More Queensland families are choosing home schooling over mainstream classrooms, with a 69 per cent increase in just one year.
Registrations went from 5,008 in 2021 to 8,461 this year.
Home Education Association president Karen Chegwidden said it was the largest increase in any Australian jurisdiction to date.
"We've seen spikes in growth throughout the pandemic, but no-one expected such a huge increase in Queensland this year," she said.
In 2011 there were 722 students registered for homeschooling in the state.
Just before and during the pandemic the number of registrations increased by 46 per cent from August 2019 to August 2021.
Ms Chegwidden said some people chose home education for philosophical reasons, because their children's needs were not met at schools, or for flexibility and improved relationships within families.
"It is unclear what is driving the increase in Queensland in particular," she said.
"The Queensland Department of Education is currently undertaking a survey on this topic — we look forward to the results."
'Struggling' schools and COVID fears
Queensland University of Technology home education expert Rebecca English said the increase showed families were having issues with mainstream schooling in Queensland.
"I've never seen an increase that big," she said.
"That is much bigger than I had anticipated."
Dr English said some of the issues included the management of students with certain educational needs and those who suffered bullying.
"I think COVID disruptions are certainly a big part of that increase in the sense that some people are frightened of their child catching COVID at school, or they're frightened of their child not being vaccinated or being forced to be vaccinated," she said.
"But I think a third problem is that schools have been really struggling to manage the COVID situation, you know, with combined classes and lots of teachers absent."
Education Minister Grace Grace has been contacted for comment.
A 'very disruptive' year
Donna Power, who was previously a teacher, decided to homeschool her daughter because she did not want the first-grader to be regularly exposed to COVID-19 and other infections.
"I'm not against schools," Ms Power said.
"I think they're doing their best, but I could see, as a person with an education background, that this year would be very disruptive for children and the staff and teachers."
Ms Power said there were times when she doubted it was the right decision for the family.
But now she says six-year-old Cara is thriving.
Ms Power ensures Cara receives one-on-one education for at least two hours every day.
Then there are more activities, learning outdoors, excursions and playing with her friends.
"We follow the same goals as the Australian curriculum, but the way we're doing it is probably more thorough, because we're doing one-on-one teacher-student and you don't have to negotiate with 30 kids," Ms Power said.
The 2022 School Opinion Survey, released today, showed 90 per cent of school communities felt positive about their local state school.
Of 100,000 parents surveyed, 92 per cent rated their children's school as good and 82 per cent of the 100,000 students surveyed said the same.
An education department spokesperson said the Queensland government is committed to ensuring all students, no matter where they live, have access to high-quality learning opportunities within their local communities.
"The department continues to invest in its teaching workforce and implements a number of initiatives to attract and retain high-quality teachers," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the department was committed to stopping bullying, and there are a range of staff in schools including guidance officers, psychologists, social workers and youth support coordinators to provide support.
