Te Kura or home education: what's the difference?

Te Kura — short for Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu — is what most New Zealanders know as the Correspondence School. It's a government-funded, registered school that delivers curriculum-based learning by distance. Your child receives learning materials, submits work, and has a qualified teacher who assesses it.

Te Kura exists for students who can't attend a regular school: families in remote areas, students with health conditions or disabilities, students who need a course their local school doesn't offer, and some home educating families who want structured support alongside their own programme.

Because Te Kura is a registered school, enrolling there satisfies the compulsory schooling requirement. No Section 38 exemption needed.

Home education in New Zealand is when a parent takes legal responsibility for their child's education outside of any school. To do this lawfully, you must hold a Section 38 exemption — written permission from the Ministry of Education confirming that your child will be taught “at least as regularly and as well as in a registered school.”

You design the programme. You choose the resources, the rhythm, and the approach. You are accountable to MoE through a twice-yearly declaration that confirms home education is continuing. MoE can request an ERO review of your home education arrangement if they have concerns.

Home education is considerably more flexible than Te Kura — and considerably more work. There are no teachers marking your child's assignments, no external deadlines, and no curriculum being managed on your behalf.

Yes, and a fair number of families do. Home educated students can enrol in Te Kura courses by supplying a copy of their exemption certificate with their enrolment application. For students aged 15 and under there is no fixed cap on how many subjects they can take.

There are some important conditions. Te Kura must be one part of your wider home education programme, not a replacement for it. The Ministry is clear that families who appear to be relying solely on Te Kura as their teaching programme — rather than using it as a supplement — will be followed up. The parent remains responsible for their child's education, and MoE expects to see that in practice, not just on paper.

When your child is using Te Kura courses as part of their home education, you are also expected to communicate with Te Kura staff at least twice a week and ensure work is submitted on time. It is a partnership, not a hand-off.

One thing to watch: if a home educated student over 16 enrols in three or more Te Kura courses, they are classified as a full-time Te Kura student, and the home education allowance stops.

Te Kura suits families who want their child working within a structured school curriculum, with a teacher providing feedback, but cannot access a regular school — whether because of location, health, or other circumstances. If you want someone else to be accountable for the educational programme, Te Kura is the better fit.

Home education suits families who want to take full ownership of how and what their child learns. Interest-led approaches, unschooling, family travel, or a child whose needs a mainstream school couldn't meet — these are the families who tend to choose home education. The trade-off is that the administrative and teaching load sits entirely with you.

Neither is objectively better. They are different answers to the same question: what does my child need, and who is going to provide it?