Correspondence School

The Correspondence School (TCS) is a registered school – if your under 16 yo student is accepted for enrolment with them you are not homeschooling and you do not need an exemption from the MoE.

TCS has programmes at early childhood, primary and secondary level, and are funded by the MoE.
To qualify for enrolment under 16 yrs old you must meet certain criteria. TCS students will have various reasons why they cannot attend a regular school, i.e. living in an isolated area, itinerant family, illness, special needs, training commitments, be a young parent or have been excluded from their local school.
You may ask the Moe (if expelled), GSE (if special needs), CYFS, NETS (Non-Enrolled Truancy Service, if student alienated and unwilling to attend) or Regional Health School (if unwell) to refer your student. The student should be motivated to complete the course as they will be withdrawn from the roll for failure to hand in course work. Students are given the same work as they would be at a State school, and cannot choose their own subjects and levels.
Parents are paid a supervisory allowance (identical to the homeschool allowance) of $743 per year for one student.
Schools may enrol students for one or two subjects that the school doesn’t teach, as long as they have a service level agreement with TCS.

Home educated students under 16 may purchase subjects from TCS but must pay full fees (from about $800 per subject). For this reason homeschooled students usually wait until they are eligible for adult enrolment.
Under 16 yo homeschooled students paying full fees for subjects can choose their own subjects and level and do not give up their exemptions, and their parents receive the homeschool supervisory allowance rather than the TCS allowance.

Commencing in 2008,  there is a free new young adult category  (16 -19 years), (or 15y with an early release exemption from the MoE). This is the option homeschoolers usually take. There is a school donation of $70 per student or $100 per family. Details of this option come up as you work through the enrolment wizard on the site.

Young adult students can also choose their own subjects and levels eg they can take a subject at NCEA level 3 without having to do levels 1 and 2 first as they would be if enrolled as a full time under 16 yo student.

Homeschooled students keep their exemptions as they are not enrolled in the school, they are purchasing curriculum, and their parents are still eligible for the homeschool supervisory allowance.
We recommend you keep your exemption active as long as possible, since new exemptions are not granted to students over 15 yrs, and once it lapses it will not be reactivated.

Adult students ( 20 years or older ) pay a subsidized fee which starts at $100 per subject. Some may qualify for WINZ assistance.

 TCS Parents’ and Supervisors’ Association has support groups for health and special needs, large families, and itinerant and overseas families.

NCHENZ meeting with TCS 2006 Report on The Correspondance School and its relationship with home educators

The Correspondence School

TCS is sometimes accessed by homeschooled students to gain NCEA gualifications