Hi,

I am interested in finding out if anyone knows whether there are any laws in Switzerland that prevent parents from homeschooling their children here?

I know in Germany that they have very strict laws about children attending school and some friends of mine have been fined and their kids even taken away from them (i don't think it was permanent) because the state was against them homeschooling their children. They were foreigners and were homeschooling their kids with a different system.

Anyone know anything about the situation in Switzerland? I am wanting to find out because I would like to weigh up the option for when my children are old enough, but don't even know if it is possible at this stage???

Thanks for any info anyone can give me :-)

Let me quote to you the law my translation which will be fairly good.

4.3: For important reasons the Department for Education, culture and sport upon application of the responsible guardian can release the child from the requirement to attend school or to free from this requirement early.
Since Aug 1st 2005 AGS 2005 S 254.

4.4: The requirement to attend school can also be fulfilled through the attendance of a private school or private tuition. The kanton's government rules on the required education for schoolage children and requires that the guardian registers with the responsible authority.
Since Aug 1st 2005 AGS 2005 S 254

In other words you can educate at home but I wish you good luck with your attempt! By the way this is exactly the same in Germany... The probable reason people got stuck is they did not go about it in the right way.

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your reply - you are fast! That is really good to know that it is actually possible...its just a matter of going through the proper channels...like everything else here!

Actually i am thinking through the various options (homeschooling/swiss system/international schools) and have found out quite a bit of info on the other two streams...but the whole homeschooling option was just a blank.

I have been really interested in the idea of setting up a kind of group - homeschooing system, with a group of parents/children involved so that there is still interaction with other children during the day and also so that the parents (or a hired tutor) could take turns supervising so that it doesn't become a full time job as well...

I'm just exploring options at the moment, but I am quite drawn to this idea simply because it is so much more flexible, and tailor made for the kids and their learning styles etc... as well as providing tons of opportunity for curriculum which wouldn't be in a normal school system...there is TONS of good curriculum out there that could be used, it would just be a matter of setting up a really good system so that the kids going through it would be at an advantage rather than behind because of it being "homeschooling" ... easier said than done, I know...

I wonder how it would work with getting some kind of leaving school certificate like when other kids graduate from highschool?? I suppose it would depend on whether the kids follow at least some basic curriculum from a recognised homeschool system. eg. NZ Correspondance school, which is recognized by the government.

I have been at an international school, homeschooled and went through the normal school system in NZ when my parents finally moved back home and I have to say there were advantages and disadvantages to all three systems... I really enjoyed homeschooling, but I think it must depend on the child as well...

Anyone else had any experience with homeschooling or group homeschooling??

Would be an interesting discussion...as it seems that the Swiss school system is particularly *tight and inflexible, so you either fit in with it or you suffer through it and seems to take a lot longer to get through the other end with a uni degree...

...too many thoughts rushing around...better stop here...

Ah it would appear that you have got ahead of yourself here. While it is possible to have private tuition ie homeschooling you can rest assured that the ciriculum MUST follow the Swiss standard to at least secondary school and then you can think about which leaving standard they should be achieving and have that also approved but you cannot simply choose yourself what to teach them - this needs to be approved which I think I said before... "The kanton's government rules on the required education for schoolage children"

Do you have any idea where I would need to look (ie. any official websites I could go to??) that have the details or at least can point me in the right direction to find out what the Kanton's education system requires?

Or do you have any ideas how I might go about finding those requirements/laws out?

Thanks for your help on this! Valuable info.

At first I thought you were interested in home schooling for primary school - then I saw you were also considering doing this right through to the end of high school. I think I agree with Richard - you may be getting ahead of yourself there.

The Swiss system is a very general one. If you are talking about gymnasium (which I guess you are since this will be the stream that prepares them for university) then they study something like 13 different subjects. How this prepares them for university is beyond me, since they have such a general education that they have to spend the first year of university learning what they should have done in high school (as anyone who has studied abroad and enrolled in a Swiss university will tell you).

But my main point here is will you be able to teach all of those subjects by yourself? How about German (to a high level), or other languages? In some countries now specialised teachers are used in the primary school system, and almost everywhere specialised teachers are used in the high school system. It would be a very tough job for just one person!

Hello all - here my first post.

Richard, can you give us a reference to your law articles - web site or document name? It looks to me like these are from the national law. Can you clarify?

Home schooling in Switzerland, like all education and most laws in Switzerland, is regulated on the local level. One can look at it as a good old boys network but for the most part it involves honest people trying to do the best for their communities. The communities have to follow the laws of their canton. The strength of the cantonal laws varies from one to the other. In some cases, the community laws are stronger. Do not underestimate the value of community relationships. The laws are at the cantonal level but enforcement and interpretation usually starts at the community level.

