thinking of
Home Schooling
THIS year?

Join our live webinar to get your questions answered!

Wednesday 25th January at 7pm NZDT

If you're considering homeschooling next year, come and join us for a short presentation covering information like the requirements of homeschooling, your options when planning, and different approaches you can take to learning.

Ask questions and learn about your options and obligations

Register Now

An online alternative to schooling for children aged 5 to 15.

Start Your Free Trial

How does our online homeschool curriculum work?

Watching

Approximately 2 hours of videos per day. Taught by an experienced teacher with over 10 years experience in the classroom.

Doing

Students pause videos to do hands-on exercises and activities like painting, maths, sculpture, writing, reading and more.

Learning!

Students learn without the social pressures of school, peacefully and at their own pace.

A new way to learn from home

Functional Education offers a complete schooling solution for your child. The entire New Zealand curriculum, delivered online, by a qualified teacher with over 10 years experience in the classroom.

Since 2018 New Zealand parents have chosen to use Functional Education to deliver a positive education to their children, and the results are fantastic!

"I just wanted to email you and tell you how much we are enjoying functional education! My daughter is so keen to get into her school work each day she has been doing classes on the weekend. It really is working very well for us, thank you so much!"

- another Grateful parent

using technology safely

Functional Education is not an on-line repository of videos, and loosely associated video games for children to play. We don’t use cartoons or computer games disguised as learning activities.

The Functional Education platform is for learning. Your child will watch their teacher deliver a lesson, filmed in a special classroom studio, and pause the video to do activities like spelling, writing, draw, craft & maths. Each days lessons will build on the previous day, and having the same teacher for every video provides a natural rhythm for your child. They'll enjoy getting to know their teacher over weeks and months.

Meet Francean, your childs new teacher

A qualified scientist and teacher, she believes that every child deserves the opportunity to learn in a safe, encouraging environment, one where learning is exciting, and students graduate not only well educated academically, but socially resilient, with the ability to tackle problems logically. Functional Education was born to bring this dream into reality.

Fran loves to help families transition into this new way of learning at home. There is an online support group available for parents, where you can chat directly with Francean and other parents using the Functional Education platform.

what subjects are covered?

Every day, your child's lessons will include every core subject of the New Zealand curriculum:

  • Maths
  • English
  • The Arts
  • Science
  • Technology

Wait.. isn't homeschooling a lot of work for parents?

Homeschooling your child is not hard, when you use Functional Education.

Your child will learn from a qualified teacher via pre-recorded videos, pausing to do hands on activities throughout their lessons. You may like to sit with your child at first, but they will soon be able to learn independently for 2-3 hours per day.

A proven teaching method

Our approach takes the best of Waldorf Steiner, Montessori and enquiry teaching methods. Waldorf and Montessori schools have been around for over one hundred years.

There are more than 2000 schools worldwide operating in over 200 countries. These systems are proven to work. They provide a well-researched, well documented educational curriculum suitable for a wide range of learners.

Graduates of these learning systems are held in high regard globally for their creativity, academic rigour and their personable approach to working in team environments.

Functional Education takes the best from the Waldorf and Montessori systems and combines it with the latest in enquiry based modern learning producing an outstanding curriculum without the politics of a traditional schooling environment.

what does it cost?

A 7-day trial is FREE. After that, subscribing to the Functional Education curriculum costs NZ$29 a week, per student, billed monthly.

There are discounts for larger families, or parents wanting to subscribe to single subjects only.

5 Star Google reviews!

No probelms giving Miss Fran and the Functional Education program a 5 out of 5 stars. We've been homeschooling for a few years and I can tell you we've tried many other curriculums out there as well as make our own. The dedication that Miss Fran puts into her teaching and scaffolding is impressive. Our daughter is engaged, excited and can't wait to show us or tell us what she's learned. The program is set up in a way that is simple to use, navigate and understand. Also, the response times to enquiries or issues are addressed almost immediately with a swift answer or resolution. I tell everyone I know about Functional Education to help spread the word. Not enough people know about this amazing program and how it's an absolute game changer. Thank you Miss Fran for your amazing work!!

PT Kilo Victor

My 10 year old daughter and I are new to the homeschooling world this year and are still finding our way around. Been apart of Functional Education has been so wonderful. Fran and Evan have made our homeschooling journey so far a wonderful positive experience, their help and support has been amazing ☺️

Tina Simpson

Thankyou Fran and Functional education...it's been Amazing Thankyou Kowhai has really enjoy it.. engaged and enjoyed on the online calls...

Natasha Tasker

We absolutely love functional education, Fran is amazing!! My 6 year old son is so engaged and focused. We also really like that the classes have a strong Waldorf focus. I can tell that Fran has put a lot of thought and effort into all the classes, we now say "blessing with your fruit snack" all the time. Thank you Fran, I don't think we could have progressed so far with out you.

Adrian Storey

Thank you Fran for creating such an engaging homeschool program! Entering the home school space can be daunting, however the support we received throughout the last year has been incredible, from the extensive MOE exception process to planning our days and having the lessons all laid out - we couldn’t ask for more. Our 11 year old has thoroughly enjoyed his past 12 months - it has been great to witness him enjoy learning! We are so grateful- thank you!

Joe McPhee

Functional Education is amazing. Fran was totally born for this. We have been homeschooling for a few years and my daughter is engaged, and excited to log on to see what she is going to learn each day. For me as a parent it makes homeschooling a breeze, it is just so simple. My daughter manages her own pace and speed. Functional education is simply the best! We feel that our daughter is getting the very best education available!

