Ministry to explain enrolment scheme at Whanganui school

As the school currently receives more applications than places available, an enrolment scheme has been developed and approved by the Secretary of Education to ensure the fair and transparent selection of applicants.

The guidelines for development and operation of enrolment schemes are issued under Schedule 20 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The proposed enrolment scheme would start from January 1, 2027.

The maximum roll at Cullinane College is determined by the school’s integration agreement. The current maximum roll is 525 students.

The five criteria for granting Preference of Enrolment in Catholic schools, as set out by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, are not ranked in order of importance. Each criterion is considered equally valid and sufficient for establishing a particular or general religious connection with the Catholic character of the school.

For preference applicants, to ensure, as far as possible, that the allocation of places at Cullinane College does not exclude local students, priority is accorded to applicants for whom the school is reasonably convenient. The proposed Cullinane College enrolment scheme uses an area of reasonable convenience as being within 65 km of the school by road.

In ordinary state schools, the principle of not excluding local students is covered in the requirement to specify a geographic area (the “home zone”) that gives an absolute guarantee of entitlement to enrolment to those students who live inside its boundaries. Although a state integrated school with an enrolment scheme is not required to create a home zone (though it can choose to do so), by law its scheme must, as far as possible, ensure that it does not exclude local students.

Should there be more preference applicants than places available within the distance from the school provisions, applications will be grouped in the following order: those who are siblings of current students, applicants for whom Cullinane College is the closest Catholic secondary school and then all other applicants.

There are provisions for ballots and other considerations in various other scenarios where the college has more preference applicants than it can take.

The enrolment of non-preference students is governed by the school’s integration agreement. Currently this is set at a maximum of 26 students. Non-preference students will be enrolled only if enrolment places remain after all preference students have been enrolled and the school board judges that enrolment of the non-preference students will not compromise its ability to offer places to preference students who might apply for enrolment at a later date. When the school’s roll reaches or exceeds 85 per cent of its maximum capacity the non-preference roll will be closed.

All unsuccessful applicants will have their names placed on a waiting list.

FULL STORY

Catholic Parish of Whanganui newsletter March 15 (Catholic Parish of Whanganui/Facebook)

Draft Enrolment Scheme (Cullinane College)

Enrolment schemes for a state integrated school – FAQs (Ministry of Education)