and strategies in building a strong family unit without the traditional two-parent setup. She stresses the importance of resilience and acceptance within varied family dynamics.Shared Values and Beliefs:The episode discusses the importance of establishing shared values within the family, which can be communicated and reinforced through regular family meetings and discussions about family expectations and behaviours.Roles and Responsibilities:Clear roles and responsibilities are crucial for maintaining order and understanding within the family. This segment covers the significance of clarity in who does what, which helps in minimising conflicts and misunderstandings.Quality Time over Quantity:Brett and Ellen discuss the importance of spending quality time together as a family rather than focusing solely on the quantity of time spent. They explore how meaningful interactions can strengthen family bonds.Celebrating Achievements:Recognising and celebrating each family member’s achievements is vital for reinforcing positive behaviours and contributions, which enhances a sense of belonging and appreciation. The post How to build a strong family unit | 025 appeared first on Euka.

Hosts,&nbsp;Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown discuss the importance of understanding and leveraging different learning preferences to enhance educational experiences for children. They explore how various learning styles can impact engagement and retention, in our latest episode titled:&nbsp;How to Retain 90% of Everything You Learn. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Parental Involvement: The discussion highlights the role of parents in identifying and fostering their child&#8217;s learning preferences. Ellen notes that many parents may not be aware of their own or their child&#8217;s learning styles, impacting their ability to support their child&#8217;s education effectively.Practical Application: Tips are given on how to create a learning environment that accommodates various learning styles. For instance, auditory learners might benefit more from discussions or listening to information, whereas kinesthetic learners engage better through hands-on activities.Importance of Flexibility: The hosts discuss the necessity of flexibility in teaching methods to cater to different learning needs without strictly adhering to one method, acknowledging that learning preferences can change over time.Educational Outcomes: Brett shares insights into the different outcomes associated with various teaching methods based on the &#8220;learning pyramid,&#8221; which suggests higher retention rates from active engagement and teaching others compared to passive learning methods like lectures.Lifelong Learning: Both hosts agree on the importance of continuous learning and adapting teaching strategies based on ongoing observations and feedback from children, suggesting that effective learning also involves adjusting to children&#8217;s evolving needs and interests.Community and Communication: They stress the importance of communication and community in the learning process, encouraging parents to discuss and share learning experiences with their children to reinforce knowledge and skills.Personal Experience: Ellen and Brett share personal anecdotes to illustrate how understanding and applying different learning preferences can significantly affect educational engagement and retention. The post How to retain 90% of everything you learn! | 024 appeared first on Euka.

Euka parent Brooke shares her transformative journey of homeschooling her son, Noah, who faces unique challenges such as dyslexia, ASD, and ADHD. She discusses the initial struggles with traditional schooling, the pivotal decision to homeschool, and the substantial progress Noah has made through tailored learning approaches that suit his needs. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Initial Challenges: Brooke initially resisted homeschooling due to traditional schooling expectations but reconsidered after her son’s negative experiences in kindergarten.Decision to Homeschool: The lack of support at school and Noah&#8217;s health issues led Brooke and her husband to choose homeschooling.COVID-19 Impact: The pandemic exposed the deficiencies of remote schooling provided by the school, further affirming their decision.Educational Adjustments: Brooke emphasised customising Noah&#8217;s education to accommodate his dyslexia and neurodiversity, significantly improving his reading level.Support and Resources: Brooke utilised various resources, including audiobooks and targeted educational materials, to cater to Noah&#8217;s interests and learning style.Regulatory Navigation: They navigated homeschooling regulations and utilised Euka&#8217;s services to ensure compliance and receive support.Benefits of Homeschooling: Homeschooling allowed for a flexible schedule that suited Noah&#8217;s health needs, and Brooke observed remarkable improvements in his confidence and social skills.Ongoing Commitment: Brooke remains dedicated to adapting the educational content to keep Noah engaged and progressing at his own pace. The post Homeschooling with Dyslexia, ASD, and ADHD: A Mother&#8217;s Inspirational Journey | 023 appeared first on Euka.