DENISE DRY

Such a great platform to engage and our children participated off their chairs. Interactive and a well-rounded approach to home education. A wonderful experience thank you.

Bevan Joyce

My children (11 and 8) have really enjoyed using Functional Education for their home based learning curriculum. We love the range of subjects and the different methods used for learning that engage head, heart and hands. Fran is a great teacher, really makes learning fun, and quickly responds to emails if you/your children need assistance. The website itself is easy to navigate and includes an online parents/learners community for you to share experiences/projects or ask questions in. I would recommend this curriculum, with confidence, to those thinking about signing up. Wether you are just starting your home education journey or have been doing it for a while and want to try something new. In my opinion it is very fairly priced for all that you’re getting.

Sharnae Howell

Can’t recommend Functional Education enough. Having three boys who were excited each day to get their work started with Teacher Fran was really incredible to witness. Especially after years of reluctance going to public school. It’s an incredibly easy program to navigate and adjust to each child’s needs. I also found Fran’s enthusiasm for teaching really came through each lesson and the kids really responded to her genuine warmth and lovely personality even though it’s all pre-recorded lessons. I applaud her ability to have that genuineness come through the screen. Highly recommend Functional Education for anyone and everyone going the homeschool route.

Melissa Kay

The support I got from Functional Education during the MOE exemption process was excellent they provided all the necessary documentation to show my children will be taught ‘as well as’ and ‘as often as’ any school. I love that I can SEE what my children are being taught, I love that Fran is fun, friendly, relatable, knowledgeable, experienced and qualified to teach. I love that all of the daily/monthly lessons/modules are very well planned out, I love the progression of the learning steps and how my children and I can track their progress, I think it’s great they can pause and replay lessons until they pick up what’s being taught, I love that this service has made my life easier when it comes to homeschooling my children and I know they are getting an excellent education as good as any school offers if not better! My daughter said to me Mum Functional Education is COOL so that sums it up for us. We recommend you do the free trial then you can experience what COOL homeschooling looks like.

Melanie Fleming

Functional education really gave us the confidence to go ahead and home school our kids. Great job Francean.

Maima Logo

This was a great program for us when we were homeschooling. Fran is an engaging teacher and my 8 year old loved working through the classes. He especially loved the brain gym sessions, the creative projects and learning to have beautiful handwriting.

Emma Cowan

Both my school age children age 6 and 12 are absolutely loving Functional Education. It is much more tactile and I find my boys are much more engaged in their own learning. .Both children have conditions that make it more difficult to participate well in the public school setting. I cannot recommend enough.

Anna-Maree Kirby

Functional Education is a fantastic resource for home schooling our two daughters. The modules are very well put together, girls enjoy the variety of the lessons and Francean's a fantastic teacher. World Class!

Drew Copestake

Fran program is amazing and keeps our young one captivated. She especially loves story time and craft. Frans techniques have assisted us with establishing great pencil grip, quick arithmetic comprehension as well as giving her a desire to learn. If you are looking at Home Schooling don't walk past this give it a go and see how much the children enjoy it. whakawhetai koe Fran you are amazing and we love every minute of class

Paul Family

Our son attended Waldorf kindy & grade 1. This year we decided to homeschool Ayden, I was a bit overwhelmed with which curriculum as im still learning too Functional education sounded perfect for our family. After months of researching I was drawn to functional education, we signed up for the trial Ayden enjoyed all lessons looking forward to the following day. He loves his lessons and so do I, is a joyful experience. Ayden likes learning with Francine listening to each word, her calm tone & easily understandable guided lesson cover all Aydens learning needs. He will pause go at his own pace extending his music lessons till Aydens is ready to move on. We also have our our daily rhythm & verses learning threw play activities and nature adventures add to his learning journey. Very happy with this curriculum thankyou ☺

Liz Fulton

Start your free trial today!

Make a positive step for your childs future, and start your free trial now.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Instant access. No credit card required.
We respect your privacy and won't give your email to anyone else.

Frequently asked Questions

We love answering your questions! Here are a few answers to the common queries we receive.
If you can't find the answer you're looking for here, please contact support.

Contact Support

Contact Support

If you can't find the answer to your question in the FAQ's please contact us below.

Thank you! We have your details and will be in touch ASAP.

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Kids need relationships
Not robots.

Functional education is not an on-line repository of videos, and loosely associated video games for children to play. We don’t use cartoons or computer games disguised as learning activities. All videos include a real teacher, in a real classroom environment.

Meet the teacher

NO ADS. No bullies

A peaceful, online environment. Your children can study safely at home. None of our content contains advertisements.

Watch a Demo

BE involved as much or as little as you like

Student's usually don't need much help once they're familiar with the platform, but they'll love it when parents or grand parents are interested in what they're learning.

Checkout the curriculum

Enrol today

Want to try it out first? Start with a FREE Trial

SALE!! HALF PRICE Monthly & Yearly Subscriptions! Offer ends May 31st 2019. Use coupon code 'MayMadness'

Single Subject

$10 / Week

Billed monthly
FREE ACCESS TO one full day

Just need help with Maths? Subscribe to a single subject to watch just part of the full curriculum.

More classes coming soon.

Not sure which class to choose?

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Enrol Now

Full Curriculum

$29 / Week

Billed monthly
FREE ACCESS TO one full day

Students learn the entire curriculum through up to 2 hours of video per day, plus hands on activities.

Full course overview

Not sure which class to choose?

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Enrol Now

Family Pass

$45 / Week

Billed monthly
FREE ACCESS TO one full day

The family pass allows up to 5 students from the same family to access the entire curriculum for one simple price.

All Pricing is in New Zealand Dollars (NZD) View Conversions