There are no formal qualifications required to be able to home educate your child.

If you are the legal guardian of a child aged between 6-16 years, and you can prove to the Ministry of Education that you are able to deliver an education to your child that will educate them as regularly and as well as a registered school could, then you are welcome to apply for an exemption to educate them at home.

It is up to the individual family to decide how long they wish to home educate their child for.  If obtaining a formal qualification is important for your family for your teenage child then there are a number of organisations catering for older homeschool children to obtain qualifications:

• Cambridge exams
• Te Kura Correspondence School of New Zealand
• Attend a registered secondary school for specific subjects to gain NCEA credits
• Complete a university entrance examination

A child who completes the Functional Education program, has been academically prepared to be able to enter a registered Secondary school in New Zealand at Year 11 level ready to commence NCEA Level 1 studies.