In the &#8220;Unlock Funding for Homeschooling&#8221; episode, Brett and Ellen delve into government support options for homeschooling families, highlighting Centrelink benefits and the Assistance for Isolated Children’s Scheme. They emphasise the need for homeschooling registration and professional validation to access these funds, advocating for fair financial support for homeschooling. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Introduction to homeschooling payments and allowances, with a focus on government support for families involved in homeschooling.The disparity in funding between public school students and homeschooled students and the quest for fairness in financial support.Centrelink JobSeeker benefits and allowances for homeschooling parents, including potential exemptions from job search requirements and the possibility of increased payments.The Assistance for Isolated Children’s Scheme (AIC), offers financial support not only for geographically isolated families but also for children with special education needs, including those with disabilities, medical conditions, or learning difficulties.The significant financial support provided by the AIC, potentially more than $4,000 per year, backdated to the start of the approval year, and its availability per child rather than per family.The requirement for professional validation (from psychologists, doctors, etc) to access funds intended for children with specific needs, emphasises the importance of official homeschooling registration and professional recommendations.The episode emphasises the importance of self-research and proactive information gathering when seeking government support for homeschooling, advocating for the allocation of educational funding directly to homeschooling families. If you would like to find out more about the Isolated Children Scheme, you can do so by clicking this link. The post Unlock funding for homeschooling | 022 appeared first on Euka.

Episode 21, &#8220;Moving from School to Homeschooling in Term 2,&#8221; offers a comprehensive guide for families considering the switch to homeschooling. It discusses preparation, curriculum choices, and setting a conducive learning environment to ensure a smooth transition. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts here.&nbsp; Key Points: Timeliness of Transition: Anytime is good to start homeschooling, including after Term 1, offering flexibility to families considering the shift.Ease of Transition: Transitioning to homeschooling can be smooth, with support available to address any learning gaps from the previous term.Curriculum Continuity: Homeschooling aligns with the Australian curriculum, ensuring educational consistency and allowing children to seamlessly integrate or revert to traditional schooling if needed.Customised Learning: Homeschooling offers personalised learning experiences, accommodating various learning styles and needs.Registration Process: Parents can initiate homeschooling at any term, and while registration with the education department is required, it’s manageable with resources and guidance from homeschooling providers like Euka.Child’s Well-being: Parents should prioritise their child’s well-being and educational needs when deciding to transition to homeschooling, especially if the child faces challenges in the traditional school environment.School Communication: Clear communication with schools is vital, especially when transitioning to homeschooling, to ensure understanding and support for the child’s educational journey.Future Prospects: Homeschooling does not limit future educational or career opportunities for children, with many pathways available including university, TAFE, traineeships, and other vocational routes. The post Moving from School to Homeschooling in term 2 | 021 appeared first on Euka.

Brett and Ellen offer practical strategies for cost-effective homeschooling, highlighting the importance of planning, leveraging community resources, and prioritising experiences over expensive materials. They also discuss the benefits of utilising government support, preparing learning spaces, and investing wisely in durable educational tools. Tune into this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify by clicking here.&nbsp; Key Points: Financial Planning: Starting with an understanding of personal finances, budgeting for homeschooling is part of the family budget. This includes planning and prioritising expenses.Valuing Experiences: Placing a high value on experiences rather than expensive materials, and understanding that the value of experiences outweighs material costs.Government Benefits and Tax Breaks: Investigating available government assistance, such as tax breaks and additional benefits for homeschooling families, and ensuring to inquire and be informed about them.Utilising Community Resources: Leveraging libraries, museums, parks, nature reserves, community centres, and community colleges for educational experiences, as well as embracing volunteering opportunities as part of learning.Organising Affordable Local Field Trips: Planning various educational outings that can range from free to low-cost, tying them into the learning curriculum, and ensuring these activities are enjoyable and memorable for children.Organisation and Preparation: The importance of organising learning materials and planning resources needed in advance to facilitate a smooth and enjoyable learning experience.Creating Conducive Learning Spaces: Setting up learning environments that are inviting and effective for the child, and being adaptable with the learning space whether it&#8217;s a dedicated room or a family area like the kitchen table.Investing in Quality Equipment: Recommending investment in items that offer long-term value, such as a good chair for the child&#8217;s comfort during learning, and being creative with resources to facilitate learning. The post Homeschooling on a budget | 020 appeared first on Euka.

Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown dive into the significance of encouraging risk-taking in children&#8217;s development. They explore various dimensions where risk is vital, including outdoor play, creative expression, social interaction, academic exploration, and personal growth. They discuss how taking risks can enhance physical activity, creativity, social skills, intellectual curiosity, and self-discovery. They also provide practical tips for parents to facilitate risk-taking in a safe and supportive environment, emphasising the balance between protection and freedom. Key Points: Outdoor Play &amp; Exploration: Highlighting the importance of physical risks, such as climbing and exploring, for developing resilience, physical skills, and problem-solving abilities.Creative Expression &amp; Innovation: Encouraging children to express themselves and explore their interests, even if they deviate from the norm, fostering creativity and innovation.Social Interaction &amp; Communication: The role of taking risks in social settings, helping children develop confidence in interacting with others and forming relationships.Academic Exploration &amp; Learning: Encouraging intellectual risks by exploring new subjects and challenges, which can lead to discovering passions and strengths.Personal Growth &amp; Self-Discovery: Supporting children in taking risks towards personal goals and passions, promoting independence and self-confidence.Risk Plan: Suggesting parents and children create a &#8220;risk plan&#8221; to intentionally engage in activities that are slightly out of their comfort zone, aiding in the development of risk intelligence.The Importance of Communication: Emphasising the need for clear communication about the reasons behind encouraging or limiting certain risks. The episode underscores the value of allowing children to experience risks under parental guidance to build a well-rounded character equipped for the complexities of the world. The post The Importance of Raising Risk Takers | 019 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Acknowledging Individuality: The episode begins with a discussion on the importance of recognising and nurturing the individuality of young girls, enabling them to grow into confident and courageous individuals. Building Confidence and Self-Esteem: The hosts delve into strategies for fostering self-confidence and self-esteem in girls, emphasising the role of positive reinforcement and acknowledging achievements. Influence of Parental Behavior: They highlight how parental behaviour and attitudes towards themselves can significantly impact their daughters&#8217; self-perception and confidence. Importance of Open Communication: The necessity of open and honest communication between parents and daughters is underscored, allowing girls to express themselves freely and feel valued. Challenging Societal Norms: The episode addresses the need to challenge societal norms and stereotypes that can affect girls&#8217; self-esteem, advocating for a more inclusive and supportive environment. Encouraging Bravery and Resilience: The discussion promotes the idea of encouraging girls to be brave, take risks, and learn from their experiences to build resilience. Navigating Social Media and Peer Influence: They examine the influence of social media and peer pressure on girls&#8217; self-esteem, advocating for guidance and support in navigating these challenges. Creating a Supportive Learning Environment: The hosts talk about the importance of a supportive educational environment, such as homeschooling, in fostering a girl&#8217;s confidence and self-worth. The post Empowering Girls: Building Confidence and Self-Esteem | 018 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Time Management Strategies: Understanding that homeschooling doesn&#8217;t need to adhere to traditional school hours (9-3) and recognising the efficiency of focused one-on-one learning.Setting Boundaries: The importance of creating clear boundaries for homeschooling, distinguishing between work and leisure time, and managing external expectations.Flexibility and Adaptability: Emphasising the need for a balance between structure and flexibility to cater to children&#8217;s varying needs and to utilise the inherent adaptability of homeschooling effectively. The post 3 Major Obstacles Parents Face when Homeschooling | 017 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Introduction to Conflict Resolution: Brett and Ellen start the discussion by highlighting the significance of conflict resolution skills for families and their inclusion in the Euka program, as well as in the general school curriculum The Nature of Conflict: They discuss the common misconception among young children that conflict results in winners and losers, emphasising the need for a more comprehensive understanding of conflict resolution. Six Steps of Conflict Resolution in Education: Ellen outlines the six-step process for teaching conflict resolution within the Euka program, starting from introducing the concept to young children and building on it each year. Win-Win Concept and Active Listening: The discussion covers the importance of teaching children about the win-win concept and the role of active listening in resolving conflicts. Empathy and Perspective Taking: Brett and Ellen talk about the development of empathy and understanding different perspectives, crucial skills for effective conflict resolution. Avoiding Blame and Using I Statements: By the time students reach grade six and seven, the curriculum focuses on teaching them to avoid blaming others and to use &#8220;I&#8221; statements to express their feelings and perspectives. Problem Solving and Self-Reflection: In high school, the curriculum shifts towards practicing problem-solving techniques, brainstorming solutions, and emphasising self-reflection and self-regulation to manage conflicts better. The post The most important skill a child can learn | 016 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Introduction to Financial Literacy: The episode begins with Brett and Ellen discussing the importance of financial literacy and examining personal beliefs about money. They emphasise that understanding and potentially revising these beliefs are crucial for both personal financial