Enrolment

St. John’s School  [under the Education and Training Act 2020]  has a maximum roll of 337 pupils at primary level, from New Entrants to Year 6.

Applications for New Entrant enrolment are accepted at any time from the child’s date of birth.  Applications for New Entrant positions close on the 31st of August of the year preceding the child starting school.  The Principal will write and advise parents early in September if they have been successful in gaining a place.  If there are more applications than places available, the Principal will offer an opportunity to be put on a Waiting List for a vacancy when it arises.   Applications for all other year levels are accepted throughout the year.

At St. John’s School our administrative procedure requires parents to provide a Preference Certificate when you fill in the Application for Enrolment document.  Please note that your  Preference of Enrolment Certificate is valid for two years prior to actual enrolment.   At St. John’s School many of our families enrol their children from 3 months of age onwards.     You will be asked to get new Preference Certificate before your child can be enrolled so that we comply with Auckland Catholic Diocese requirements.

The school has an Enrolment Policy to assist in the management of the roll and to maintain a balance of class level numbers across the school.

The school can accept up to 5% of non-preference children if places are available after all preference children are accepted.  See Non-Preference Enrolment Information for Parents Seeking Enrolment at St. John’s School.   To obtain a Prospectus which includes an Application for Enrolment form, a  Preference of Enrolment Certificate and a School Brochure please contact the school as below.

Criteria for Preference of Enrolment in Integrated Catholic Schools, Agents of the Bishop, Who May Sign the Certificate on his Behalf and the Process of Appeal are all detailed on the reverse side of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference Preference of Enrolment Certificate for the Catholic Diocese of Auckland. Preference Certificate Catholic Diocese of Auckland.  St. John’s School is a signed party to the Ministry of Education Cohort Entry Policy.  The Education and Training Act 2020 supercedes the updated Education Amendment Act 2019 (the Act) which came into force on 14th May 2019 [previous version 2017].  Amended provisions relating to cohort entry took effect from 1 January 2020.  As a result New Entrant children at St. John’s School will start in cohorts but only after they have turned five years of age AND there will be two entry points per term, one on the first day of term and one at a mid-point during the term.  The Cohort Entry mid-term dates are determined by the Ministry of Education throughout the year and we cannot deviate from them. The Ministry has the right to change any detail of the Cohort Entry policy.

PRIVACY ACT 2020

St. John’s School, Mairangi Bay, undertakes to collect, use and store information parents/caregivers provide on the enrolment form according to the principles of the Privacy Act 2020.  The information may be provided to the Proprietor or Proprietor’s agent, the Minister of Education and the Education Review Office, and for administration purposes within the school.  Parents/caregivers undertake as a condition of enrolment that this information can be used for the above purpose.  Information collected in your enrolment application is also used by Statistics New Zealand for the purposes of the schooling Equity Index which enables the Ministry of Education to better target school funding and resourses.  [see this link]  https://www.sjmb.school.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ENROL-PRIVACY-STATEMENT-2022-November.pdf

CATHOLIC DIOCESE of  AUCKLAND    INFORMATION for PARENTS / CAREGIVERS SEEKING PREFERENCE of ENROLMENT at CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

The following information is given to assist parents/caregivers seeking preference of enrolment at a Catholic school.

