Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, 6573 children were in home-schooling - compared to nearly 11,000 now. Photo: 123RF
There has been a dramatic slowdown in applications to home-school children, Ministry of Education figures show.
The ministry said 10,984 children were registered to learn from home on 1 July, 39 more than the same time last year and the highest figure on record.
Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, 6573 children were in home-schooling.
The ministry's figures also showed monthly approvals to home-school were much lower this year than at the end of 2021 and start of 2022.
Between October 2021 and March 2022, the number of approved applications ranged from 460 to 784 a month - but so far this year, the highest figure was 199.
In both 2021 and 2022 about 3500 applications to home-school were approved, up from 2071 in 2020.
School principals told RNZ the pandemic drove the increase in home-schooling.
They said some families were encouraged to try home-schooling after lockdown learning at home, some were worried about children catching Covid-19 at school, and some did not like the way schools managed the pandemic.