Distance Education is a legislated form of schooling where your child is enrolled with a registered school and studies at home. The school provides the learning program and qualified teachers, and the student is supervised at home by a parent or another responsible adult. Unlike home schooling, families are not visited by inspectors from the government authorities as our school holds the registration.

Yes, the Department of Education WA requires distance education students to meet one of several circumstances under Standard 16, such as geographically isolated, travelling, elite performance or illness. Please ask the school for more information.

No, we don’t require students to sit entrance exams. Regardless of your child’s academic ability, distance education can accommodate his or her needs. However, we do require our students to sit for an online ACER test in literacy and numeracy so we can place the students in the right courses.

Yes, distance education with Australian Christian College is open to any student in Western Australia wishing to complete Pre-Primary to Year 12 via this modality (pending entry requirements under Standard 16). As a Christian school, we welcome students of all backgrounds. The school allows students to explore faith without forcing commitment.

There's no fixed timetable that students must follow. However, students need to complete 5 days worth of coursework each week, so they don't fall behind.

There is no minimum or maximum daily class time, however, we do have a recommended timetable to help students stay on track to complete 5 days worth of coursework each week.

You may be able to travel around Australia while completing distance education. The biggest challenge in doing so is accessing a reliable internet connection. Please ask the school for more information.

Some children lose contact with their old school friends, while others do not. It depends on how intentional your child is in maintaining contact with his or her friends. Your child will also make new school friends online and through participating in co-curricular activities.

Australian Christian College - Southlands is not able to accept enrolments from students living overseas, however another school in the ACC Group can. Please visit Australian Christian College - Moreton.

While it’s better to start at the beginning of a term, new students can start any time of the year. It only takes a couple of weeks to get started.

Learning something new can be daunting. As such, we provide comprehensive induction training so you’ll feel confident from day one.

The training happens on your computer. With your permission, we are able to see exactly what you see on screen and work through any issues you might have with accessing the school’s learning management system.

The training program covers:

• Accessing the school’s learning management system
• Setting up your child’s online profile
• Setting up a timetable so that your child will have structure in their school day
• Monitoring your child’s learning progress
• Connecting with other students and finding other students with common interests
• Accessing school courses
• Working through a typical distance education lesson
• Participating in class discussions
• Submitting work to a teacher online
• Accessing online textbooks
• Communicating with teachers
• Taking attendance online

We’ve found that students learn our system very quickly because they’re comfortable in a technology-rich environment. The focus of induction is on the parent, who is acting as the supervisor. We’re happy to give you the time that you need to understand how it works.

Distance education students participate in NAPLAN testing in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests are mailed to your home and completed by your child under your supervision.

In the secondary years, many students choose to work a casual or part-time job in conjunction with distance education. This is encouraged so long as work doesn’t interfere with the student’s academic studies.

Students communicate with teachers, primarily, through the online messaging system. Students can also email and phone teachers if needed.

As Australia’s largest non-government distance education, our students follow the Western Australian Curriculum. The school is accredited by the Department of Education WA. This allows your child to seamlessly transition back into regular school if required.

You act as supervisor of your child’s learning. Your child’s teachers are responsible for your child’s academic progress, but you work in partnership with the school to make sure your child is working well.

Your child’s teachers will be monitoring the academic progress of your child. If they’re falling behind, your child’s teacher will be in contact to offer solutions.

Primary students spend, on average, less than an hour a day online. For secondary students, this increases to about 3 to 4 hours.

Only in extreme circumstances is time off required, because distance education is portable and flexible. Most distance education students complete school work in their hotel rooms either before or after competing or performing each day.

Your child can gain university placement by completing the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) online in Year 12 by linking their studies with a VET Certificate. Please ask the school for more details.

Yes, students who require learning support can have individualised learning plans developed by our Learning Support Coordinator.

Yes, students with learning disabilities, such as autism, appreciate knowing what’s coming next. The entire learning program is uploaded at the start of each term so students always know what’s ahead for that term.

You will need an ADSL (or better) internet connection to succeed with distance education. Faster internet helps with video load speeds and when uploading assessments.

As long as it needs to be. Once your child has completed their work, they can finish. Most primary students’school work takes between 3 and 5 hours. Secondary students work on average 5 to 7 hours per day.

Your child will receive report cards twice a year.

Co-curricular activities, such as camps, excursions and sporting events provide social opportunities for your child. In addition, you’ll need to be intentional about making sure your child is in regular contact with friends outside school.

Where possible, costs are included in our school fees. Some extra costs which may be relevant include some novels, media and materials for student experiments and projects. Optional co-curricular activities like excursions and mission trips are charged on a user-pays basis. Learn more at co-curricular.

We recommend the Apple MacBook Air 13 as the best computer for an online student.

If you cannot afford to purchase an Apple MacBook Air 13 (or another Apple computer), you can use your existing computer so long as you have access to broadband or ADSL Internet.

You can also access our program through an iPad and there are apps like ‘Scanner Pro’ which will enable you to take copies of your physical work and return them to the school electronically.

You could also use an iPad when it comes time to doing multimedia projects like movie making, audio interviews and other creative tasks.

No, you can use any computer that’s less than 3 years old. We recommend Apple computers, because they are used by our teachers and students’ report that they're reliable.

Our students follow the Western Australian Curriculum which allows them to seamlessly transition back into regular school if required. The school is accredited by the Department of Education WA.

Learning support is available through our Learning Support Coordinator. Please make us aware of your needs before enrolling.

Because we’re accredited by the Department of Education WA as a private school, you don’t need to notify the government of your decision to enrol with distance education.

You don’t have to be tech-savvy to succeed in distance education. Only a basic level of technological proficiency is necessary. If you can use basic office software and email you’ll be fine.

A responsible adult needs to act as supervisor for online students. If you both work, you’ll need to find another responsible adult, or perhaps, one of you can work from home.

Using the resources and technology provided by the school, students learn in a range of ways, including talking with teachers over the phone, discussing ideas online with fellow students, studying independently and conducting group work that involves communicating via email.