A NEW ZEALAND PROGRAMME · WORK FROM ANYWHERE
Keep their NZ education on track, from anywhere in the world. Fran teaches every lesson. No live sessions. No fixed timezone.
No credit card · No commitment · Cancel any time
If your family is heading abroad for a posting, a long trip, a remote role, or you're already overseas and planning your return, you don't need to figure out school in your destination country. Your child's New Zealand education can travel with you.
Functional Education is a New Zealand-built, teacher-led home education programme. Fran teaches every lesson. The same NZ teacher, every subject, every day, wherever you are.
That's what this page is for!

No credit card. No commitment.
See how your child respond before you decide anything.
START TRIALMany of the families who study with us find themselves looking for a schooling solution while travelling abroad. You need a flexible schooling solution that can be done anywhere and can stop and start at any time.

Partner took a role abroad for 1-3 years.

Family travelling for 6-18 months.

Working remotely from another country.

Currently overseas, heading home within 2 years.

Your day is full. You're moving a household, holding down a career, and managing the emotional load of being somewhere unfamiliar. You cannot be a full-time teacher on top of that, you don't need to be.
Fran teaches every lesson across every subject. Your child sits down, opens lesson, and Fran takes it from there. You set them up, you keep an eye on them, and you carry on with your day. That's the model.
Up to two hours of structured lessons per day. Plus hands-on activities. Enough to feel like a real school day, without taking over yours.
Four things that matter when a fixed local school isn't an option for your family:

Lessons are pre-recorded and on-demand. Watch whenever suits your family, morning in Singapore, afternoon in a campervan, evening in London.

The same teacher, every subject, every day. Your child has a teacher. You don't need to be one.

Tablet, laptop, or desktop. All you need is an internet conection, and some basic supplies like pen and paper to get started.

Your children stay on track with NZ curriculum expectations throughout, so re-entry into the local school system is smooth sailing, not a catch-up.
Our students are world wide - from an aprtment in Singapore to a campervan in France!
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
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!!
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!
If you're still based in NZ and pulling your children from school, you'll need a Ministry of Education exemption. Functional Education provides an exemption pack, with most of the work already done.
If you're already overseas, the NZ Education and Training Act 2020 doesn't apply while you're abroad. No exemption required. You can start straight away.

Functional Education covers all core NZ learning areas at year-level appropriate content throughout. Your children won't have fallen behind. Many families find they've actually progressed further, because the pace was theirs and the teaching was consistent.
When you return to NZ, re-entry into the school is straightforward. The learning transfers.

7-day free trial with full access. Fran teaches. You watch what happens. No credit card. Just a week of free access, and you can see for yourself whether this is the right fit for your family, wherever, whenever.
No credit card · No commitment · Cancel any time
This is the question almost every parent asks. The short answer is: not with a structured programme in place. Functional Education covers all core learning areas at the appropriate level for your child’s year. Many families find that their child actually progresses faster at home, in an environment where the pace is theirs and the anxiety is lower.
Please watch our getting started video which covers a lot of the questions you may have.
If you're currently doing a trial, you may find it hard to signup to the paid course.
The solution is to either:
If you cancel your trial, and signup with the same email address, our plaform will remember which modules you have completed and you'll be able to continue where you left off.
While this is not strictly possible, there is a work-around that you are welcome to use:
We have numbered our classes as follows:
Class 1 - first year of schooling (could be any age between 5-7 depending on when you choose to start your child at school)
Class 2 - second year of schooling
Class 3 - third year etc
Class 6 and Class 7 are the 'Intermediate' years
You are in control of your subscription. You only pay for what you use. Subscriptions are renewed on a monthly or weekly basis. If you are planning on going away, login to your account and cancel your subscription. This stops the billing process. When you return, re-enrol with the same email address and carry on where you left off.
Your educational choices are your own. We provide a series of videos that you are welcome to access. If a topic doesn't interest you, you can move on to the next. If a topic totally engages you, then feel free to stay with it as long as you like and move on when you are ready.
You can start your child anytime.
You will find an equipment list at the start of each weeks lessons.
As well as a device connected to the internet (laptop, smart TV, mobile phone, tablet etc.) your child will need some items each week. These are usually things found around the home like: books to write in, coloured pencils, play dough, dice, playing cards etc.
Most parents who end up here have been considering this for a while. They’ve tried things that didn’t work. They’re thought about international schools, looked at the costs, they've read forum threads. Take the 7 days. Let your child meet Fran. See what happens.
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