Article Source: https: https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/school-learning/school-choosing-starting-moving/school-selection-steps

Key points

• If you’re looking for schools, start by checking enrolment dates. This gives you a timeline for finding and deciding on a school.
• If you’re looking beyond your local government school, think about what’s important to you and your child.
• Gather information about schools. It might help to visit schools and talk to key staff if you can.
• Look into application and/or enrolment processes for the schools you’re interested in.

Step 1: find out about enrolment dates and other key deadlines

If you’re looking for a primary or secondary school for your child, start by checking enrolment dates. This gives you a timeline for finding and deciding on a school.

Most government primary schools accept applications and enrolments from the second term of the year before your child will start school – around May each year.

If your child is going to your local government secondary school, you usually need to enrol your child around April or May in the final year of primary school.

Step 2: consider your child’s and family’s school preferences

For some families, decisions about where children go to school are simple. Their children go to the local public school – the school in the same government zone as their house.

For other families, it might be more complicated. They might want to look at other government schools outside their local areas or at private schools. Or they might be thinking about home-schooling.

If you’re looking beyond your local school, it helps to think about what’s important to you and your child. For example, you might prefer schools that have good academic results, music facilities or sports programs.

These articles can help you with this process:

• Primary schools: things to consider when choosing a school
• Secondary schools: things to consider when choosing a school

Non-government and independent primary and secondary schools often have long waiting lists, so you might need to apply and enrol much earlier, sometimes from birth.

You can contact schools directly to find out about their requirements. You can also ask schools when they’ll be holding their information sessions, open days or school tours so that you and your child can visit.

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