Primary School Admissions

[path2aus]

Hello All,

We had applied for two primary schools for my daughter who will be starting in 2022. One is a Public school close to our home and other is a private one. We got our offer from the private school already but are still waiting on the offer from the Public school. The private school want us to accept the offer by 4th of June and I don't think we will hear back from the pubic school by then. So can we just accept the offer and then later decide not to go there? There isn't much difference between the two schools but we just wanted an option. We are new to Australia and this is our first child, so not sure about how things are.

Any information will be helpful.

Thanks.

[DukeNinja]

Hey. I remember you from when I was doing my 101, and you helped out, thanks again!

So evidently some government schools don't even send out application forms for prep until August. As long as you're in the catchment area, you should technically get a place. Have you checked on the EdMap website?

https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/maps/edmap/

Of course the private school would say yes sooner because you'll be paying for it. You might want to check for any penalties if you accept and then pull out later (They might require that you pay a fee upon acceptance etc..)

[Jon the Hat]

The school offer should tell you what commitment you are making.  It could be as much as a terms fees.

 

[Lavers]

Duke is correct in what he says.

We have just applied for my daughters secondary school and we don't find out until August, although we are in the catchment area so guaranteed a place.

[Quoll]

There may be a difference between “being close to home” and “in the priority enrolment area” so check the PEA for the school you’ve applied for. If you live within the PEA boundaries you are guaranteed a place. It’s not like U.K. where placement is in the lap of the Gods! 
 

What you could do is accept the private place and send her to that school and see how she likes it. You generally need to give a term’s notice once a child has started in a private school and there would probably be a similar financial penalty if you accepted then withdrew. But she will always be able to go to her PEA school even if she’s gone private for just a term.  Or you could ask the private school to defer her application for entry for a year or until the start of year 3 or year 7 (common entry points).  It’s easier to take a kid out of the private system than it is to get them into it! 

[GrandpaGrumble]

Yes I can confirm what others have said.  In NSW at least if you're in a public school's catchment area or 'zone', then (unlike in the UK) you're guaranteed a place at the school.  Can't vouch for other states though.

Depending on the state, and what type of visa you're on, the Catholic school might be cheaper.

[GrandpaGrumble]

16 minutes ago, GrandpaGrumble said:

Yes I can confirm what others have said.  In NSW at least if you're in a public school's catchment area or 'zone', then (unlike in the UK) you're guaranteed a place at the school.  Can't vouch for other states though.

Depending on the state, and what type of visa you're on, the Catholic school might be cheaper.

To clarify, if you're on a permanent visa the public school will be free apart from some fairly nominal fees, but if it's a temporary visa some states will charge you more for a public school than you'd pay for a typical private one.

[path2aus]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We are citizens and the Public school is right across the road from our house, so we are right in the area for receiving the offer. Not sure about the contract with the private school as the only thing it mentions is that when we return the form we enter into a contract and there will be a $100 acceptance fees which is non-refundable. They don't mention anything else. Probably something to ask them before I drop of my acceptance. The Public school offers will start coming in only in August. 

[rtritudr]

Before you enter into a contract you should read the details of that contract.  The details should tell you what your rights/obligations are under that contract and the penalties for breaking it.

[path2aus]

29 minutes ago, rtritudr said:

Before you enter into a contract you should read the details of that contract.  The details should tell you what your rights/obligations are under that contract and the penalties for breaking it.

Well the contract wasn't having too much information but spoke to them and found that I will only be losing my acceptance fee if I pulled out. That is fine with me as it is not too much.

[Quoll]

1 hour ago, path2aus said:

Well the contract wasn't having too much information but spoke to them and found that I will only be losing my acceptance fee if I pulled out. That is fine with me as it is not too much.

As I mentioned before, you can ask them for a deferred entry date so you keep your options open.

[GrandpaGrumble]

On 26/05/2021 at 11:19, path2aus said:

Thanks everyone for the advice. We are citizens and the Public school is right across the road from our house, so we are right in the area for receiving the offer. Not sure about the contract with the private school as the only thing it mentions is that when we return the form we enter into a contract and there will be a $100 acceptance fees which is non-refundable. They don't mention anything else. Probably something to ask them before I drop of my acceptance. The Public school offers will start coming in only in August. 

As mentioned, it's not a question of the public school making you an 'offer'.  If you're in the catchment zone you are guaranteed a place there, as far as I'm aware.  This can make it difficult for head teachers to make plans for their school (speaking from experience on our school's P&C), but it's not a problem for parents.

If you're in NSW, you can double check which school's enrolment area you're in here:

https://schoolfinder.education.nsw.gov.au/

Other states presumably have something similar.  But if you're just across the road from the school it's pretty certain that you'd be in the catchment ... though I have seen counterexamples to that in the UK.

[rtritudr]

6 hours ago, GrandpaGrumble said:

As mentioned, it's not a question of the public school making you an 'offer'.  If you're in the catchment zone you are guaranteed a place there, as far as I'm aware.  This can make it difficult for head teachers to make plans for their school (speaking from experience on our school's P&C), but it's not a problem for parents.

I'm not sure if the guarantee extends to every state though.  I have heard that certain states (SA in particular) do not provide this guarantee.

Edited May 29, 2021 by rtritudr

[NicF]

4 hours ago, rtritudr said:

I'm not sure if the guarantee extends to every state though.  I have heard that certain states (SA in particular) do not provide this guarantee.

SA do have the guarantee unless a school is capacity managed - there are a few schools, particularly in the Eastern Suburbs, that are so in demand they cannot accept all in zone applications but most take all in zone pupils.  

[rtritudr]

19 hours ago, NicF said:

SA do have the guarantee unless a school is capacity managed - there are a few schools, particularly in the Eastern Suburbs, that are so in demand they cannot accept all in zone applications but most take all in zone pupils.  

Exactly, this is what I mean by it not being guaranteed in SA.  In NSW we have schools that are many times over there capacity and yet they still have to admit all local students.