The Homeschooling Application Process
This is a monthly post on 'Homeschooling'. Every 5th week of the month I will interview parents who are homeschooling their children of age 7 up. This is my final post on homeschooling.
Jan - Homeschooling A High Ability Child
May - Homeschooling 8 Children
Jul - Homeschooling - An Educational Path Less Tread
When your child reaches 6 years old by calendar year, you would need to enrol him/her to a primary school because primary school education is compulsory in Singapore. This is the direct link to Ministry of Education (MOE) website on the different phases of enrolment. However, you could also opt for homeschooling if this is your desire.
What if you truly desire to homeschool your child, how should you go about it? I asked a mum who homeschool 3 of her 4 children (her littlest is still a preschooler) the application process. & here we go:
Step 1
You must first enroll your child to a primary school of your choice regardless whether you want to send him/her to mainstream school or homeschool. This is to safeguard a seat for your child in event that your homeschooling application did not go through.
Step 2
Write an email (moe_ce@moe.edu.sg) or call ( 6879 6458/9) MOE between 1st July to 31st Oct to request for the homeschooling application form. Beside sending you the form, MOE will also email you the requirements of homeschooling.
Step 3
Upon receipt of the application form, you fill up all the necessary & submit it together with your resume (yes, it is like applying for a job. You are indeed applying for the position of a teacher based in your home to teach your child). Other items to be included in the application form are the curriculum that you will use & follow, the daily timetable, the National Education outline (how are you going to carry it out), etc.
Step 4
MOE will send a representative to your house upon receipt of your application to interview you & to talk to your child. The representative will assess there & then the readiness of both parties (mother & child) to be homeschooled.
Step 5
Your application result will be made known to you within 1 to 3 weeks' time, usually before December. If your application is successful, you will need to wait for the official Certificate of Exemption to be mailed to you. Upon receipt of it, present this to the primary school you have applied in Step 1 together with the Birth Certificate of your child. The primary school will withdraw your enrolment application.
If your application is not successful, you will proceed as normal with the primary school you have enrolled your child in in Step 1, i.e. buy books, uniforms, etc., according to the schedule given out by the school.
Do note that you need to have this minimum academic qualification to be a teacher of your child:
1) A basic degree; or
2) A teaching qualification for non-graduate.
Your child will also be sitting for an exam at 10 years old (calendar year), on top of the Primary School Leaving Exam at 12 years old. This exam is for MOE to assess your homeschooling progress. It is only a pass or fail status, there will not be any marks made known to you. If your child performs poorly in this exam, MOE will 'encourage' you to send your child back to the mainstream (they take it as an obvious reason that you are not doing a good job at teaching your own).
Are you planning to homeschool your child? I hope this post is beneficial to you. Please feel free to share this post to parents who are exploring homeschooling.
Jan - Homeschooling A High Ability Child
May - Homeschooling 8 Children
Jul - Homeschooling - An Educational Path Less Tread
When your child reaches 6 years old by calendar year, you would need to enrol him/her to a primary school because primary school education is compulsory in Singapore. This is the direct link to Ministry of Education (MOE) website on the different phases of enrolment. However, you could also opt for homeschooling if this is your desire.
What if you truly desire to homeschool your child, how should you go about it? I asked a mum who homeschool 3 of her 4 children (her littlest is still a preschooler) the application process. & here we go:
Step 1
You must first enroll your child to a primary school of your choice regardless whether you want to send him/her to mainstream school or homeschool. This is to safeguard a seat for your child in event that your homeschooling application did not go through.
Step 2
Write an email (moe_ce@moe.edu.sg) or call ( 6879 6458/9) MOE between 1st July to 31st Oct to request for the homeschooling application form. Beside sending you the form, MOE will also email you the requirements of homeschooling.
Step 3
Upon receipt of the application form, you fill up all the necessary & submit it together with your resume (yes, it is like applying for a job. You are indeed applying for the position of a teacher based in your home to teach your child). Other items to be included in the application form are the curriculum that you will use & follow, the daily timetable, the National Education outline (how are you going to carry it out), etc.
Step 4
MOE will send a representative to your house upon receipt of your application to interview you & to talk to your child. The representative will assess there & then the readiness of both parties (mother & child) to be homeschooled.
Step 5
Your application result will be made known to you within 1 to 3 weeks' time, usually before December. If your application is successful, you will need to wait for the official Certificate of Exemption to be mailed to you. Upon receipt of it, present this to the primary school you have applied in Step 1 together with the Birth Certificate of your child. The primary school will withdraw your enrolment application.
If your application is not successful, you will proceed as normal with the primary school you have enrolled your child in in Step 1, i.e. buy books, uniforms, etc., according to the schedule given out by the school.
Do note that you need to have this minimum academic qualification to be a teacher of your child:
1) A basic degree; or
2) A teaching qualification for non-graduate.
Your child will also be sitting for an exam at 10 years old (calendar year), on top of the Primary School Leaving Exam at 12 years old. This exam is for MOE to assess your homeschooling progress. It is only a pass or fail status, there will not be any marks made known to you. If your child performs poorly in this exam, MOE will 'encourage' you to send your child back to the mainstream (they take it as an obvious reason that you are not doing a good job at teaching your own).
Are you planning to homeschool your child? I hope this post is beneficial to you. Please feel free to share this post to parents who are exploring homeschooling.
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