How to thrive as a homeschooling Saskatchewan family

At 1.4% of students, Saskatchewan has the third highest rate of homeschooled students in Canada, in part due to the remoteness of many of the province’s towns and villages.

The legal requirements for home educators in Saskatchewan

The process of beginning home based education in Saskatchewan is simple. Homeschooling parents or caregivers must contact the Board of Education in their school division with a notice of intent to homeschool and an education plan. The province requires 30 days’ notice before beginning or changing to a home-based education.

Submitted as a written document, the education plan must include details of the philosophical approach and reason for choosing to homeschool; any educational activities, resources or teaching methods that parents or caregivers plan to use over the course of the year; and information as to how progress will be assessed and recorded. Subjects or areas of study for each student should also be stated, along with expected learning outcomes.

In Saskatchewan, the parents or caregivers directing the home-based education program must have legal charge and custody of their students. Of course, external educational programmes such as tutors or remote learning curriculums can always be mixed into the student’s homeschooling plan, provided the parents or caregivers are the overseers of their education. 

Find out how EP can help create a well-rounded curriculum for your home educated child.

What help is there for Saskatchewan home based education?

In Saskatchewan, government funding is available for homeschooling but it is up to specific school divisions whether this funding is passed onto homeschooling families or used for administrative purposes. 

Some school divisions may use this funding to offer support for home educators, such as extra resources, assessment for students who have intensive needs, driver education, distance learning programs, and support for those looking to earn secondary credit in their high school years.

While homeschooled students are not required to follow a prescribed schedule of attendance, and the duration and frequency of lessons is entirely up to the home educator, the province does request that a portfolio and record of school work is kept for each child. 

When a child is registered as home educated, their school division will designate an official to ensure this record keeping is kept up to date and all protocols are met. The intention is not to oversee the home education process but simply to ensure educational outcomes are being reached. 

One benefit of creating a curriculum for a homeschool setting is that it can develop organically over time. However, it is useful to have a curriculum in mind when you start out, especially if parents are likely to be busy with work or other tasks during the day. 

Curriculums should follow the age and ability of each child. In saying this, often a child in a home based setting can be extended beyond their usual grade level due to gaining more one-on-one attention than they would in a public school.

When a child is able to follow their own interests through a varied and flexible curriculum, they can gain valuable independent thinking skills and perspectives, which are often sought out by tertiary education providers and graduate programs. Being able to develop these skills and learn organically are perhaps why Saskatechewan families are choosing to homeschool in great numbers.

See how EP can help with meeting educational outcomes