HESP Standards Tasmania: All Ten Explained with Examples

Most Tasmanian home educators know they need a HESP — a Home Education Summary and Program — but struggle with one specific part: the ten standards. The OER doesn't just want a list of subjects. Every HESP must address all ten standards in the parent's own words, tailored to the specific child. Generic curriculum documents, third-party scope and sequence charts, and templated language are regularly rejected at review.

This post explains what each standard actually means in practice, with concrete examples of the kind of evidence and language that satisfies THEAC reviewers.

Why the Standards Matter

The OER uses the ten standards to assess whether your home education program is genuinely responsive to your child's needs and developmental stage. A HESP that describes a child in general terms, or that could have been written for any child, flags as inadequate. The standard is specificity — reviewers want to see that you know your child and have designed a program around that child.

The ten standards are: Diverse Learning Needs, Research, Pedagogy, Literacy, Numeracy, Range of Learning Areas, Wellbeing, Interpersonal Skills, Future Directions, and Evaluation.

Standard 1: Diverse Learning Needs

This standard asks how you're meeting your child's individual learning characteristics — their pace, their learning style, any identified needs (sensory, developmental, disability, or gifted), and how your program adapts to those needs.

Example: "Mia is a strong auditory learner who retains information better through discussion and narration than written output. She has sensory sensitivities that make group settings difficult. We prioritise verbal discussion, read-alouds, and nature-based learning over workbooks. Written output is scaffolded gradually — we begin with dictation and copywork before progressing to independent composition."

Portfolio evidence: Learning logs that note how lessons were modified, notes on accommodation strategies, examples of scaffolded versus independent work.

Standard 2: Research

This standard addresses how your child is developing research skills — locating, evaluating, and using information from multiple sources. For younger children (Prep–Year 2), this is about basic inquiry and curiosity. For older students, it includes source evaluation and structured research projects.

Example (Year 6): "Liam undertakes fortnightly research projects driven by his own questions. Current projects have included the lifecycle of Tasmanian devils and the history of the Huon Valley timber industry. We use the local library, ABC Education, and approved websites. We discuss the difference between primary and secondary sources and evaluate the reliability of online information."

Portfolio evidence: Research project drafts, bibliography lists, photos of completed projects.

Standard 3: Pedagogy

This is one of the standards most commonly addressed inadequately. "Pedagogy" means your teaching approach — not which curriculum you use, but how you teach. Unschoolers, Charlotte Mason families, Steiner families, and eclectic homeschoolers all have distinct pedagogical approaches that should be named and explained.

Example: "We use a Charlotte Mason approach, centred on living books, narration, and nature study. Formal lesson blocks are short (15–20 minutes) and varied throughout the day. We avoid worksheets and textbooks in favour of primary sources and hands-on projects. Narration serves as our primary form of assessment — I ask the children to tell back what they have learned in their own words, orally or in writing."

Example (eclectic): "Our pedagogy is eclectic, adapting the method to the subject. We use direct instruction for mathematics (Saxon), project-based learning for science and HASS, and self-directed reading for English. Outdoor learning is integrated across subjects."

Portfolio evidence: Your weekly schedule, lesson notes, photos of learning activities, list of methods used per subject area.

Standard 4: Literacy

Literacy goes beyond reading and writing to include speaking, listening, viewing, and creating. This standard should describe both where your child currently is and how you're progressing their literacy skills across these modes.

Example: "Aidan is in Year 3 and is reading independently at approximately a Year 4 level. He reads daily from a mix of fiction and non-fiction (currently working through a series of Australian wildlife books). We practice comprehension through discussion rather than formal questions. Handwriting is practiced three times per week using a copywork sequence. Spelling is taught through the Spalding method. Oral language is developed through daily narration and weekly family discussions of current events."

Portfolio evidence: Reading logs, writing samples with dates, audio/video of oral narration, spelling assessments.

Standard 5: Numeracy

Similar to literacy, numeracy should address current level, specific program, and developmental approach. Include how numeracy appears across subjects, not just in formal maths lessons.

Example: "We use RightStart Mathematics Level D (Year 3 equivalent). Sofia completes three formal maths sessions per week. Numeracy is also embedded in daily life — cooking measurements, farm budget tracking, and distance calculations on our property. We're currently focusing on multiplication facts and introducing fractions through cooking activities."

Portfolio evidence: Completed maths workbooks, photos of practical numeracy activities, dated assessment notes.

Standard 6: Range of Learning Areas

This standard confirms that your program covers the eight Australian Curriculum learning areas: English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS), The Arts, Technologies, Health and Physical Education (HPE), and Languages (where possible).

The key mistake here is listing subjects without showing how they're addressed. The OER wants specifics.