health and imparting financial wisdom to children. Mindset and Money Habits: Brett shares insights into how personal experiences and upbringing influence attitudes toward money. He highlights the significance of being aware of one&#8217;s financial habits and the values they reflect, suggesting that some spending habits are deeply ingrained and may need reevaluation. Parental Influence on Financial Education: Ellen stresses that financial education begins with parents feeling comfortable about money. She outlines Euka&#8217;s financial literacy curriculum, which includes lessons on money basics, budgeting, investing, and differentiating between needs and wants from early childhood through high school. Creating a Positive Money Mindset: The hosts discuss strategies for fostering a positive money mindset in children, emphasising the role of parents in modeling healthy financial behaviors and decisions. They suggest that creating an environment of abundance, rather than scarcity, can help children develop a healthy relationship with money. Practical Steps for Financial Literacy: The discussion includes practical steps for improving financial literacy, such as understanding one&#8217;s current mindset about money, identifying unhelpful beliefs, and consciously forming new, positive financial habits. Engaging Children in Financial Education: Brett and Ellen encourage parents to involve their children in financial discussions and education, emphasising the importance of starting these conversations early. They suggest that even simple activities, like reading books about money and discussing their content, can be effective. Continuous Learning and Adaptation: The hosts conclude that financial literacy is a continuous learning process for both parents and children. They encourage listeners to be open to revising their financial beliefs and practices and to actively engage in financial education as a lifelong journey. The post Cultivating Financial Literacy and Mindful Parenting | 015 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Introduction to Physical and Mental Health in Homeschooling: Brett and Ellen emphasise the importance of incorporating physical and mental health practices into homeschooling routines, acknowledging their personal interest and background in health and fitness.Nutrition and Homeschooling: The discussion highlights the challenge of maintaining healthy eating habits during homeschooling, especially with constant access to food at home. They suggest setting guidelines for snack times and maintaining a balanced diet.Physical Activity and Structure: Brett notes the lack of structured physical activity in homeschooling compared to traditional schooling and stresses the importance of integrating movement into the daily curriculum for both physical and mental benefits.Mental Health and Quiet Time: The importance of quiet time for mental health is discussed, with suggestions for activities that allow children to have downtime and parents to manage their own stress levels.Setting Up a Healthy Environment: The conversation covers the importance of creating a structured environment that separates different aspects of home life, such as learning, play, and relaxation areas, to support mental health.Parental Influence on Health Habits: Brett and Ellen talk about the role of parents in modelling healthy habits, including physical activity and nutrition, and The post Physical and mental health tips for homeschooling families | 014 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Brett and Ellen delve into the significance of being flexible and adaptable with homeschooling, stressing the importance for parents to have a plan that&#8217;s open to changes. They tackle common worries faced by new homeschoolers, offering reassurance and practical guidance to navigate the homeschooling journey effectively. Highlighting the value of real-world learning experiences, they encourage parents to weave these opportunities into their curriculum for a holistic education. A balanced approach to education, respecting each child&#8217;s unique learning style, is advocated to ensure a personalised educational experience. The advantages of homeschooling, such as customising education to fit individual needs and steering clear of traditional schooling constraints, are explored in detail. The post The ultimate Getting Started guide | 013 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Introduction to Neena&#8217;s Homeschooling Journey: Neena Tester, a seasoned homeschooling mother, shares her journey of homeschooling her four children, highlighting the initial motivations and her approach to education at home. She emphasises the desire to instil faith and protect her children from negative school experiences. Challenges and Triumphs: Neena discusses overcoming the anxieties associated with homeschooling, particularly concerning socialisation and academic pressures. She underscores the importance of a supportive community and flexible curriculum in facilitating a rich homeschooling experience. Transition to Senior Years: The conversation shifts to how her family navigated the senior schooling years, particularly the transition to more structured learning through programs like Euka. Neena notes the significance of adaptability and parental support in ensuring children’s success. Reflections on Homeschooling&#8217;s Impact: Neena and the hosts reflect on the positive outcomes of homeschooling, including the development of mature, confident adults. She advocates for a balanced approach to education that prioritises character development and family bonds over traditional academic success. Advice for Prospective Homeschooling Families: Offering advice to families considering homeschooling, Neena emphasises the importance of enjoying the journey The post Homeschooling mother of 4 shares her journey | 012 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Understanding Mental Health in Children: Hosts Brett and Ellen explore the complexity of mental health issues in children and teenagers. They discuss the increasing prevalence of mental health challenges and the fine line between normal emotional fluctuations and more serious issues. Role of School and Parenting: The conversation addresses how school environments and parental attitudes play