Eclectic Homeschool Curriculum in Western Australia: Making It Work for Registration

The majority of home educators in Western Australia describe their approach as eclectic — meaning they do not follow one packaged curriculum but instead mix and match resources based on what works for their child. A different maths program, an Australian literature spine, science from a combination of textbooks and documentaries, history units built around library books.

This approach works well for children. It can also work well for WA registration — but it requires you to do one thing that single-curriculum families do not: you have to translate your choices into the language of the WA Curriculum yourself.

Why Eclectic Works With WA Registration

WA registration does not require you to use any specific curriculum. The Department of Education evaluates whether your learning programme covers the eight learning areas defined by SCSA, and whether your child is making reasonable progress. It does not require that you use a WA-aligned or nationally accredited resource.

This means you can combine Saxon Maths with AO literature, a US science textbook, and YouTube-based music education, and it will all count — as long as you describe it clearly and show how it covers the relevant learning areas.

The eclectic approach is arguably better suited to WA's framework than a rigid single curriculum, because the framework is outcomes-based. SCSA cares about what children can demonstrate, not how they got there.

The One Extra Step Eclectic Families Must Take

Single-curriculum families using an Australian provider can often write "We use [curriculum name], which covers the WA Curriculum learning areas" and leave it at that.

Eclectic families cannot do this. You need to show that your patchwork of resources adds up to coverage of all eight learning areas:

1. English
2. Mathematics
3. Science
4. Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)
5. Health and Physical Education
6. The Arts
7. Technologies
8. Languages (compulsory Year 3–8)

The practical way to do this is to build your learning programme around these eight headings. Under each heading, list what resources you are using, what topics or skills you are covering, and how often. One paragraph per area is enough. The goal is a clear map: a moderator should be able to read your document and confirm that nothing has been left out.

Mapping Eclectic Resources to Learning Areas: Examples

Here are examples of how different eclectic choices translate to WA Curriculum coverage:

English: "We use All About Reading Level 3 for phonics and decoding, Brave Writer for writing composition twice weekly, and daily read-aloud from Australian and British literature. Comprehension is addressed through narration and written summaries."

Mathematics: "Primary: RightStart Mathematics Level D. We supplement with Khan Academy for additional practice on specific concepts. Covers Number and Algebra content consistent with Year 3–4 WA Curriculum."

Science: "Unit-study approach using library books and documentaries. This year: a 10-week unit on ecosystems (aligns with Year 4 Science Understanding — Biological Sciences), followed by a unit on Earth and Space. We conduct weekly hands-on experiments."

HASS: "Studying Australian history through a combination of picture books, primary sources, and a Charlotte Mason-style timeline. Topics include Federation, Indigenous history pre-contact, and WA's colonial history. Geography covered through atlas work and a country-study unit."

Health and Physical Education: "Weekly swimming lessons, daily outdoor time, twice-weekly team sport (junior soccer). Health literacy covered through Healthy Harold online program and family discussions about nutrition."

The Arts: "Weekly piano lessons with external teacher. Visual arts through a structured drawing curriculum (Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntyre) plus free-art two afternoons per week."

Technologies: "Scratch programming (digital technologies) twice weekly via Code.org. Design and technologies: regular cooking projects from recipes with planning component, plus a term-long woodworking unit."

Languages: "French, using Duolingo supplemented by twice-weekly French movies and a fortnightly Zoom lesson with a tutor. Covers Year 3–4 Languages content."

That is a complete learning programme for one child. It is eclectic by any definition. It passes WA registration requirements.

Keeping Track of What You Actually Do

The other challenge with eclectic homeschooling is records. When you use a packaged curriculum, the textbook is your record — you can show pages completed. When you are mixing resources, your records need to be more deliberate.

A simple approach:

• Keep a weekly log (a notebook or digital document) recording what was covered in each learning area. Five to ten minutes at the end of each school day is enough. This becomes your evidence file for the moderator review.
• Save samples — a photo of a maths page, a scan of a written narration, a screenshot of a completed coding project. You do not need everything, but a sample from each learning area every few months is useful.
• Date everything. The moderator review asks about progress over the year. Dated records make it easy to show a timeline.

At the Moderator Review

Moderators review eclectic programmes regularly — this is not an unusual approach in WA. What they are looking for is consistency (was the programme actually implemented?) and progress (is the child developing?).

You are not expected to have followed your learning programme exactly. Life happens, interests shift, some units take longer than planned. What you need to show is that you have been teaching seriously, covering the eight learning areas in some substantive way, and that your child is learning.

Bring your log, bring a sample portfolio, and be ready to talk through what went well and what you changed. Most moderator reviews for eclectic families go smoothly when the parent can explain what they did and why.

If you are building an eclectic programme from scratch and want a clear picture of how the registration paperwork fits together — what to submit at each stage, what records to keep, how to prepare for the review — the Western Australia Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers the full compliance process, with templates you can adapt for an eclectic approach.

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