Enrolment Requirements

[niro]

Hi Guys,

 

We arrive in Perth, 30 Jan 2017 (on 189) and want to enrol my daughter in Grade 7 as soon as possible. We have narrowed our search to Shenton College, Willeton & Rossmoyne  Senior High. These are govt schools and have catchment area restrictions.

 

They require proof of ownership of property (rates) or 12 month rental agreement. Plus (a minimum of 3) confirmation of residential address which may include Power/ Gas connection, telephone accounts, removalist document (not sure what this is) or contents insurance. I will have none of these and will probably have one months short term rental with Airbnb only in one of the 3 school's catchment areas. 

 

How do I get around this without having my daughter miss out on a month of school?

 

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Niro

[DXB2OZ]

Niro, government schools absolutely have to take any student in the catchment zone, they cannot turn anyone away. Having said that, the better schools have heard every different story from people wanting to get into the school, but not actually living in the catchment zone. So your chances are slim. Having said that, I would suggest that you try and select one school, establish a rapport with them, keep them posted of your progress in finding a rental, so that everything is lined up ready to go. Demonstrate that you are ready and willing to abide by their rules and they will be a lot more accommodating.

 

Having said all of that, the start of year seven is a very busy time for any high school and nobody will have much spare time to devote to a new immigrant child. Waiting a few weeks and then entering may not be the worst thing in the world. Your daughter will be interesting to the current students who will be more inclined to help and show someone around as they will have found their feet. Teachers will have some spare time to evaluate what your daughter has previously covered so instead of repeating work she has already done they can focus on catching up on areas she may not have covered as every syllabus is taught differently and often in a different order.

 

Due to circumstances, we started in the middle of the school year, my son in year five and my daughter in year seven and we greatly benefited from the extra assistance. 

 

Remember you are facing an enormous task and every day will bring new challenges. My suggestion would be to tackle that which can be tackled. Get your daughter involved in house hunting and finding out more about the neighbourhood. And then as soon as you have that signed contract, phone the school or even go there in person and plead your case. If you have been keeping them informed they will be expecting you and may be inclined to not insist on a utility bill.

 

A word of caution based on knowing nothing about you or your personality. The Australians I have met do not respond well to what they perceive to be aggressive behaviour and what we Saffas perceive to be making a stand. Be gentle but firm, state your case, ask what can be done to speed up the process and work with the school as much as possible. It will help in the long run.

 

Best of luck with the big move.

[Guest]

When we arrived in Perth I enrolled my son in Kindy and because most Kindys here in WA are connected to the pre - primary/primary I also filled out the enrolment for the pre-primary, he starts his pre-primary next Jan. At the time we only had signed a 3 month lease for our rental which was not accepted. The school required at least a 6 month lease. They decided to provisionally enrol him with the condition that as soon as possible I can provide them with a 6 month lease. We have just signed our extension of lease agreement so that is no longer an issue. Point being that they are bit of sticklers for these sort of things. Although the actual paperwork I filled out said 3 month lease the school themselves needed a 6 month lease.

 

You cannot be the only one in this situation that these schools have had to deal with. Is it possible for you to contact the school from South Africa and have a chat with someone who deals with admissions? Explain your situation and concerns and get some feedback?

 

I am sure it will all work out?

 

[Sunnyskies]

Hi Niro

 

I also tried to be super organised when we moved here from South Africa, but similarly found that a number of schools would simply not respond to my emails.  State schools were the worst in that regard.

With a bit more perspective having now lived here for a number of years I would suggest that you simply not worry about it right now.  What you need to do when you get here is to try and sort out your rental - fortunately for you the Perth rental market has softened significantly in the last year or so and so you are much more likely to get a rental in the catchment than may have been the case 18 months ago.

Arriving on the 30th of January, I think that your daughter will miss the first week of school irrespective of whether you get her a place from South Africa or not, so missing another week or two is not the end of the world.

Perhaps have a look at the rental sites, domain.com and realestate.com, and see what types of rentals are available in the areas you are looking at.

Once you have a rental and a lease agreement, go and see the schools with your lease agreement.  They will talk to you if you are in their reception and seeing you in person with an explanation as to why you can't supply all the documents immediately is much more likely to produce the desired result.  I had a similar problem when we moved from Melbourne to Brisbane a few years back, and I simply put my daughter's placement at the local school on the backburner until we were in Brisbane, at which point I went to the school with the lease agreement and enrolled her there and then.

As mentioned previously, the state school has to accept your child if you are in the catchment.  If you are looking at a private school then the position is different.

 

 

 

[niro]

Thank you so much for your experience and advise. I can't get my head around to her missing a month of school- but I suppose there is not much choice, unless I select a private school. Feb is a short month in any case. And yes, it would be better to include her with the rental/suburb selection and have her with us setting in. My daughter, by the way, will be very happy at missing the month . 

 

In the mean time, as you have suggested, we will choose one school, contact them whilst here and establish a rapport with them - keeping them informed about our move etc. When we get there, we will try secure long term rental immediately and then go the school. Its good to know that they cannot turn us away if we are in the catchment.

 

P.S. Will have my hubby do all the talking - he is in sales- and has amazing ability to turn the impossible turned our way. A few years ago, when we moved our daughter to a different school in Durban, they had told me via email that they had no place and she would be on a two year waiting list. He went there with her and got them to assess her and got her in immediately. Sweet talking and a bit of begging did the trick! Plus chocolates for the receptionist after the assessment, before they said yes. 

