September Monthly Updates
Members Only! This newsletter is just for our members.
Please do not share, copy, or publish it anywhere else. Thank you for respecting our community!
Welcome to our monthly updates.
It is a good idea to register the address @nchenz.org.nz as a safe sender as all contact from us comes from a variation of this address.
Visit the private members-only area of our website
BOOKMARK THIS LINK!
You can only access this section of the website through this members only link,
so it is best to bookmark it for future access.
NCHENZ Programs and Discounts
When programmes are due for renewal Gin will email you from that programmes email address while all the emails are different they all end with @nchenz.org.nz so it is best to save this as a safe sender to ensure your emails don't get sent to spam.
Spell Zone - Subscription begins on 27th September each year
Spellzone unlocks the mystery of New Zealand, British and American English spelling. Based on phonic progression, Spellzone is designed for ages 6 to adult.
Typing Club - Subscription begins on 1st November each year
Ed Club/Typing Club is an engaging and interactive Learn to Type program for all ages, which teaches Touch Typing with proper hand posture
Maths Wizz - All Enrolments due in and paid for by Oct 6th
Maths-Whizz is aligned with the NZ Curriculum and is designed for students aged approximately 5-13yrs (School Years 1-8)
If you've made a payment for a Programme and Discounts program and not heard anything within a couple of weeks, please check your junk folder, or email the relevant program email address. Remember to save the individual program email addresses to your safe sender list too.
Science Roadshow
Even though we are fast approaching the end of the year, there are still a number of science road show events still to come.
Bookings for the 2026 Science Roadshow are filling up. With a “refreshed” curriculum on its way, ramping up the profile of science in 2026 will be an important step toward full implementation in 2027. The Science Roadshow experience, complete with supporting classroom ready activities, will be a big step in that direction.
Visiting over 100 locations nationwide, click this link to see if they are coming to your town.
Programme details and bookings can be made from this page (https://scienceroadshow.nz/2026-science-roadshow/)
The Science Roadshow provides 70 minute sessions that include: two live shows; an opportunity to explore over 60 hands-on exhibits (arranged in 6 themes); a complementary resource book with classroom ready activities and a Science Learning Hub online collection. And each year programme content is changed and fresh experiences are delivered.
Admission is $10 per student (unchanged); supervising teachers/adults free.
For more information: info@roadshow.org
NCHENZ Website Highlight - Water Safety Resources
Summer is coming and New Zealand's waterways, beaches, and backyard pools are part of everyday life, and teaching children to be water safe is one of the most valuable lessons a family can share.
This Water Safety Resource for Home Educators is Free for a limited number of spaces.
Age-appropriate lessons and activities for home educators to use at their own pace
Practical guidance grounded in New Zealand conditions, around learning the basics
Resources designed to fit alongside your existing curriculum
Check out our new webpage here.
Members Favorite Resource - Printable Escape Rooms
Each month we will feature a member's favourite resource. This is a way for members to share with their community, not an endorsement, NCHENZ recommends you do your own due diligence before purchasing any resource, to ensure it meets your needs.
Shanee has created printable educational escape rooms that turn learning into an exciting adventure.
Each escape room is ready to print and play, making it an easy, low-prep activity for homeschool families. Children solve a series of puzzles while developing critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, reading comprehension, and logical reasoning skills.
Current themes include Wizard School, Alice in Wonderland, Time Travel, Mona Lisa Mystery, Halloween, Space Adventure, Jewish holiday, the lost Shofar, Passover, St Patrick’s day, Easter, Christmas, Birthday, Cat cafe, with more adventures on the way.
The activities are screen-free, engaging, and simple to set up—print the files and start playing.
You can explore the full collection here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CardsWithCharacterNZ
Do you have a favourite resource you would like us to share in Monthly Notices; Please send it to monthlyupdates@nchenz.org.nz
Facebook updates.
Don’t have a Facebook, don’t see posts, Don’t worry,
the following are updates from our NCHENZ and Navigating Highschool & Beyond Facebook pages.
TWINKL
SPECIAL DISCOUNT CODES
NCHENZ is absolutely thrilled to announce that we have entered a partnership with Twinkl NZ for them to bring our membership discounts to their 3 tiers of annual subscriptions.
For more info please click here to be directed to our webpage
Request from Cynthia Hancox
Recently there have been some mentions on Facebook of families being accidentally sent information or documents for children other than their own - eg requests for more information or certificates of exemption belonging to children from other families while their own applications are being considered, though those are just two examples.
A Ministry senior General Manager would like to understand when/how these things have happened so they can identify whether processes are not being followed or are not fit for purpose and/or whether additional safeguards need to be put in place.
Part of our discussions with the national office have also been around the antiquated database etc which may be a source of some of the issues. Finding out what's going on may help to ensure long-overdue improvements are made.
It's important to understand that any time information of any sort about a person is sent to the wrong party, this is a breach of the Privacy Act. Documents such as those to which I referred above often contain info such as: child's full name, date of birth, home address, parent's names, address, email addresses, homeschool reference number, information about the content of the exemption application etc.
To help this enquiry, if you have had this happen to you, most especially in the last year but also in the last 2-3 years, could you please either private message me or email me at govtliaison@nchenz.org.nz with the following info, or as much of it as you are able to supply:
1) Your name as recorded by the Ministry.
2) When the incident occurred.
3) What was sent to you in error.
4) The name of the staff member who emailed or otherwise contacted you.
