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| PRESCHOOL ENROLMENTS FOR NEXT YEAR | |
| The Canberra Preschool Society can provide advice and information about preschool enrolment, but we are not the operators or managers of preschools. Government preschools are part of the primary school system, and all enrolment and administration for your local preschool is under the control of the nearest primary school. Your first point of contact should be that school, listed in the White Pages. | |
Preschool enrolment happens a whole year before your child is eligible to attend. To make it easier - if your child is three years of age on or before 30 April - they are eligible to enrol into an ACT Government Preschool - for the following year! Enrolments for the ACT Government Preschool program are taken at the local Primary School from the
beginning of Term 2. Information about what is needed to complete enrolment can be found
from the ACT Department of Education and Training website at:
www.det.act.gov.au and the Application to Enrol in an ACT Public School
application form or from the primary school at which you are seeking
enrolment. Each ACT Government School has a priority enrolment area (PEA) which is based on place of residence. Information about PEAs is available from the Department website. Parents/carers are able to apply for a preschool that is outside their Priority Enrolment Area. Parents/carers are encouraged to complete this process as soon as practicable. If you are moving into Canberra later in the year, or if you will be looking to apply late for any other reason, be assured that every preschool must keep places open for late-arriving children in their Priority Enrolment Area. You need not worry about missing a place. About The Preschool Program All preschool programs are non-compulsory and open to all children in the year prior to entry into the Kindergarten program at your preferred primary school. Just because you enrol into an ACT Government Primary School for the Preschool Program - does not mean that you child must stay at that Primary School for their Kindergarten Year. You will need to enrol your child into your preferred Primary School should you wish to move them to a different school for their compulsory schooling. The ACT Government provides a minimum of 12 hours of preschool education for children in the year before they attend school. By 2013 all preschools will offer a quality preschool program for 15 hours per week. Children must turn four
on or before 30 April to be eligible to attend a preschool session for that year. All preschools are amalgamated with primary schools and parents/carers will need to enrol their child for preschool at the relevant primary school. If parents/carers are unsure which primary school this is, please contact your preferred preschool for this information. All ACT Government preschools provide a play-based learning
environment with a focus on the social, emotional, cognitive and
physical development of the individual student. In the preschool year,
the development of literacy and numeracy skills and concepts occurs
through play-based experience. For more information about curriculum: Curriculum Requirements in ACT Public Schools,
Preschool to Year 10 | |
| Hours of Preschool Sessions. | |
| By 2013 all formal ACT preschool programs will run for 15 hours per week. Not all preschools will have vacancies in both types of programs. | |
Twelve hours | Often the sessions are run as either two long-days of 6 hours per day or three short-days of 4 hours per day. Not all preschool sites offer both types of programs. |
| Fifteen Hours | Fifteen schools provide
15 hours of preschool per week in 2010.
These include Lyons Early Childhood School, Isabella Plains Early
Childhood School. Narrabundah Early Childhood School, Southern Cross
Early Childhood School. O'Connor Cooperative School, Caroline Chisholm
School, Charnwood-Dunlop Primary School, Florey Primary School, Gilmore
Primary School, Kingsford Smith School, Ngunnawal Primary School, North
Ainsle Primary School and Richardson Primary School. Often the sessions are run as follows; however, you are advised to check as there may be a number of different session arrangements:
|
| Enrolment Forms. | |
Public School System Enrolment 
(272kb) | Parents/Carers are required to complete the Student Record System enrolment form on initial entry to the public system. This form needs to be submitted to the school of your first choice. |
|
Preschool
Enrolment Form | This form needs to be completed by Parents/Carers and submitted along
with the Public School System Enrolment form. The form seeks details of
Parent/Carers preferences for preschool enrolment and session times. |
If you are unsure of which ACT government primary school to go to to pick up an enrolment form - call our CPS Admin Officer on 02 6286 2527 during office hours to assist you. Alternatively, just phone the preschool of your choice and they will let you know which ACT government primary school is taking their enrolments. A complete list of ACT preschool contact details are available on the ACT Department of Education Website. When you enrol your child for an ACT preschool, you will be asked to provide:
| |
| Preschool Priority Enrolment Areas (PEAs). | |
Each public school gives priority to the enrolment of children living in its Priority Enrolment Area (PEA). This may be one suburb, part of a suburb, or a group of suburbs. In some instances, certain suburbs may be included within the PEA of two public schools. ACT public schools are non-selective. If a school has room available after accepting students from its PEA, it may offer places to students who live outside the area. This decision is made at the school level and is consistent with the Department’s Enrolment in ACT Public Schools – Preschool to Year 12 policy. Principals make every effort to accept siblings but this cannot be guaranteed. Every ACT preschool's Priority Enrolment Area (PEA) is worked out through the PEA of the preschool's amalgamated ACT government primary school. Schools must also accept siblings of enrolled students who live in the ACT. Schools can accept out-of-area enrolments if there is capacity available after catering for children from the priority enrolment area. ACT residents will be given priority for out of area enrolment before non-ACT residents. Please note: if you choose to apply for a preschool which is out of area of your PEA your child will be lower on the priority list and you will be asked, when filling in your enrolment application, for a 2nd preference for a preschool placement - this will be offered to you should your first preference preschool reach capacity. | |
| Enrolment Policy | |
There are a number of changes to policy concerning enrolment in ACT Government Schools. To keep informed please refer to the following ACT Department of Education and Training Webpage: http://www.det.act.gov.au/major_changes_to_education_requirements Download the current transitional policy on Enrolment in ACT Government Schools - Preschool to Year 12 | |
Generally, children will be offered places in the following order of priority.
| |
| If you need assistance - don't hesitate to contact the CPS office. | |
Page updated: 6 April 2010 | |
Enrolment Information
Where are they located?
Gungahlin
Belconnen North
Belconnen South
North Canberra
South Canberra
Woden
Weston Creek
Tuggeranong North
Tuggeranong South
Jervis Bay
© Canberra Preschool Society Inc. 2007