Homeschooling

This page provides links to data on homeschooling.

Last updated: December 2025

Summary

As at 1 July 2025, there were 11,010 homeschooled students. These students belong to 6,518 families and represent 1.3% of total school enrolments.

Out of the 11,010 homeschoolers 61.7% were aged 12 or under, 75.1% had been home-schooled for less than 5 years, and only 3.7% had been home-schooled for 10 years or more.

European/Pākehā students are more likely to be homeschooled than any other ethnic group with 71.1% of all homeschoolers, compared to 40.3% of the total school population (this is based on prioritised ethnicity statistics). Only 16% of homeschoolers identify as Māori compared to 24.6% of the total school population, 3.5% of homeschoolers identify as Pacific compared to 10% of the total school population, and 3.3% of homeschoolers identify as Asian compared to 20.1% of the total school population. The ethnicity of 0.6% of homeschoolers is unknown.

Homeschooling turnover

Between 1 July 2024 and 1 July 2025 there was an overall net increase of 253 students; 2,025 students entered into homeschooling and 1,772 students finished homeschooling.

The most common age at entry (the mode) was 6, with 39.4% of those starting being 6 years old. The mean average age at entry was 9 years old, with 64.1% aged 9 or under, and 1.0% were aged 16 or above.

Of the students entering homeschooling during the year ending 1 July 2025, 66.4% identified as European/Pākehā (down from 73.8% in 2015), 18.1% identified as Māori (up from 9.9% in 2015), 4.3% identified as Pacific peoples (up from 3.3% in 2015), and 4.5% identified as Asian (up from 2.9% in 2015). Ethnicity is unknown for 0.2% of homeschoolers.

The most common age at finishing (the mode) was 15, with 16.8% of those finishing being 15 years old. The mean average age at finishing was 12.9 years old, with 66.5% aged 12 or over, and 23.6% were aged 16 or above.

Of the students finishing homeschooling during the year ending 1 July 2025, 24.3% had been in homeschooling less than a year, 52.5% had been in homeschooling for 1 to 5 years, and 9.9% had been in homeschooling for 10 years or more.

Time series data

The spreadsheets below provide downloads relating to the number of students in homeschooling.