Correspondence School enrolment policy 2009
Early Childhood Education
General
Children may be enrolled in a full-time Early Childhood Education (ECE) programme at The Correspondence School where they are:
- New Zealand citizens or permanent residents or verified domestic students, and
- under the age of 6 (i.e. 5 years of age or under), and
- not enrolled in a primary school, or about to be enrolled within the first two weeks of February that year, and
- not enrolled for more than two sessions a week in a licensed and/or chartered ECE service, and
- within one of the following enrolment categories and fitting the criteria for a gateway where a vacancy is available.
A child ceases to be eligible for enrolment when age or changed circumstances mean that the gateway criteria under which they were enrolled are no longer met.
Priority
Children whose access to ECE is limited by their rural location and geographic isolation will normally be given first priority for enrolment.
Children approved by the School as eligible for entry but for whom a vacancy is not immediately available will have their names placed on a wait list. Wait-listed children will normally be admitted to the School in age order.
Enrolment Categories and Gateways
| Enrolment Category |
Gateway |
Entry Criteria |
| Access |
Geographic isolation |
Child of a family whose geographic location prevents attendance at a licensed and/or chartered English language medium ECE service.
To qualify, the student’s home must be:
- more than 6km from a licensed and/or chartered English language medium ECE service; or
- located behind a geographic barrier, preventing reasonable access to a licensed and/or chartered English language medium ECE service.
The School will establish entry criteria to ensure access by families with the highest level of need based on distance and accessibility. |
|
Itinerancy |
Child of a family whose itinerancy requires a change of licensed and/or chartered ECE service each school term.
The minimum enrolment period is six months.
Parents/caregivers must provide, at the commencement of enrolment, an itinerary demonstrating that they will change location at least once per term and that each change in location will require a change of licensed and/or chartered ECE service. A written declaration to that effect will also be required.
The Chief Executive Officer of The Correspondence School will review these enrolments six monthly. For this review caregivers will provide a written declaration confirming that they continue to meet the requirements of this gateway. |
| Referral |
High health needs |
Child has a long-term illness or medical condition preventing their attending a licensed and/or chartered ECE service.
Caregivers must provide, each year, a medical certificate from a medical practitioner specialising in the condition preventing attendance. |
|
Special development needs |
Child has special development needs such that no licensed and/or chartered ECE service able to meet their needs is available within a reasonable distance.
Caregivers must provide a Ministry of Education- Special Education report detailing the nature of the child’s special development needs and immediate teaching needs. This report will include verification that no locally available service is able to meet the child’s special development needs. |
|
Special circumstances |
Child does not fit any ECE gateway, however may be admitted by the Chief Executive Officer of the School – for example where:
- a sibling has a medical condition such as a bone marrow transplant preventing, for reasons of cross-infection, the child attending a licensed and/or chartered ECE service, or
- the child’s caregiver has a medical condition preventing attendance at a licensed and/or chartered ECE service.
|