significant roles in children&#8217;s mental health. They examine the impact of social media and societal pressures on young minds. Navigating Mental Health Challenges: The hosts offer insights into identifying and addressing mental health issues. They emphasize the importance of open communication, establishing routines, and engaging in activities that promote mental well-being. Strategies for Support: Brett and Ellen suggest practical approaches like gratitude exercises and creating supportive environments at home. They advocate for seeking professional help when necessary and maintaining a positive outlook for the future. The post Mental Health and how it affects our children | 011 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Introduction to AI and Technology in Education: Brett and Ellen start the episode discussing the impact of AI and technology on education, debating whether it represents a crisis or a revolution. They aim to dispel fears and highlight the potential of AI in shaping the future of education. Rapid Technological Advancements: The hosts explore the exponential growth of technology in the past years, stressing the need for parents and educators to update their mindsets to adapt to these changes. Brett emphasises the importance of embracing technology as it becomes more integral to daily life. Technology in Homeschooling and Education: The discussion shifts to how AI levels the educational playing field, providing AI-generated tutors and resources accessible to all students. Ellen emphasises the importance of analytical thinking, resilience, and curiosity in education, and how hands-on learning is integrated with AI support. Navigating Digital Consumption and Mental Health: They address concerns about the impact of technology on mental health, advocating for responsible digital consumption. The conversation includes managing algorithms on social platforms and the importance of open communication between parents and children. Setting Guidelines for Technology Use: Brett shares personal experiences and advice on setting family guidelines for technology use. The episode underscores the importance of not letting technology control users, instead using it as a tool for learning and development. Critical Thinking and Information Sources: The episode concludes with a focus on teaching children critical thinking skills to navigate the digital world. It emphasises the need for multiple information sources to develop a well-rounded understanding and to avoid biases inherent in AI and digital platforms. The post AI, Technology &#038; Navigating the Digital Frontier | 010 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Exploring Euka&#8217;s innovative offerings for Years 11 and 12, focusing on the senior stages of schooling. They discuss Euka&#8217;s unique approach to homeschooling these crucial years, highlighting its distinction as the only Australian program that allows students to complete high school and transition to university without traditional exams. Ellen notes the program was developed in response to students uncertain about their future after high school. She points out the challenges students face entering university without Year 11 and 12 knowledge, an issue Euka&#8217;s program addresses. A key topic of the episode is the mental health implications of exam-based assessments in traditional schooling. Ellen describes Euka&#8217;s methodology, which favours continuous assessments over high-pressure exams, enabling students to learn from their mistakes and fostering a healthier learning environment. The discussion covers Euka&#8217;s two pathways for Year 11 and 12: the University Pathway Course (UPC) and the non-assessed program. The UPC, suited for university-bound students, allows assignment resubmission based on feedback, aiming for the necessary grades. The non-assessed program, while offering the same learning material, eliminates grading pressure, catering to students with varied post-school plans. Ellen highlights that Euka&#8217;s program equips students with critical skills like academic writing and research in the final term of Year 12, ensuring a smoother transition to university. The flexibility of Euka&#8217;s homeschooling program is also discussed, including the option to change subjects between Years 11 and 12 and the comprehensive support provided to students and parents. The episode concludes with encouragement for listeners to engage with the podcast, reinforcing its role in informing and supporting families The post Euka Unveils Groundbreaking Year 11 &#038; 12 Program &#8211; A Global First in Learning Innovation | 009 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Exploring the key distinctions between these two educational approaches. They clarify that the primary difference lies in the level of control and decision-making: in distance education, a school and teacher are primarily responsible for a child&#8217;s learning, whereas in homeschooling, these decisions rest with the parents.Ellen notes that the choice between homeschooling and distance education can depend on individual state regulations in Australia. She also mentions that some families might choose distance education because they feel overwhelmed by the prospect of homeschooling. However, she points out that the level of parental involvement is quite similar in both approaches.The discussion further delves into the specifics of each approach. For distance education, there are set requirements and timelines for assignments, much like a traditional school but conducted at home. Homeschooling, on the other hand, offers more flexibility in terms of timelines and daily schedules. Ellen emphasizes that homeschooling can be particularly beneficial for families seeking a more tailored education experience for their children.The podcast also addresses concerns about the workload in distance education, often being higher than in traditional schools due to the lack of interruptions. In contrast, homeschooling allows for a more balanced approach without the constant demands of assignment deadlines.Brett and Ellen discuss the cost differences between the two, noting that distance education is typically more expensive, akin to a private school education. They also touch on how advancements in homeschooling resources, like