For many years ICPA (Aust) has been advocating to the Federal Government for the establishment of a Distance Education Teaching Allowance (DETA) to recognise geographically isolated distance education home tutors (usually mothers) who take themselves out of the workforce, their businesses and their normal daily lives to administer daily education to their children in the home schoolroom, an education which is compulsory and supposedly free.
Unfortunately, this advocacy continues to fall on deaf ears at State, Territory and Federal levels. ICPA (Aust) has written once again to the Minister for Regional Education as well as an open letter to MPs, Senators and educational stakeholders all over Australia seeking support for a Distance Education Teaching Allowance.
DETA Fact Sheet
BushEd is a new charity organisation that aims to use the accrued experience of retired teachers to assist Australia’s rural and remote families who have children that learn from home.
Based in Emerald QLD the charity, founded and led by Lyn French of Gilberton Station in North Queensland, will provide families with much need educational support.
To find out more visit BushEd.
1 December is Geographically Isolated Distance Education Day. We hope you can participate by joining us throughout the day and sharing the stories from our distance education classrooms wide and far.
The Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association of Australia (ICPA Aust), has been lobbying for a Distance Education Teaching Allowance (DETA) for a number of years to assist our members who have no other option than to teach their children via distance education schooling.
In 2015 a comprehensive survey was undertaken by ICPA (Aust) and the results can be found at this link:
ICPA’s Distance Education Research for Geographically Isolated Families survey
The Distance Education Teaching Allowance would be the recognition of the financial impact on families who must provide a distance education tutor.
For around 1500 families living in isolated regions of Australia, the only means of accessing an education for their children is via distance education programs.
While supporting our Distance Education Teaching Allowance (DETA) lobby, the aim of this video is to showcase distance education for families that have no daily access to face to face schooling due to location. This informative resource will help those outside this environment understand better how a typical distance education school day runs.
