Brisbane School of Distance Education

The customer service is terrible, they have not gotten back to us with login information for my childs email and student learning platform and SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW. I dont know what kind of crack they are smoking there but apparently its the one that makes them incapable to not doing their jobs. And don't bother calling them because they will sent an automated voice saying 'email us' and guess what, they never email you back. Their website is outdated and they still send pdfs from 5 years ago and their url links that they send you via email dont work (says 404 error not found).Please don't enrol your child here unless you have to.

You need to understand what you're getting into, because BSDE is not like mainstream schooling, but that's the point and where it shines the best.As someone who transferred to this school from The Gap State High, and graduated from BSDE, I can safely say that my experience at BSDE is vastly superior. Distance education is not for everyone, in fact I don't think it works for most people, and putting the blame on the school for distance education not being right for your child seems extremely unfair.The workload is harder absolutely, but if the issues that a student is facing are related to not functioning in a classroom environment, needing more flexibility and most notably, if your child is neurodivergent, has a learning disability or a mental disorder that makes mainstream school harder, then BSDE might be a good fit for you. On its own merits, BSDE does its job extremely well, and the comparisons being made seem unreasonable.

As a former student of Brisbane School of Distance Education, I must confess that the school experience was quite terrible. The teachers showed no interest in teaching, and they rarely assigned any work for students to complete. Their approach seemed to be limited to marking attendance and then dismissing the class. Despite being a straight-A student at this school, I didn't feel the need to study or put in much effort. However, once my parents became aware of the school's quality, they enrolled me in another private distance education program. It was there that I realized how far behind I was compared to my peers, despite my straight-A record at Brisbane School of Distance Education.To any parents reading this, if you are considering enrolling your child in this school, I urge you to think twice before potentially jeopardizing their future. Brisbane School of Distance Education almost had a detrimental impact on my life, but fortunately, thanks to God's mercy, I was able to transfer to a much better private distance education program where I received the necessary support from my teachers.

I agree with most of the comments made previously by AdMad X.Pros: No bullying, no need for uniforms or having to drive or walk your child to school. While many of the teachers are average or even below average (just barely doing their job, which is fair enough I suppose), a few will go out of their way to help your child succeed. It must be said though, that quite a lot falls on the parent(s) in terms of helping students prepare in terms of assignments, exams and study. No wasted travel time.Cons: My child found that a number of the students he/she tried to befriend were rather flaky, making it quite difficult to form friendships at the school. I also heard that this was an issue for another student who had already left the school. For me, this lack of socialisation was probably the biggest problem. There were also a number of teachers that were frequently absent that were not replaced, which is something that would not happen in a day school. A number of teachers also didn't respond to important emails (even though I re-sent these) which is actually very rude. This would not be acceptable or tolerated in any other school. This is incredibly disappointing given that most teachers are now earning six figures. It would also be good for the teachers to go through exam papers with students. Technology can also have a downside, as virtually all homework and assignments are completed online, meaning a student can spend the whole school day and then another few hours after that, in front of the screen, completing these tasks. It also means that as a parent you have to be vigilant to ensure your child is working, not playing games or chatting to someone privately. If you're sitting exams at the school, be prepared for occasional disruptions. I've heard it said that the school was better, before everything moved to online education.In summary, the school is not great, with the online learning element having both positive (and probably more) negative implications.

Positives: physically beautiful school, majority of the staff are friendly. Despite being online, BrisbaneSDE offers many oppourtunities for students to socialise such as camps, cross countries, etc. The school follows the Australian and QCAA curriculum and teaches children like any other regular school.Great if your child can't attend a face-to-face school or is an independent learner. Also good for preventing bullying (cyberbullying may become an issue).Negatives: price of social activities is expensive and hard to access if you don't live near the school. Likewise, your child can start to experience feelings of loneliness and isolation due to the online environment. However, this is expected being online and can be fixed with extracurriculars (if you can afford them, that is).Since the teacher cannot physically see your child in classes, not focusing properly on work and falling behind may occur due to this. It is your job as a parent to ensure your child is completing work and submitting it on time. If you do not have the time to supervise, this can become a significant issue. Furthermore, assessments are all due at the same time usually. This can cause students stress.I would've rated 4 stars, unfortunately I didn't have the greatest experience with them trying to get extra resources for subjects, as well as the school nurse did not reply to my email despite waiting more than a month. Otherwise, good school.