5) Which regional office
This is not about getting any staff member "in trouble" (human's make mistakes) but rather identifying systemic issues and how to best overcome or safeguard against them.
An update on our most recent meeting with the Ministry and ERO - published September 10th
Representatives of NCHENZ attended a workshop on the 24th of August in Wellington which was hosted by the Ministry of Education and also included representatives of ERO and HSNZ.
The main focus of initial discussion was the intended updates to the exemption application form and guidance. The Ministry had shared a rough draft of these documents, and discussion focussed on key matters such as:
- What is actually needed in an exemption application?
- What information should/should not be asked for?
- How can the application best draw out useful information?
- What guidance is useful for applicants?
We were able to present a number of suggestions, questions and information, such as what home education looks like in practice, that parents entering home education cannot be expected to plan beyond the first 12 months, whether the Ministry actually needs to hear from schools etc.
The outcome was that the Ministry have provided us with an opportunity to put together more detailed suggestions/recommendations around what is and is not useful in an exemption application form and guidance.
There was also brief discussion around the need for the Ministry to build out a new IT system to allow for possible centralisation and/or digitalisation of application documents, processing, declarations etc, should those proceed.
The Education Review Office outlined their role in appeals and reviews, and presented some documents for our consideration, and we had an interesting discussion around how reviews are conducted. ERO asked how they can help parents feel more confident when approaching a review.
The intended agenda item of discussing future monitoring and assurance was put aside for now, due to both time constraints and a desire to prioritise getting the application forms right. This means we can look at doing more work on this based on previous feedback from home educators before presenting any ideas to the Ministry at a future meeting.
After the main meeting, we also had a discussion with the Resourcing manager, who explained to us the complex manual processes that sit behind getting declaration and allowance forms to families due to the lack of functionality in the current database, and the challenges with the idea of digitalising the forms.
A follow up meeting will be held in November.
Written by Cynthia Hancox - Published 16th September
Yesterday, the government released the report from the Public Inquiry into the disappearance of the Phillips Children. Alongside that report, they also released some other documents relating to the findings of the report, all of which you can read at the link below.
This report focuses, in particular, on the involvement and actions or inaction's of Oranga Tamariki and the Police, as well, to a lesser extent, the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office, as Tom Phillips held exemptions for his children at the time of their disappearances.
The report contained 3 findings and 2 recommendations directed at the Ministry of Education. The recommendations are:
1) That the Ministry of Education require additional information when considering applications for, or reviewing, exemptions from enrolment.
2) That the Ministry of Education requires consent from all parents and guardians [for an exemption application].
The “information gaps” that the report says the Ministry should consider include:
• Requiring additional information about the parent proposing to home educate their child to assess any safety and wellbeing concerns
• Establishing policies and processes to obtain information from other agencies, including Oranga Tamariki and Police, regarding applicants and home educators, and any current wellbeing concerns relating to the children
• Ensuring home educators are subject to regular review to provide an opportunity for education and wellbeing issues to be reviewed after the exemption is granted.
As Minister responsible for the government’s response to the report, Louise Upston yesterday announced that the government accepted all of the recommendations of the report. Her statement can also be accessed via the link.
Shortly before the report was released, Deputy Secretary of Education, Geoff Short, reached out to me to let me know it was imminent and to discuss the findings and recommendations. He reiterated that the Ministry has already made a “significant undertaking” to Cabinet to work closely with home education organisations, and that stands.
Some of the pieces related to the report recommendations are already matters under consideration and discussion with the Ministry. We will be meeting with them again on Sept 28th, and the report findings and any further actions to be considered are on the agenda.
While there are actions being taken immediately to work on the recommendations, this does not mean there will be immediate changes in effect. Some of the recommendations may be incorporated into new exemption application forms, which we are already working with the Ministry on, to be introduced next year.
Other recommendations could not be fully implemented without legislative changes, should they be deemed necessary; any such changes are expected to be informed by ongoing discussions, which provides us with an opportunity to present the
Ministry with information relevant to the home education community, how these changes may affect families if carried out, and what we recommend.
While it is likely inevitable that there will be some changes, we will continue to work closely with the Ministry, endeavouring to ensure that changes are as limited, reasonable and proportionate as possible.
We will be seeking input from the home education community in the near future – watch out for a brief survey from NCHENZ where you can share your feedback which we will use to help inform the Ministry.
While I am sure that this news will cause many of you to have concerns, please know that the final shape of any of these recommendations and how they may be implemented is not pre-determined, and that we will be seeking to present to the Ministry solid information around concerns, issues, and the best way/s forward.
Kirsty Prewer
Here is the link to another helpful resource if you ever wonder how highschool level literacy or numeracy curriculum stack up against one another (or when compared to NCEA)
Email me with specific questions or guidance for your teen via my volunteer email:) Yes it is free futurepathways@nchenz.org.nz
About NCHENZ
The National Council of Home Educators NZ (NCHENZ) has been an Incorporated Society since 1998, dedicated to supporting and advancing home education across Aotearoa NZ at a national level.
We are the only nationwide homeschooling body in NZ representing all home educators, and we hold a strong commitment to neutrality. As per our Constitution, we do not endorse or promote any particular political, religious, educational, parenting, or socio-economic philosophy or methodology. Our focus is on creating an inclusive environment where all members, regardless of their cultural background or beliefs, feel welcomed and respected.
We have had zero membership fees for many years to ensure that the organisation is accessible to the entire homeschooling community, regardless of personal circumstances.
Email us on info@nchenz.org.nz