Enrolment

Enrolment Policy

 

Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Primary School is co-educational and caters for children from Year Prep to Year 6.   We believe that parents are the first educators of their children and we partner this educational journey as a school during a child’s Primary years.

 

All children participate in Religious Education classes. Gospel values of love, truth, justice, peace making, forgiveness, respect for the dignity of each person and responsibility for the environment permeates each area of our school curriculum and our teaching each day.

 

Enrolment Policy

 

Enrolment Form

 

School/Family Index: Parent Occupation Group

 

 

Enrolment Information

  • Children must turn 5 years of age by the 30th April in the year they are commencing school. (See Enrolment of Children under the minimum age section in this policy for further details)
  • All Parents/guardians enrolling their children at our school should complete the school’s Application for Enrolment form and return it as soon as possible.  This does not guarantee enrolment in the school.
  • A copy of the child's Birth Certificate and Baptism Certificate must be provided. This should be attached to your Application for Enrolment form.  Non-Catholic families lodging an enrolment will need to include a personal letter clearly stating the reasons they are seeking enrolment in a Catholic school.
  • At the time of lodging an enrolment application all families seeking Year Foundation enrolment will be required to pay a non-refundable enrolment fee of $50.00 per family per enrolment year.
  • An Immunisation Certificate must be provided for all children, prior to their commencement at school. To obtain a copy, contact Medicare-Australian Childhood Immunisation Register on 1800 653 809.
  • In Term 3 teachers from our school will make contact with a child’s Preschool to gather information about your child.
  • A Prep Transition Program will be held in Term 4 for all Foundation students.
  • An Information Night for parents will also be held in Term 4.

Priority of Enrolment 

  1. Children who are baptised Catholics and reside in the Catholic Parishes of Brunswick and East Brunswick: Our Lady Help of Christians and St. Ambrose, St. Brigid’s Parish - North Fitzroy and St. Carthage’s Parish - Carlton.
  2. Catholic children who do not reside in the Parish but belong to the Parish community.
  3. Children with siblings in the school.
  4. Catholic children from other Parishes (for pastoral reasons).
  5. Children from non-Catholic Eastern Churches who reside in the Parish.
  6. Children from non-Catholic Eastern Churches who reside outside the Parish.
  7. Other Christian children who reside in the Parish.
  8. Other Christian children who reside outside the Parish.
  9. Non-Christian children who reside in the Parish.
  10. Non-Christian children who reside outside the Parish.

 

Our Enrolment Policy is consistent with this MACS Enrolment Policy

 

  • There is an expectation that parents support our school in the Catholic education of their children and involve themselves as much as possible.
  • Prayer and liturgy are vital aspects of religious life in our school.    The pastoral care and support programs for students, families and staff are based on the teachings of the Catholic Church.  The teaching and values of the Catholic Church are paramount.
  • Parents should also recognise and be prepared to meet their financial responsibilities for the ongoing enrolment of the child. (Any difficulties in this regard should be discussed with the Principal.)
  • Parents/guardians must advise the Principal of any Court Order(s) that may exist in regard to the child, or any changes to such Court Order(s) and provide a copy of the Court Order(s) and any subsequent changes for the child’s school file.
  • Should a parent refuse to disclose vital medical information about their child, the school will not be held liable for serious injuries that may occur because of this non-disclosure.

 

General Process regarding enrolment

  • Enrolments are advertised through publicity boards, the local media, the school newsletter, the parish bulletin, the local kindergartens and childcare facilities.
  • Enrolment applications for the following year officially open at the beginning of Term Two.   Parents may choose to lodge their enrolment form before this.
  • First round offers of a place will be sent out by the April. (Or earlier if we have a full complement of Priority 1 and Priority 2 applicants)
  • Acceptance of offers must be returned within 21 days of receiving an offer together with the pre-payment of a non-refundable $300 student levy (covers costs of books, stationery, photocopying and excursions) with their Acceptance Form.  If not returned the school will offer a place to another family on our Waiting List.
  • Families not successful with enrolment will be sent a letter indicating this and where relevant,  an offer to be placed on a waiting list, pending further enrolment vacancies.

 

Enrolment of Children under the minimum age   

 

  • Our school will make an assessment of a child’s readiness for school when considering the enrolment at Prep of a child under the minimum age, i.e. children born after 30 April in the year of enrolment.
  • Parents wishing to enrol a child of more than one month below the minimum age (i.e. a child born after 30 May in the year of enrolment) are required to seek approval to do so from the Director of Catholic Education.
  • Our School will ensure that the enrolment of a child below the minimum age will not exclude the enrolment of a child of the approved age.

 

Enrolment of children with additional learning needs

 

Our school welcomes parents who wish to enrol a child with additional learning needs and we will do everything possible to accommodate the child’s needs.  The process for enrolling students with special needs is the same as that for enrolling any student, and will follow the CEOM Recommended Enrolment process.   Our school will comply with the relevant Australian and Victorian Government legislation when considering the enrolment of a child with additional learning needs in a Catholic school.

 

Enrolment of students from Interstate

 

When enrolling students whose previous school was interstate, our school will use the protocols of the Interstate Student Data Transfer Note (ISDTN). This is mandatory under the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004.  It is the responsibility of the enrolling school to initiate and manage this process, and be sensitive to parent/student consent requirements for the provision.  All relevant documents and information are available at the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood website http://scseec.edu.au/archive/Publications/ISDTN/ISDTN---Gov-Schools.aspx

 

 

Relevant legislation to be considered when enrolling students in Catholic Schools

 

The Victorian Education and Training Reform Regulations 2007 - The regulations impose a requirement on a registered school to have a clearly defined enrolment policy that complies with all applicable State and Commonwealth laws.  Referred therein is the main legislation affecting school enrolments.  Each school must be familiar with the relevant provisions of this legislation and, if appropriate, prepare policies for administration and enforcement of relevant procedures.

 

Equal Opportunity Act 1996 (Vic). This legislation prohibits discrimination by an educational authority against a person in deciding who should be admitted as a student, in the terms on which the authority admits a person as a student, or by refusing of failing to accept the person’s application for administration as a student.  However, an exception is provided for an educational authority that operates an educational institution wholly or mainly for students of a particular sex, religious belief, age or age group, such that it may exclude from that institution people who are not of the particular sex, religious belief, age or age group.  All other discrimination in enrolment of students is prohibited.

 

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cwlth) - Under this federal legislation, discrimination based on disability is unlawful.  It applies to school authorities and their employees.  The definition of disability is broad and includes physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological or learning disability, physical disfigurement, and the presence in the body of a disease-causing organism.

 

Relevant for enrolments, it is unlawful for an educational authority to discriminate against a person on the ground of the person’s disability, or a disability of any of the other person’s associates, by refusing or failing to accept the person’s application for admission as a student; or in terms and conditions on which it is prepared to admit the person as a student.

 

However, it is not unlawful to refuse or fail to accept a person’s application for admission as a student in an educational institution where the person, if admitted as a student by the educational authority, would require services or facilities that are not required by students who do not have a disability and the provision of which would impose unjustifiable hardship on the educational authority.

 

Privacy amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000 (Cwlth) - This legislation governs how schools must handle personal information collected as part of the enrolment process.  Schools will have adopted a Privacy Policy to reflect their acts and practice in management of personal information in compliance with the legislation.  Schools should also determine what is the necessary  information for collection, provide information about collection and, where necessary, obtain consents to the collection, use and disclosure of that information. For these purposes, schools should include in enrolment forms and information collection notice, which should also be contained in the school’s Privacy Policy and where applicable should be located on the school’s website.

 


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