[DXB2OZ]

Niro, one final comment. The administrative/reception staff of your local high school can be like trying to negotiate with Godzilla having a really bad hair day. Smile (even if it is through gritted teeth) and remind yourself that they must deal with loads of absolutely awful parents, so this is their defence. 

 

And remind yourself that the administrative staff don't take classes and are not a reflection of the teaching standard. They are your problem, not your child's.

 

 

[HFamily]

In terms of the schools themselves, Shenton College is a very good school but very crowded. They have a long waiting list of kids who haven't been able to get into the Western Suburbs private schools. Rossmoyne is one of the top high schools in Perth and the area around there is quite good, not sure about Willeton. Also have a look at Applecross, the school and surrounding areas are very good.

[AFreshStart]

Just a word of caution as well, check with the schools if there are any changes to the catchment area for the school next year.

 

My son's school is booming and over 6-years has risen from 65 enrollments to 300 this year and will have 400 next year after a $7 million injection this year to build new facilities to accommodate them.

 

They've decided to HALVE the catchment area for next year, I have seen the new rezoning, but noticed the old map is still on their website.

 

This would affect migrants and new families moving into the area who 'think' they'll be in the catchment area, but won't, so again, check with the school and ask them to provide the latest catchment area map as part of your intial conversations and if there are any changes planned for the year ahead.

 

This might not be a problem in WA, but here in Sydney we experience growth daily with over 1-million migrants arriving over the next 10-years.

 

Cheers

 

Matt

[DXB2OZ]

Even where we are where the schools have been at capacity for years, the borders of the catchment do tend to shift each year. It is always risky to be on the edge, further in is a lot safer. Best to hedge your bets where possible.

[Eva]

On 10/24/2016 at 7:10 PM, DXB2OZ said:

Niro, one final comment. The administrative/reception staff of your local high school can be like trying to negotiate with Godzilla having a really bad hair day. Smile (even if it is through gritted teeth) and remind yourself that they must deal with loads of absolutely awful parents, so this is their defence. 

 

And remind yourself that the administrative staff don't take classes and are not a reflection of the teaching standard. They are your problem, not your child's.

 

 

 

Had bad experiences have you SXB2OZ?  

 

I am currently working the office of a local government high school which happens to be the school my two older boys went to when we moved to Aus and think your comment is rather harsh based on what I have seen as both a parent and a person working there.  

 

So take heart Niro, you might actually find a school with nice admin staff.  

[DXB2OZ]

Eva, notice the use of the term "can" as oppose to "will". This is not an absolute but a definite possibility.

 

My comment is based on several experiences, from several schools. To a new arrival trying to choose a school virtually blindfolded this can be absolutely terrifying and I was trying to point out that you should not necessarily be put off by initial lack of interest or downright discouragement. I think it is a valid warning.

 

I am thrilled to hear that you have had a more positive experience and are actively involved in the administration of your local school as you will be able to convey that empathy to a new arrival.

[Dill]

Hi Niro

I'm with DXB2OZ, definitely a valid warning, particularly when it comes to oversubscribed schools. It'll be great if you find admin staff like Eva, but don't be surprised or put off by less than helpful behaviour.

HFamily is also bang on the money. There are only 2 state high schools in the Western suburbs (Shenton and Churchlands), both of which are very good, but packed to the rafters. Rossmoyne and Willeton compete with each other for their places on the "academic tables" and their positions are often interchangeable.

Definitely also consider Applecross, both the suburb and the school.

We also started looking at schools before areas, but you might need to take a step back and consider whether north or south of the river would suit you best. This may depend on where you'll be working, where you have friends and family or just what feels right or better for you.

The schools you're looking at are among the best performing schools in Perth, but remember that the numbers are based on year 12 results and there may be other schools that are on the periphery of the top performers table that have more to offer in terms of sport, pastoral care or general suitability.

I realise that this doesn't help you getting around how to secure a place, but might be helpful if you really don't want her to miss a month.

As others have said, missing a month is NOT the end of the world, she'll arrive when things are more settled and when routines are established, as that is mostly what the first weeks of year 7 are about. As you are looking at strong academic schools, I assume your daughter is bright, in which case she'll have no problem missing a few weeks.

All the best!

Dill

[RYLC]

I agree with you both @Dill and @DXB2OZ about school admin staff not always being as friendly as you might expect.  Out of the four schools we have interacted with, only 1 has had wonderful, friendly and accommodating admin staff.  Of the other 3, our current one is hit and miss for no obvious reason.  The other two were both terrible.  I know that they have to deal with all types so perhaps come off as defensive in the beginning or perhaps are having a bad day.  So it is a valid warning. Fortunately I had been here long enough that my Aussie friends warned me.  So don't let this put you off a school that could suit your needs.

Edited October 30, 2016 by RYLC

[niro]

Thank you all for taking the time to advise and the cautionary notes .

Applecross looks great - will definitely be looking here as well.

[rozellem]

We have only ever experienced the most wonderful reception staff at all our daycares/pre schools/primary schools in Sydney. Of course, since Australia is on planet earth, there are also all types of personalities here, with their own bad days and personal dramas. The advice about you bringing your friendliest, kindest, most helpfull, ask-not-tell voice is very valid. That attitude will get you a long way in Aus in general. I know it all sounds like a daunting task, but we have all climbed similar mountains and it can be done and it does get better. Just keep on swimming. 

 

PS. A teacher friend recently told me about a very popular school close to us, were the two long serving ladies at reception completely ignore/blank one another! What an awkward working space that must be. Just silly!