How to Write Your Homeschool Educational Programme and Weekly Timetable (with Templates)

To register for homeschooling in South Africa, your application must describe your educational programme: the subjects, teaching hours per subject, how you'll assess, and any extramurals, excursions, library use or tutor support. Most provinces also ask for a weekly timetable and a breakdown of the school year into terms.

The application form is the easy part. What holds most parents up is the programme description: what to write, how much detail is enough, and how many hours a week to show. This guide explains what the Department of Basic Education asks for and gives you fill-in templates for each part — the motivation, the educational programme, the term breakdown and the weekly timetable — for every phase from Grade R to Grade 9.

What your application needs

The Department of Basic Education asks parents to apply electronically, on their province's form, and attach:

• A motivation — why you want to educate your child at home

• Full details of the educational programme — subjects, teaching hours per subject, assessment, extramurals, excursions, library use and the use of any tutor

Provincial forms commonly also ask for:

• Certified copies of the parent's ID and the child's birth certificate

• The child's last school report — or an immunisation card if they haven't been to school

• A weekly timetable showing contact time per day

• A breakdown of terms for the year

Check your own province's form — requirements vary, and the form is the final word. Submitting doesn't mean your child is registered yet; under the BELA Act, the department has 60 days to respond, after which registration is treated as approved if you can prove you applied.

Template 1: Your motivation

Keep it to one or two paragraphs. The department wants to understand your reasons and see that home education serves your child's interests.

Motivation for home education — [child's full name], Grade [X], [year]

We are applying to register [child's first name] for home education because [your main reason — e.g. "a structured home programme better suits his learning needs", "our family travels for work", "she has a health condition that makes school attendance difficult"].

[Child's first name] will follow [name of curriculum or programme — e.g. "a CAPS-aligned programme"], covering all compulsory subjects for Grade [X]. Learning will be guided by [parent's name / tutor], with [assessment approach — e.g. "regular tasks and termly tests, and an assessment by a competent assessor at the end of the phase"]. We believe home education will [the benefit for your child].

Template 2: Your educational programme

List every subject, the weekly teaching time, how each will be taught, and how it will be assessed.

Using CAPS makes this straightforward: the subjects and suggested weekly hours are already set out. The hours below are CAPS's suggested weekly time for schools — a useful guide for your programme, not a legal minimum for home education.

Foundation Phase (Grades R to 3)

Subjects: Home Language, First Additional Language, Mathematics, Life Skills CAPS suggested time: about 23 hours a week in Grades R to 2, and 25 hours in Grade 3

Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 6) — 27.5 hours a week

• Home Language: 6 hours

• First Additional Language: 5 hours

• Mathematics: 6 hours

• Natural Sciences and Technology: 3.5 hours

• Social Sciences: 3 hours

• Life Skills: 4 hours

Senior Phase (Grades 7 to 9) — 27.5 hours a week

• Home Language: 5 hours

• First Additional Language: 4 hours

• Mathematics: 4.5 hours

• Natural Sciences: 3 hours

• Social Sciences: 3 hours

• Technology: 2 hours

• Economic and Management Sciences: 2 hours

• Life Orientation: 2 hours

• Creative Arts: 2 hours

For each subject, add one line:

[Subject] — [hours] per week. Taught using [curriculum / textbook / online content]. Assessed through [weekly tasks, termly tests, projects]. Resources: [textbooks, online platform, library].

Then add the rest of your programme:

Extramurals: [sport, music, clubs — and how often] Excursions: [museums, nature reserves, science centres — roughly how often] Library: [public library visits, online library] Tutor: [if any — who, for which subjects, how often] Assessment: [continuous assessment through tasks and tests, an end-of-year assessment, and assessment by a competent assessor at the end of the phase]

Template 3: Your term breakdown

The simplest approach is to follow the public school calendar — your child stays in step with schools and friends, and returning to school later is easier.

Term breakdown for [year]

• Term 1: 13 January – 19 March 2027

• Term 2: 6 April – 25 June 2027

• Term 3: 20 July – 22 September 2027

• Term 4: 5 October – 8 December 2027

• Total: 197 school days, following the 2027 public school calendar

You can set your own terms — for example, if you travel — as long as your breakdown shows a full year of learning. See the 2027 school calendar.

Template 4: Your weekly timetable

Show each day's start and end times, the subjects, and breaks. Here's an example for Grade 6, about 27.5 hours a week:

Adapt it to your family: younger children need shorter blocks and more breaks; older learners can work longer stretches. What matters is that the timetable is realistic — and that you follow it.

How much detail is enough?

Enough that an official can see a complete, realistic year of learning:

• Every compulsory subject for your child's grade

• Weekly time for each subject

• How you'll teach it — curriculum, resources, who teaches

• How you'll assess it — tasks, tests and the end-of-phase assessment

• Learning beyond the books — extramurals, excursions, library

Don't pad it. A clear one- or two-page programme is better than a long one you won't follow.

Using a homeschool provider's programme

If you use a structured provider, describe its programme in your application — the subjects, schedule and assessment it provides. Ask the provider for a programme summary you can attach.

At Teneo, the homeschooling options from Grade 4 give you content modules for every CAPS subject lesson, with a schedule to follow. On Without Classes, qualified teachers also set, invigilate, mark and moderate timetabled assessments, and send termly promotion reports — a ready-made assessment plan for your programme. See homeschooling at Teneo and the learning options.

Registering for home education is still your application to the province.

Frequently asked questions

What documents do I need to register for homeschooling? Your province's form, a motivation, full details of your educational programme, and usually certified copies of your ID and your child's birth certificate, their last school report, a weekly timetable and a term breakdown.

What is an educational programme for homeschooling? A description of what your child will learn: subjects, weekly teaching time per subject, resources, assessment, and extramurals, excursions, library use and any tutor.

How many hours a day must a homeschooled child learn? The application asks you to show contact time per day. CAPS's suggested time for schools — 23 to 27.5 hours a week, depending on the phase — is a useful guide. Check your province's requirements.

Do I have to follow CAPS? Your programme must be suitable and cover the compulsory phase. CAPS is the simplest to describe and makes returning to school easier.

Can I set my own term dates? Yes, as long as your term breakdown shows a full year of learning. Following the public calendar is simplest.

How long does approval take? Under the BELA Act, the department has 60 days to respond; after that, registration is treated as approved if you can prove you applied.

Sources: Department of Basic Education, Home Education guidance; provincial home education application forms; CAPS policy documents; 2027 Calendar for Public Schools. General information, not legal advice — check your province's form. Talk to admissions.