After fighting and years of being lost in the public system, my daughter has surpassed all my expectations.. Excellent School, Excellent Values, Excellent Teachers= Excellent results! Do the Maths. Thank you for helping her find herself again.

Great school if your child doesn't fit into on campus school but can handle the lack of face to face or social aspect of on campus school.One of our children thrived but the other wasn't suited to online. Great staff, helpful and friendly teachers. Definatley recommend giving it a go

If you are thinking about home schooling ,This school is very helpful. They teach children as same as normal school by online . you need good internet environment . And you need support your child for supervise and help to learning .Student sit in front of computer 8-2pm, (Mon-Thursday)about 8-12:30pm (Wed, Friday)Teacher are educated for special need children better than normal school. More experienced. However, some of teacher are not know about special need mean, so complaining and calling us immediately about some issue for child. Good things are no bullying. Because children are at home and safe. My son is so relaxing at home while studying. Drinking coffee and sometimes drawing picture and waiting teacher giving task.I think teachers are more absent often than normal school. Often no teacher and only some task on computer. It need understand instructions themselves. But if you finish early you can have free time more. (Looks like teachers are looking after many grade by small amount of teachers. )School works are ok. But some assignments need scan and upload pdf file to send school or post mail by due date. Some of children can do themself, some of you need to help it. Most teacher send email to parents what their assessment due date and files . So you can know what your children doing in study.They also provide camping and school events often. If your child keen to join , maybe fun activities in real world. Teachers are kind.School fee is about 1000$ a year. But no student uniform and I think similar cost for total school life. If you would like to make student card ,you can get it as same as normal school.We don’t know how much study is same as other school. But they have NAPLAN and so on if you need test. It is many documents for home schooling . Everything online . You can ask school if you don’t understand how to do it. But replying not fast . You need patient. Online school mean that you need to do some of teachers work as your child support.

Brisbane School of Distance Education is an amazing school, from someone who has and had an inside viewpoint of the staff, students and overall school curriculum, I can definitely say that majority of the negative reviews are somewhat to completely incorrect. Unfortunately the social side of things is poor, but you need to understand that this is the point of a DE school, it's done online, hence the name 'Distance' - if you want a social school, an on-campus school would be suitable for you. We have various social events throughout the year. Whether that is simple meetups, excursions, camps or special events like carnivals. Students can communicate with each other before, during and after class.From my experience, teachers are quick to respond and are very happy to provide their help to students. Multiple times throughout the school years my teachers respond even within a matter of minutes to emails and private messages. They are very kind and welcoming to all new students, and are extremely flexible with work for newer classmates until they settle in. Students are typically the same and invest in helping their new and previous classmates.Others and myself have all found it very easy to make new friends compared to on-campus schools. In fact at one point I had managed to get 10 in one single day...DE schools are not for everyone, but that does not mean some people won't be suitable. Highly recommended school if you don't mind the lack of socialization and increase of time spent on technology.

BSDE is by far the BEST school in the world! I joined last year (grade 9) and I was SUPER shy and had no friends a year later I have a bunch of AWESOME friends, I am the 10-12 student leader, Student Council Communications Officer, involved in Student Times, and help run the 3-6 art, craft, and drama club. I LOVE it!!! The teachers and students are so welcoming and inclusive. They understand internet issues (I have a lot) and some of my classmates are from overseas so they access the lesson via recordings (which I also use if I need to go back and find something). TOTALLY recommend it!