There is some trend toward federal (national) control but hopefully it will never go too far. In my opinion, local government is more in touch with the people, more flexible and a less prone to corruption.

There is a new Swiss national law - HARMOS - which attempts to level the education requirement across Switzerland and control them at the federal (national) level. It does not regulate home schooling, just the educaiton requirements.

For information and laws in each canton, I have put together an incomplete summary at http://www.cruxmove.com/SwissHomeSchooling.htm if you have anything to add, I would love to add it. If you need specific info about your canton, you can contact me or the Home School organization of Switzerland www.homeschool.ch .

best regards,
Olivier
from Zurich and
also representing the Swiss Home School Association (Bildung zu Hause)

Hi Olivier,

Thanks for your great and informative post! I checked out your www.homeschool.ch website and I was wondering if you have any more information on what kind of a homeschooling system you are using and whether it is house by house - ie. individual families following it or a group of families teaching their children together? Any further information on what you are doing would be really appreciated - how long have you been set up as a homeschooling system, how many families are involved, etc...It might spark some good ideas and also help me know what is possible here!

Thanks!
Rachael

Hi Rachael

Yes, home schooling is really a house to house thing. Of course there are various families who use the same thing whether it is Math-U-See, school of tomorrow or what have you. Those with both Swiss parents usually use a combination of the materials available from the public school, Klett Verlag, and sometimes make up their own things. There are some good french materials but I do not currently have the details. We use ZebiBuch for German and many materials from the US.

Our association currently consists of under 100 families and we have been around about 8 years. We have regular meetings, events and support each other in many ways. The association is what the members make it. Would you like to help? If so, contact us through the web page.

Whatever you do, enjoy your children while you can,
Olivier

Sorry for not getting back sooner. I have the school law on paper only as I have a personal interest - ie children who will VERY soon be part of the system, unless I choose otherwise...

Yes they are from the National Law with the kantonal law of Aargau as reference. Due to the changes in law the kantonal part is becoming ever smaller and less relevant.

If there is anything specific you want to know you can ask and I will try and answer - ie if I can't I know someone who can

Hi Richard,
I think it would be interesting to talk with you once. Are you in touch with other AG homeschoolers. There are quite a few. Send my your e-mail or phone number to info@homeschool.ch if you would be willing to chat some time.
Best regards,
Olivier

I'm currently living in the US and am considering a 2 yr assignment in
Neuchatel. We've homeschooled our kids for over 2 years and I would
like to know what the status is of home schooling in ch. Is it
conceivable to continue with it after we arrive in ch? Probably will live in either Bern or Neuchatel. How do you start doing the process? Thanks.

Hi,
I think its ok. There is yahoo group and association you could perhaps contact for more info.

http://www.bildungzuhause.ch/en_index.html
http://www.cruxmove.com/SwissHomeSchooling.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschoolingch/
jo

Try searching in this forum we covered the requirements before. If you are coming over on a short term assignment get the kids covered in it through an international school. The likelihood of you meeting the homeschooling requirements is close to zero unless of course you are fluent in one of the national languages. This means you cannot choose what to teach them it is described in the curriculum...

I dont think that home schooling is legal in Switzerland, as parents get fined if their kids miss school.
Dub

Please refer to Richard's post #2 above which is a translation of the relevant law which states that homeschooling is legal.

It depends on the cantonal law, there are 26 different systems and laws regarding education in Switzerland.

Hi there,

I am a mother of two and I currently home school my children and was wandering if anyone out there was home schooling too. We live in Zurich.

thankyou

Hi there,

I actually home school my two children. they have a German tutor and I teach them all the subjects and then some more. I am at present using Primary UK homeschooling. Yes Switzerland may have a high standard of education. The problem for me was that it is alittle too late. My son is seven years old and has almost completed Grade 3. My daughter is four and is learning to read and write. We do experiments in math and science and I have learnt from our German tutor that she never did experiments like the ones we do in all her years in Swiss schools. They obtain social contacts through swimming and playing with the local children. When I informed the local authorities that our children were a) at a different level to Swiss children and b) enroled in a UK base homeschooling network they were fine. Though it did take alittle bit to find the correct person to speak too. Also the supplies you receive are amazing and the BBC offers great programmes in Geography and History and Music and Poetry just to name a few to occompany your own education system.

I hope that helps and also if you have to move again you childrens education is not interupted. My husband and I are fluent in three languages and we will be increasing that to about six. They learn far more at home and no bullying no illness and you know they are safe. I have seen the Swiss schools and no security what so ever it is scary.

thankyou

I don't get your last sentence. Why would Swiss schools need security?