Schooling On The Road- Distance Education With Nepsode
Distance Education also called Distance Learning is education for children that may not always be at school. Distance Education can be school work sent through the post or it can be solely online with virtual classrooms. There are many ways in which make distance education and each school will determine which way they would like to deliver the curriculum.
Here below is all the information you need about NEPSODE.
Home-Schooling to Distance Education With Nepsode
Our first year of schooling on the road was home schooling, at the time we were living in our home state of WA and we were their for the first six months of the year travelling which allowed us to enroll in the Western Australian Home Schooling Program.
As we exited the state to travel to our next our next destination we were unenrolled as fast as you could click your fingers. They didn’t ask any questions nor did they care if our children were going to be enrolled in any school curriculum. We were out of the state and not their ‘problem’.
Now this didn’t worry us, but we were also trying to find an alternative to home schooling.
That first year of home schooling was challenging, I was searching the internet for all sorts of learning books and curriculum. I joined home schooling groups on Facebook and I purchased teachers resource books from the teaching shops but this really didn’t help me as the ‘beginner teacher’ to my children.
I had NO IDEA what I was doing. I did some Maths, English, reading on some days and when my kiddos said they didn’t want to do school work that day, we went fishing or snorkelling instead. Some would think this was terrible. To me, this felt right….
The first year I felt like I had FAILED……(well that’s what I thought)
Two years on and I have realised that having that year off to reconnect and bond with my children was the best year of our lives. We learnt so much about each other and about our family.
Moving forward into our NEPSODE journey, we now know and understand how to bring the best from our children. And no this doesn’t mean A+ grades, this means including their learning and playing together in the day which doesn’t feel forced.
Table of Contents
What Age Does NEPSODE enrol?
North East Public School of Distance Education on NEPSODE as we know it is a very well known distance education program not only nation wide but internationally too.
NEPSODE takes on enrollments from Kindy to year 6. Enrollment forms can be found on their website.
Who Can Apply and Be Accepted?
NEPSODE is specific in who they allow to enroll into their distance education program. There are specific qualifications
– are geographically isolated
– has a medical condition that prevents them from attending a mainstream school
– are traveling overseas for less than 12 months
– are vocationally talented
– have been recommended for distance education due to additional needs
– are on an extended traveling holiday for more than 10 weeks or more
You may qualify for one of those BUT if you do not live in the border catchment area then unfortunately you will not be eligible.
BUT I have a friend of a friend who said they were going to end their travels within the catchment area and they were allowed to apply. This family had to sign a statuary declaration form confirming this.
What Is The Enrolment Process Like?
The enrollment process was exactly that…a process. It didn’t come easy but like everything that has to do with kids it takes a ton of paperwork and forms being sent off. Like proof of birth (cos I really want to pick stow away children and claim them as my own)
The process goes something like this
1. Ring school, they book an appointment with me to have a chat with the principal to see if you are the right fit for their school.
2. Forms are sent out. Lots of forms.
3. All must be printed and filled out by hand then faxed off with appropriate proof of birth, immunisations etc.
4. An email is sent confirming all of this. The teacher gets in contact with you before school starts and introduces herself to you.
5. About 6 weeks later the initial first pack is sent out. Lots of stuff.
Do I Need Internet?
This is all up to you and how many live lessons you want the children to be involved in. They are mostly optional. We have chosen to add the live lessons into the kids current routine. It makes it easy to remember and it gives us a break of teaching for that one day. The kids look forward to it now (kinda)
The live lesson is done through a live chat where the teacher and student can see each other. Usually the teacher will send an email out before class and lets us know what the kids need for the lesson ie- pencil, paper, counters etc. Simple stuff and the teacher can see where the kids are at each week. Then we receive an email after to let us know where the kids should be focusing more of their learning on.
How Do I Pick Up My Packages?
This is usually easy but sometimes can be hard. Every 3-5 weeks the next pack is sent out to your preferred destination. This can be any address, most if not all post offices accept packages being sent to them. Ring them prior to check. Then when you arrive at your planned destination you pick your school work up. Simple.
We have had times where we have gone past the town before the packages have arrived so we have just asked the post office to redirect them to our next place. They will do this at no cost to you.
How Many Hours A Day Do The Children Do?
This is a tough question to answer because it really does depend on so many things. We only one hour for each child everyday. We cover a little bit of all topics and that’s it. There is enough work there for easily three hours a day and you could stretch that out and extend the work and do four hours a day.
Please don’t compare what other families do and for how long. Make this your own experience and really find out what works for your family.
What Kind Of Work Is Sent Out?
NEPSODE send out a variety of school work which is within the guidelines to the Australian Curriculum. This slightly can be altered to suit travelling families. In nearly every pack there is a USB which is filled with little short clips that are similar to the live lessons and there is one for each unit to help explain how to teach the lesson content.
What Happens During The LIVE Lessons?
The live lessons are great. Some weeks the kids really look forward to them and other weeks nature and exploring are calling there names. The teacher will do a review of what each child is learning for that particular week. The lessons usually go for 30-40 minutes.
What Does It Cost?
NEPSODE is very cost effective. For each of our children we pay $210 for the year. The cost will depend on age. Mr J (9) is $40, Miss A (6) is $20 and Mr C (5) we pay nothing. Each child has a $50 deposit cost for the materials that are sent out with each pack.
