Getting child into kindy and pp

[Zoe75]

We moved to Baldivis in Perth back in December, I tried to get my daughter into kindy for the February straight away but have been unsuccessful. I've tried state and private but no vacancies. I've now put her into a daycare called Pipsqueaks that is for 3-6 year olds and actually teach and my daughter is once again thriving in this environment. Have started to enquire to schools for Preprimary but it's seems I am going to have problems here too. One of the reasons we came here was for a better life for our kids but I can't seem to get them into a school let alone a decent school and in gutted as left a very good nursery/school back in UK. Please can anyone give us any advice on getting your kids into school???

thank you

[AJ]

i think if you are in the catchment they have to find a place for schoo anyway not sure about Kindy.look on the DOE website

Edited May 14, 2016 by AJ

[Bungo]

As above, I don't understand why you are having issues as there is an obligation for a school space to be provided.

[Sammy1]

We moved to Baldivis in Perth back in December, I tried to get my daughter into kindy for the February straight away but have been unsuccessful. I've tried state and private but no vacancies. I've now put her into a daycare called Pipsqueaks that is for 3-6 year olds and actually teach and my daughter is once again thriving in this environment. Have started to enquire to schools for Preprimary but it's seems I am going to have problems here too. One of the reasons we came here was for a better life for our kids but I can't seem to get them into a school let alone a decent school and in gutted as left a very good nursery/school back in UK. Please can anyone give us any advice on getting your kids into school???

thank you

 

Pre-Primary is compulsory in Western Australia. The school in your catchment area is obligated to give you a place for your child. Baldivis has a number of schools, including a new one. Contact the school in your catchment area and submit an application and then enrolment for next year. Remember that your child must turn five before June 30th in the year of entry. I am unsure as to why you think there will be a problem for your child to attend.

 

Kindy is different and non compulsory, once it is full a school cannot and does not offer more places. That is when daycare kindies are usually sought. Applications for kindy open in June of each year, so it is no wonder that the places were full.

Edited May 14, 2016 by Sammy1

[Guest]

You can find schools near to you via here from what I can tell.

 

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/schoolsonline/home.do

 

Has the intake for 2017 even started yet? Don't know about WA but in SA it isn't til a bit later in the year that the application process begins and you tour schools etc. Not all SA schools are zoned at primary level but the ones that are will often only take your child if you reside in the zoned area. Outside of it its often onto a wait list and seeing if there is space in the year group at the end of the primary allocation. This year and last, our primary school only took children from within the zone due to demand. Others were declined as not enough space.

 

http://det.wa.edu.au/schoolsandyou/detcms/navigation/your-childs-education/enrolling-in-school/?page=3#toc3

[Sammy1]

You can find schools near to you via here from what I can tell.

 

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/schoolsonline/home.do

 

Has the intake for 2017 even started yet? Don't know about WA but in SA it isn't til a bit later in the year that the application process begins and you tour schools etc. Not all SA schools are zoned at primary level but the ones that are will often only take your child if you reside in the zoned area. Outside of it its often onto a wait list and seeing if there is space in the year group at the end of the primary allocation. This year and last, our primary school only took children from within the zone due to demand. Others were declined as not enough space.

 

http://det.wa.edu.au/schoolsandyou/detcms/navigation/your-childs-education/enrolling-in-school/?page=3#toc3

 

I live and teach in WA, the OP simply needs to approach her local school and enrol. Applications will be taken from June/July on-wards for next year.

 

Pre-primary is compulsory and the school (within the catchment area) is obligated to provide a place. Students arrive all through the year due to the high number of migrants. Baldivis is the most rapidly growing suburb in the whole of WA and has brand new schools at both primary and secondary level, they are more than equipped to deal with the demand. All of the schools in Baldivis are excellent.

Edited May 14, 2016 by Sammy1

[Quoll]

As the others have said - as long as your child meets the age requirements for WA then the local school is obliged to find a place but if a child is not old enough then of course they won't get a place. Pre-compulsory age programs have limited places so you get what you pay for. Remember that it isn't UK and the starting ages and free provisions are quite different. It might help if you tell us your daughters age and month of birth then we can tell you if you're flogging a dead horse for a year or two.

[Zoe75]

Thank you everyone for the replies. My daughter is 4 and will be 5 in February so believe she will be due to start school in February. Maybe I am being a bit early in looking but it's all new for us here and my child's education is the most important thing for me.

[LKC]

We're in NSW but I assume the application process will be similar. I've just had a look back at the newsletters from our school for last year, and new enrolments weren't mentioned in the newsletter until the middle of August, so it may be that you are just a bit too early. As others have said, you shouldn't have any trouble getting your daughter into the school that you are in the catchment for, I believe that they will have to find a space for her. If you want her to attend a school which you are not in the catchment for you will have to make an out of area application, but they will only offer a place if they have space. I don't think pre-school is compulsory in any of the states (I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong - it may be called different things in different states, but I mean anything before the first compulsory year of school), and it can be hard to find a space in popular areas. I sent my girls to a long daycare centre in the year before school, but only for one/two days a week since it was so expensive.

[Guest]

Thank you everyone for the replies. My daughter is 4 and will be 5 in February so believe she will be due to start school in February. Maybe I am being a bit early in looking but it's all new for us here and my child's education is the most important thing for me.

 

It sounds to me like you are far too early if its the 2017 intake you are applying for. I'd have a read of the WA education website and get familiar with which school (or schools) you are zoned for and do some research into them. Then when the time comes, take the tours and see what one suits best.

 

Also try to get your head round that its a totally different education system here in Aus and don't go into it with expectations based on the UK education system or how things were done there. I'd say don't put too much pressure on yourself about it all especially if you are renting atm and could potentially move to a different area and therefore change schools at a later date. We moved areas here and moved our son to a new (and IMO much better) school midway through the year after we bought a house 7 months in. He's not looked back and loves it. He was 5 when we moved here, 6 when we changed schools. We specifically sought out areas with good state primary school options once we had found our feet in the city and knew where we wanted to settle in the longer term.

[Quoll]

OK so she could be starting full time school in 2017 - there will be only one school which will be obliged to find a place for her and you can enrol her later on in the year - she won't be school-less! If you want to pick and choose though then that's more of an issue - you may be too late to get her into a good private school, you tend to have to put their name down at birth (or before LOL) and out of area enrolments depend on available places, connection to the area etc and an out of area school can do whatever they like. Ask around your neighbours and they will tell you which is the local school. I don't know if WA is like some of the other states but schools sometimes do familiarisation visits for the first year kids during term 4 and she might be able to go along to them.