• In seeking preference of enrolment at a Catholic school you need to make a commitment to actively supporting your child in their faith formation and the practices of the Catholic Church.
• The diocesan Preference of Enrolment Certificate needs to be signed by a Parish Priest or other authorised agent of the Bishop. It is normal practice to make an appointment with the Priest.
• A new Preference of Enrolment Certificate is required for each child in the family.
• Preference certificates are school specific. The name of the school must be specified on the certificate. If you intend to apply for enrolment at a number of different Catholic schools you should have the required number of Preference of Enrolment Certificates and ask the Priest to sign these during the one interview.
• A new Preference of Enrolment Certificate is required for transfer to another school e.g. primary to secondary school. In some exceptional circumstances the preference status of your children could change.
• The Preference of Enrolment Certificate is valid for two years prior to enroling. For example a new entrant’s Preference of Enrolment Certificate should be obtained when they turn three years of age no earlier or if your child is on a school waitlist for longer than two years and a place becomes available  a new certificate is required.   * [see above for St. John’s School requirement for Preference Certificates to support every Preference application]. 
• The school keeps the preference certificate – not the family.
• If you are applying for preference of enrolment under Criteria 5.3 which reads At least one parent/guardian is a Catholic, and although their child has not yet been baptised, the child’s participation in the life of the school could lead to the parents having the child baptised, it is important to recognise that one parent/guardian being Catholic is not sufficient in itself to guarantee that preference will be granted. The second part of the sentence has equal weight with the first.
• If you are applying for preference of enrolment under Criteria 5.4 the familial adult must be a close family member who is actively involved in your child’s upbringing and live close to you
• is practising their faith and involved in their own parish
• is equipped and committed to the faith formation of your child and practices of the Catholic Church
• The familial adult needs to accompany you to the meeting with the Priest when seeking preference of enrolment.
• If not personally known to the person granting preference of enrolment, it is responsibility of the familial adult to provide some evidence to show they are an active member of their Catholic parish.
• Priests/Bishop’s Agents grant preference and they are the only person who may do so. Schools then decide which students will be accepted for enrolment.
• Attendance at a Catholic school by non-preference students is not grounds for seeking preference of enrolment at another Catholic school.

October 2022

PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL PROGRAMME

 Parents/caregivers undertake as a condition of enrolment that students will participate in the general School programme that gives our school its Catholic Special Character.

ATTENDANCE DUES [from the Catholic Diocese of Auckland March 2023 – Compulsory Attendance Dues Charges.  Parents and Caregiver Responsibilities].

1.  a]   Attendance Dues are a compulsory payment under the terms of the Education and Training Act 2020 and are a condition of enrolment.  Attendance Dues are charged for all students who attend Catholic integrated schools in New Zealand.  b]  Attendance Dues are collected on behalf of the school’s Proprietor, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland.   The Attendance Dues are forwarded to Auckland Common Fund Limited, a company established by the proprietors of Catholic Integrated Schools in the Diocese of  Auckland responsible for the collection of Attendance Dues.   c] Under the Act, Attendance Dues are used for servicing and repaying loans to develop new building projects in the Proprietor’s schools  as well as paying for building insurance and compliance costs, collection and administration.
2. At the time you enrol your child at a Catholic School, you are required to sign an agreement stating that you accept that you will pay the Attendance Dues and that you understand that payment of the Attendance Dues is a condition of enrolment and the continuing attendance of students at the school.  Attendance Dues are not a donation, and they are not tax deductible.
3. Payment of Attendance Dues should be made in full at the beginning of the academic year or, in agreement with the school, by instalment (weekly, fortnightly, monthly or per term) during the academic year.  The Attendance Dues cannot be paid in full at the end of each academic year.  Attendance Dues are not a donation, and they are not tax deductible.
4. Failure to pay the Attendance Dues may put your child’s place at the school at risk.
5. Overdue accounts may be referred to a debt collection agency by the Proprietor.
6. This agreement is legally enforceable and the person who signs the agreement remains legally liable for payment of the Attendance Dues.  Responsibility for payment may be transferred to another Parent/Caregiver provided that the new Parent/Caregiver first signs a novation agreement accepting responsibility for payment of Attendance Dues, on terms acceptable to the school and the Proprietor.
7. Any civil agreements between parents/caregivers  do not take precedence over this signed legal agreement.
8. This agreement may not be varied or terminated by the Parent/Caregiver without the prior written consent of the Proprietor.
9. Financial assistance with Attendance Dues is available to families of Preference students in cases of genuine financial difficulties.  Part of the criteria for receiving this assistance is that regular payments have been made at an affordable level.

For further information on enrolment please contact the Principal’s PA by email at [email protected]  or telephone 09 478 7734 Xtn 203