... based on what they are interested in, but it can be hard work for parents

Would you trust your child to lead their own learning? That is the reality for students who are unschooled.

Unschooling is an approach where children learn through life, with lessons based on what the children are interested in.

For Natalie, a mother-of-three in New South Wales, it means "just letting the kids learn how it comes naturally to them because they have natural curiosity".

The NSW Education Standards Authority does not recognise the term unschooling, but it is not as rare as people may think.

Home education is increasing by 10 per cent in Australia every year, according to Australian Christian Home Schooling.

While all home-schoolers in Australia are required to follow their state's curriculum, there's wide variation in the teaching models they use.

Then there are others such as Natalie who simply observe her children as they play and use a little creative thinking to check off the boxes.

"Unschooling takes more creativity from parents. I am taking time out once a week to record what they did and how it fits into the curriculum," she said.

A parliamentary inquiry into home-schooling in NSW in 2014 found 15 per cent of families used the unschooling approach, while 31 per cent used natural learning methods.

Eight per cent adopted a school-at-home approach and another 8 per cent used the classical approach.

Twenty-seven per cent mixed their own blend of styles.