those offered by Euka, have made this option more viable and less daunting for parents.Towards the end, they highlight that homeschooling with Euka offers comprehensive support and flexibility, making it a highly appealing option for many families. The episode concludes with encouragement for families to reach out to Euka specialists for guidance in making the best educational decision for their children. The post The Difference Between Homeschooling and Distance Education | 008 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: The importance of personalised attention in homeschooling, particularly for children who have had negative experiences in traditional schools. It highlights a period of adjustment when transitioning from a school setting to homeschooling, but ultimately, children tend to thrive with the individualised program.The flexibility homeschooling offers, allowing families to travel, work from home, and adjust schedules as needed. They also touch on the ability to customise the curriculum to suit a child’s interests, which can lead to a more engaged and motivated learner.The potential for homeschooling to strengthen family bonds, as parents and children spend more quality time together. This close-knit environment can lead to a supportive learning atmosphere and foster open communication.Understanding the emotional aspect of learning, emphasising the need for parents to be equipped to handle their children’s emotional needs. Homeschooling can provide a nurturing space for children to overcome negative experiences and build resilience.The opportunity homeschooling provides for children to explore their passions, whether it be in sports, arts, or other areas. The hosts share personal anecdotes and examples of how homeschooling allows for real-world learning and the development of practical skills. The post 10 Major Reasons Families Are Flocking to Homeschooling | 007 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Understanding School Refusal: The episode opens with a discussion about what constitutes school refusal, distinguishing it from simple unwillingness to attend school. It&#8217;s described as a complex issue often rooted in anxiety and stress, rather than just misbehaviour or disinterest. School refusal is increasingly recognised as a significant issue affecting a large number of students.Prevalence and Impact: Brett shares statistics indicating that school refusal affects two in five Australian families, underscoring the widespread nature of this challenge. This highlights that school refusal is not a minor issue but a significant challenge impacting a substantial portion of the student population, with various underlying causes and degrees of severity.Parental Insight and Action: Ellen emphasises the importance of parents listening to their children and trusting their own judgement when dealing with school refusal. She suggests that parents often have the best understanding of their children and cautions against universal solutions, advocating for tailored approaches to each child&#8217;s unique circumstances.Considering Alternatives and Seeking Expert Advice: The hosts discuss the necessity of seeking professional assistance to understand and tackle the root causes of school refusal. They stress the importance of considering different educational options, including homeschooling, and the potential need for psychological support to assist children in expressing and addressing their fears and anxieties.Redefining Success and Looking Ahead: The episode concludes with a call to redefine what success means for children experiencing school refusal. Ellen and Brett highlight that success should be measured by a child&#8217;s overall well-being, confidence, and contentment, rather than adherence to conventional schooling standards. They offer hope and optimism for families navigating school refusal, emphasising that with appropriate support and strategies, children can overcome these challenges and flourish in various educational and life paths. The post Where to Start When Considering Homeschooling? | 006 appeared first on Euka.

In this episode, Brett and Ellen discuss: Understanding School Refusal: The episode opens with a discussion about what constitutes school refusal, distinguishing it from simple unwillingness to attend school. It&#8217;s described as a complex issue often rooted in anxiety and stress, rather than just misbehaviour or disinterest. School refusal is increasingly recognised as a significant issue affecting a large number of students.Prevalence and Impact: Brett shares statistics indicating that school refusal affects two in five Australian families, underscoring the widespread nature of this challenge. This highlights that school refusal is not a minor issue but a significant challenge impacting a substantial portion of the student population, with various underlying causes and degrees of severity.Parental Insight and Action: Ellen emphasises the importance of parents listening to their children and trusting their own judgement when dealing with school refusal. She suggests that parents often have the best understanding of their children and cautions against universal solutions, advocating for tailored approaches to each child&#8217;s unique circumstances.Considering Alternatives and Seeking Expert Advice: The hosts discuss the necessity of seeking professional assistance to understand and tackle the root causes of school refusal. They stress the importance of considering different educational options, including homeschooling, and the potential need for psychological support to assist children in expressing and addressing their fears and anxieties.Redefining Success and Looking Ahead: The episode concludes with a call to redefine what success means for children experiencing school refusal. Ellen and Brett highlight that success should be measured by a child&#8217;s overall well-being, confidence, and contentment, rather than adherence to conventional schooling standards. They offer hope and optimism for families navigating school refusal, emphasising that with appropriate support and strategies, children can overcome these challenges and flourish in various educational and life paths. The post School Refusal? Should You Force Your Child to go to School | 005 appeared first on Euka.