Example: "Science: Biology through nature journaling and OzDewey wildlife studies. HASS: Australian history through timelines and living books; geography through map study and local excursions. The Arts: weekly watercolour and drawing; regular music listening and recorder practice. Technologies: woodworking projects; basic coding using Scratch. HPE: swimming lessons weekly; daily outdoor play and hiking on our property. Languages: informal Japanese through conversation with a local tutor, once weekly."

Portfolio evidence: Subject-specific samples, photos of activities, excursion records.

Standard 7: Wellbeing

Wellbeing covers physical, emotional, social, and mental health dimensions. This standard matters because the OER needs to see that home education supports the whole child, not just academic outcomes.

Example: "Noah has anxiety that made school attendance very difficult. Since beginning home education, his anxiety has reduced significantly — he no longer experiences daily distress. We maintain a consistent routine, include daily outdoor time, and have weekly check-ins where Noah identifies what he's enjoying and what feels hard. He attends a weekly swimming class and a monthly home ed group where he has developed two close friendships. We monitor his emotional wellbeing through regular conversation and consult his paediatrician quarterly."

Portfolio evidence: Notes on wellbeing conversations, health records if relevant, photos of social activities.

Standard 8: Interpersonal Skills

This standard asks how your child is developing communication, cooperation, conflict resolution, and social skills. Common approaches include co-ops, sporting teams, community activities, and family interactions.

Example: "Ellie participates in a weekly home ed co-op with six other families where she works on group projects and shared activities. She attends a junior park run group on Saturdays and volunteers monthly at the Hobart Animal Shelter. At home, she has regular responsibilities that require cooperation with her siblings. We discuss interpersonal situations as they arise and use a problem-solving framework when conflicts occur."

Portfolio evidence: Co-op records, activity logs, photos of group activities.

Standard 9: Future Directions (age 13+)

For children aged 13 and older, this standard becomes mandatory. It asks how your program is preparing your child for post-compulsory pathways — whether that's TCE, TAFE, employment, university, or other directions. For children under 13, you can address future directions in general developmental terms.

Example (Year 9): "James (14) has expressed interest in engineering and sustainable agriculture. His program includes Year 10-level Mathematics to keep post-compulsory options open. We have begun exploring TCE pathways and he has attended an open day at TasTAFE's agriculture campus. He is currently completing a self-directed project on passive solar building design. We will review pathways at his annual HESP update."

Portfolio evidence: Career exploration notes, subject plans, any external enrolments or course exploration records.

Standard 10: Evaluation

This is the standard that most directly connects to your portfolio. Evaluation describes how you assess whether your child is learning and how you use that assessment to adjust your program. It's also what justifies the HESP as a "living document" — you update it when evaluation reveals something isn't working.

Example: "We evaluate learning in three ways. First, ongoing observation — I note whether concepts have been retained in subsequent lessons. Second, portfolio review — every six weeks I review accumulated work samples and update a brief progress note for each learning area. Third, structured assessments — we use end-of-unit tests for mathematics and occasional written comprehension tasks for English to confirm mastery before progressing. When I identify a gap, I adjust our approach and note the change in the HESP."

Portfolio evidence: Progress notes, assessment records, documented program adjustments.

Putting It Together: HESP as Portfolio Architecture

The ten standards don't just belong in your HESP document — they're the framework for your entire portfolio. When you organise your evidence collection around the ten standards rather than just the eight learning areas, your portfolio automatically prepares you for the OER visit.

A well-structured HESP cross-references evidence: "See Section 3 (Pedagogy) for our Charlotte Mason approach; photos of nature journals are in the Portfolio as evidence for Standards 4 (Literacy), 5 (Numeracy if applicable), and 6 (Science / Range of Learning Areas)."

The Tasmania Portfolio & Assessment Templates include ready-to-use templates structured around all ten standards — progress tracking forms, evidence log sheets, and a HESP companion checklist that maps your activities to the right standards before your review visit.

Common Mistakes by Standard

• Standard 1: Describing a "typical" child rather than your specific child's learning characteristics
• Standard 3: Listing a curriculum rather than explaining your teaching method
• Standard 6: Listing subjects without specifying how each is addressed
• Standard 9: Skipping this for a 14-year-old because it feels premature
• Standard 10: Vaguely saying "we assess as we go" without describing how

Each rejected HESP tends to fail on two or three standards — usually 3 (Pedagogy), 6 (Range), and 10 (Evaluation). These are also the standards where specific, concrete examples make the biggest difference.

If you're preparing for a monitoring visit or renewing your registration, working through your HESP against each standard individually — rather than writing it as a single narrative — gives reviewers the detail they need and gives you a cleaner structure for your portfolio evidence.

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